NASCAR to use COT exclusively in 2008

May 23, 2007

Auto racing
NASCAR will use the Car of Tomorrow exclusively in 2008, a year earlier than planned. The COT was scheduled to run 16 races this season and be phased into competition during the next two years. But costs skyrocketed while car owners tried to maintain two programs -- the current car, and the COT -- and NASCAR said yesterday it will move up the date. "The majority of car owners actually came to us and said, 'Now that we are up and running the car, it doesn't make sense to have two parallel programs moving forward,' " competition director Robin Pemberton said. "It seems to us that everyone is working on the Car of Tomorrow now and ready to use it exclusively." The COT was a seven-year project by NASCAR to design a universal car that is safer, less expensive, and better for racing. It's been used in five events this season, all won by drivers for Hendrick Motorsports. Most drivers have been critical of the COT, complaining about its handling and calling it difficult to drive, but they preferred going to one program . . . Dale Earnhardt Inc. dropped its appeal of penalties levied against Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief for illegal modifications made to the COT. Earnhardt was docked 100 points and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended six races after NASCAR discovered illegal brackets on the rear wing of the No. 8 Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway May 13.

Baseball

Even if Barry Bonds is poised to break the home run record in Atlanta, Hank Aaron is not going. "I will never reconsider my decision," Aaron told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from his adopted hometown. Bonds started the day 10 homers from matching the 755 mark that Aaron set during a 23-year career with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, and the Milwaukee Brewers. Asked why he doesn't plan to see the milestone homer in person, Aaron said: "I traveled for 23 years, and I just get tired of traveling. I'm not going to fly to go see somebody hit a home run, no matter whether it is Barry or Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig or whoever it may be. I'm not going any place. I wish him all the luck in the world." . . . Meanwhile, former commissioner Fay Vincent said the man who succeeded him, Bud Selig, should not be in the ballpark if and when Bonds hits his 756th home run. "He has every right to say: I'm willing to congratulate him but I don't honor him by presence," Vincent said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press during spring training . . . Cincinnati recalled third baseman Edwin Encarnacion from Triple A Louisville and put ailing outfielder Josh Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list with gastroenteritis . . . Lefthander Mark Redman, an All-Star with Kansas City in 2006, was given his unconditional release by the Braves after going 0-4 with an 11.63 ERA in six games . . . Righthander Justin Duchscherer went on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip strain, the ninth Oakland player to be sidelined. The move comes a week after closer Huston Street was placed on the disabled list with nerve irritation in his right elbow . . . The Angels placed infielder Maicer Izturis (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list and activated second baseman Howie Kendrick . . . Mets GM Omar Minaya and Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, in the Dominican Republic to break ground on a $7.5 million team academy east of Santo Domingo, said Pedro Martínez could be back on the mound by August. The righthander, in the third year of a four-year contract, has sat out the season recovering from rotator cuff surgery . . . Brandon Moss's two-run homer capped a four-run first and Abe Alvarez struck out seven in six innings as Pawtucket won in Ottawa, 7-3.

Football

The 2011 Super Bowl will be played at the Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington, Texas, where more than 100,000 fans will be able to watch the NFL's showpiece game. NFL owners in Nashville voted for the North Texas group, which had Hall of Famer Roger Staubach lobbying on its behalf. The Cowboys' $1 billion stadium will open in 2009 and will have about 27,000 more seats than those in Indianapolis or Arizona -- the other finalists. NFL owners also reviewed recommended standards concerning concussions during their one-day meeting. Medical decisions will override whether a team needs a player to play and also would include whistleblower protection for reporting when a doctor is pressured to clear a player. Goodell also told owners that the NFL will be working with the players union, the NFL Retired Players Association, NFL Alumni Association, NFL Charities and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in an alliance to coordinate medical support for former players . . . The contract signed by Patriots linebacker Junior Seau is a one-year package with a $1 million base salary. The deal does not include a signing bonus, but there is $100,000 in incentives. Seau's salary-cap charge for 2007 is $1.1 million . . . Angry and frustrated because his trade to Miami has been held up, quarterback Trent Green practiced with Kansas City while insisting he has no plans to ever play for the Chiefs again . . . The Jets bolstered their line by signing defensive end Eric Hicks, who spent his first nine seasons with the Chiefs . . . The Bears signed fifth-round draft pick Corey Graham, a cornerback from the University of New Hampshire, to a four-year contract Monday. Terms were not disclosed . . . Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield skipped the team's optional workout and isn't expected to show up until a mandatory minicamp in June . . . The New York Giants acquired kicker Lawrence Tynes from Kansas City for a conditional future draft choice . . . Broncos receiver David Kircus was ordered to stay away from the man he is accused of assaulting at a party and to return to court Friday, when charges are expected to be filed. Kircus, who resumed his NFL career last season after spending a year away from football working in a fast-food shop, is free on $6,000 bail. Sheriff's investigators said Kircus got into an argument when he was asked to leave a party early Sunday, hit a man and broke bones in his face.

