FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tony Stewart will start his 400th Sprint Cup race from the pole. Stewart won qualifying in NASCAR’s top series for the first time in five years Friday, turning a lap of 191.327 mph at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s been 155 races since Stewart last won the pole, at Martinsville in […]

BOSTON (AP) — The game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox was suspended because of rain with the score tied 1-1 after 8½ innings on Friday night. It was scheduled to resume before Saturday night’s scheduled game from the point it was suspended. Rain was forecast for all day Saturday. The Rays […]

BOSTON (AP) — Like Red Sox fans of yore, American marathon hopefuls pour through Kenmore Square every April thinking this could be their year to win the Boston Marathon. For the past 26 years, top contenders from Bob Kempainen to Alan Culpepper have lined up in Hopkinton on Patriots Day, hoping to claim the most […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Offensively challenged in the regular season, the Boston Bruins are facing similar questions after coming up with an all-too-familiar scoring dud in their playoff opener against Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres. So, what else is new? “Same old, same old,” coach Claude Julien said with a shrug of his shoulders […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Daisuke Matsuzaka pronounced himself ready to return to the Boston Red Sox rotation after throwing six scoreless innings in a minor-league rehab start. “I think I’ve thrown enough pitches at this point to be ready to pitch in the big leagues,” Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “When compared to the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — On a night in which the NHL’s two-time reigning MVP didn’t take a shot on goal, the Montreal Canadiens took advantage by upsetting the league’s top-seeded team in overtime. Tomas Plekanec scored 13:19 into the extra period Thursday as the eighth-seeded Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 and — even more amazingly […]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics sputtered down the stretch of the regular season. They were shaky at home all season. Through injuries and inconsistency, coach Doc Rivers guided his veteran group into the playoffs, but only as the fourth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. With the same starting five that won the NBA championship […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have a couple of health concerns in their starting outfield. Center fielder Mike Cameron and left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury will each be examined on Friday. Cameron was scratched from the lineup for Thursday’s game at Minnesota, and Ellsbury is still feeling discomfort from the collision that has sidelined […]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Francisco Liriano’s nickname as a rookie for Minnesota was “The Franchise,” reflecting his immediate success in 2006 before his elbow began to hurt. Four years later, the fortunes of the Twins could still be strongly tied to Liriano’s left arm. Liriano threw seven shutout innings, and the Twins took the first series […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ryan Miller made 38 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a playoff-opening 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Captain Craig Rivet scored the go-ahead goal with slap shot from the right circle with 6 minutes left in the second period, and Thomas Vanek also scored in Buffalo’s […]