Times wires
Monday, February 28, 2011
Autos
bayne enjoys a happy homecoming
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One fan asked Trevor Bayne if he was married (he's not). Another wanted to know what his favorite Bible verse is (it's Ecclesiastes 7:14, which reminds him that good times and bad times are part of God's plan). The Daytona 500 winner grinned as he answered each question and remarked how good it was to be home.
Bayne returned to Knoxville on Monday for the first time since winning the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20 for a rally sponsored by the city and Bristol Motor Speedway.
"It still hasn't hit me all the way yet," the 20-year-old said of his victory. "This is the first day that I've had a couple of hours just to kind of take it in. I haven't gotten to go back and watch it yet. I think the first time I get to watch the whole race through and see everything that happened, it's going to sink in a little."
Tennis
Agassi, Sampras joke about past tension
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi traded good-natured barbs before Sampras won an exhibition 6-3, 7-5 at Madison Square Garden.
After some tension at a charity match last year, Agassi was asked Monday about the state of his relationship with Sampras. "Strictly platonic," Agassi said.
"That's the nicest thing you've said about me in two years," Sampras said jokingly.
"We've straightened it out," Agassi, 40, said of the tension, which he took the blame for causing when he mocked Sampras, 39, for being stingy.
"In my eyes, it's over," Sampras said. "He's apologized."
In the opening exhibition, John McEnroe, 52, played old adversary Ivan Lendl, 50. McEnroe twisted his ankle while practicing with Sampras a couple of hours before the match and retired leading 6-3 in the one-set, first-to-eight event.
Afterward, McEnroe revealed he was wearing circa 1984 short shorts underneath his longer, modern ones. Lendl then offered to play next time "in short shorts, with wooden rackets."
Davis cup: Sam Querrey will miss the United States' first-round match at Chile this weekend because of a right rotator cuff injury. Querrey is No. 24 in the ATP rankings. No. 8 Andy Roddick, No. 32 John Isner and the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan will represent the United States on an outdoor clay court at Santiago beginning Friday.
ET CETERA
Football: Running back Ahman Green agreed to play for the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes when the CFL season begins in June. Green, 34, played in the NFL from 1998 to 2009 and is the Packers' all-time leading rusher. He played last season for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League and hopes to get back into the NFL.
Broadcasting: Longtime NFL announcer Pat Summerall, 80, will receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting. The former NFL kicker and tight end with the New York Giants and Chicago Cardinals will be honored May 2 in New York. Summerall's broadcasting career spanned six decades, mostly with John Madden on NFL games.
Winter sports: Marit Bjoergen of Norway captured her third gold medal at the Nordic world championships in Oslo, Norway, and the U.S. men finished fourth in the combined team event won by Austria. The American team featured Olympic champion Billy Demong and two-time world champion Todd Lodwick. … World Cup overall champ Carlo Janka had surgery Wednesday to correct an irregular heartbeat and hopes to ski Saturday in a giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Times wires