Basketball

The Houston Rockets have hired Rick Adelman, 60, to replace Jeff Van Gundy, hoping the veteran NBA coach can break the team's recent history of postseason flops. Adelman has a 752-481 record in 16 seasons and his teams have made the playoffs 14 times . . . Ohio State's Greg Oden and Texas's Kevin Durant and a couple of defensive specialists -- Detroit's Tayshaun Prince and New Orleans's Tyson Chandler -- are set to join Team USA this summer. Managing director Jerry Colangelo will announce the roster today in Las Vegas, where the Americans will train and compete this summer in the FIBA Americas tournament . . . Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, who led Georgetown to its first Final Four since the 1980s, will announce today whether they will keep their names in the NBA draft . . . The Raptors re-signed NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell to a three-year contract with a team option for a fourth year . . . Deanna Nolan scored 21 points to lead Detroit Shock to an 85-75 victory over the visiting Minnesota Lynx and keep the defending WNBA champions perfect at 2-0 . . . Chamique Holdsclaw scored 18 points to lead the visiting Los Angeles Sparks past the Chicago Sky, 81-64 . . . Yolanda Griffith scored 11 points and the visiting Sacramento Monarchs dominated the boards (a staggering 25-5 advantage in offensive rebounds) to defeat the Washington Mystics, 70-52.

Golf

Michelle Wie accepted a sponsor's exemption to the John Deere Classic in July, renewing her quest to become the first woman to make the cut in a US PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945. Wie, 17, is scheduled to graduate from Punahou High School in Hawaii next month and hasn't played competitive golf since January. She hasn't advanced to weekend play in seven PGA Tour starts, missing the 36-hole cut six times and withdrawing from last year's John Deere Classic midway through the second round because of heat exhaustion . . . Annika Sorenstam, 36, will return to the LPGA Tour next week at a tournament she hosts in South Carolina after a two-month break recovering from a herniated disk in her back . . . Five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros withdrew from this week's Senior PGA Championship in Kiawah Island, S.C., for personal reasons. Ballesteros made his Champions Tour debut last week in Alabama, finishing tied for last after shooting 78-81-73 in the Regions Charity Classic.

Colleges

Louisiana State University plans to get another tiger to replace its recently deceased mascot, ignoring the objections of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Mike V, a Bengal tiger who was the school's mascot since 1990, died last week from kidney failure during surgery. Mike V, the fifth tiger mascot since 1936, spent the last 17 years in his trailer on the sidelines at LSU home football games and several basketball games . . . LSU backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, 20, has been suspended from the team indefinitely after he was cited for trying to use his older brother's driving license to illegally enter a riverboat casino in Baton Rouge . . . Frank Ostanik resigned as men's basketball coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, citing off-court incidents involving his players as one of the reasons. Six Nanooks were dismissed from the team last season: two were arrested, two violated team rules, and two were declared academically ineligible . . . Georgia (32-0) claimed its fifth NCAA men's tennis championship with a 4-0 victory over Illinois in Athens, Ga. In the evening matches, Georgia Tech rallied past UCLA to capture the women's championship, 4-2.

Miscellany

Bert Dietz and Christian Henn, former teammates of Jan Ullrich, admitted using banned performance-enhancing drugs with the assistance of two team doctors. Dietz, who rode for the Telekom (now T-Mobile) team between 1994 and 1998, said he was introduced to the use of the blood-boosting substance, EPO, by the two doctors, Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich. The doctors, who have denied being involved in doping, recently were suspended by the team . . . Former Villanova basketball star Howard Porter, now a probation officer for Ramsey County, Minn., was in the hospital after he was found severely beaten in a Minneapolis alley. Police said they had no suspects . . . Tenth-ranked Tommy Haas (right shoulder) and No. 11 Andy Murray (right wrist) withdrew from the French Open.