CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi shut down Dario Franchitti’s race team Tuesday because of a lack of sponsorship, putting the former IndyCar Series champion’s future in doubt.
Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion, has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi’s No. 40 Dodge. He ranks 41st in the driver standings, failed to qualify for races in Texas and Sonoma, Calif., and missed five with a broken ankle he suffered in a Nationwide Series crash at Talladega, Ala.
• Dale Earnhardt Inc. will use Aric Almirola full time next season in a promotion that will free Mark Martin to move to Hendrick Motorsports next season.
Jurevicius has knee surgery.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius had his second knee surgery since January. The team said no determination has been made on his status for training camp, which opens July 23.
• A judge has declared a mistrial in the assault case of former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry.
An eight-person jury in Cincinnati told the judge they were unable to agree on a verdict. Gregory Meyer, 18, accused Henry of punching him in the face in March. Henry said he was acting in self-defense. A hearing was set for July 8.
• The New England Patriots released defensive back Willie Andrews a day after he was arrested for allegedly pointing a handgun at his girlfriend’s head.
Hammon sparks Silver Stars
SAN ANTONIO — Former Colorado State star Becky Hammon scored 19 points, including 10 in overtime, to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 79-72 overtime win over the Detroit Shock.
In other WNBA games, the Connecticut Sun overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Houston Comets 78-68; the New York Liberty rallied for an 89-78 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks; the Phoenix Mercury kept the Atlanta Dream winless with a 97-79 triumph; the Sacramento Monarchs held off the Washington Mystics 87-81; and the Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx 73-71.
Footnotes.
UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland, who has guided the Bruins to the Final Four each of the past three years, agreed to a new seven-year contract that runs through the 2014-15 season.
• John Pont, who guided Indiana to its only Rose Bowl appearance 40 years ago and also coached at Northwestern, Yale and Miami of Ohio, died in Oxford, Ohio, after fighting cancer. He was 80.
• Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez are the contenders for best male athlete, while Lorena Ochoa, Candace Parker, Danica Patrick and Lindsey Vonn are the finalists for best female athlete as the ESPY nominees were announced. The awards show will air July 20 on ESPN.
• Light flyweight Luis Yanez was kicked off the U.S. Olympic boxing team for skipping three weeks of residency training without getting permission or even telling USA Boxing where he was, national team coach Dan Campbell said.
• Danny White resigned as coach of the Utah Blaze on Monday — one day after the Arena Football League team lost to Colorado in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The Associated Press
