Byron gives NASCAR latest surprise winner
William Byron continued the 2021 trend of races being won by unlikely drivers with a victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.
The victory was just the second of Byron’s 111-start Cup career. It gave the Hendrick Motorsports driver just his 10th career top-five finish.
His first victory came last year in the Daytona summer race, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August. He led a race-best 102 of 267 laps.
The win comes a week after Christopher Bell got his first-ever Cup victory at the Daytona International Speedway infield road course and two weeks after Michael McDowell earned his first Cup victory by winning the Daytona 500.
Second at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval was Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing, who was 2.77 seconds back. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. was third.
The difference between the first two stages and the final stage of the race was night and day, literally. As the heat, sun and humidity of the day was replaced by darkness and cooler temperatures, the running order was significantly shuffled.
Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski was fastest early in the race as he led 47 laps in the 80-lap Stage 1. And while he stayed competitive, he wound up 16th.
Chris Buescher of Roush Fenway Racing dominated the mid portion of the race as he led 57 laps — 24 more than he led in all of 2020. But once the sun went down, he sunk well back into the field and finished 19th.
Football NFL VETERAN, BROADCASTER IRV CROSS DIES >>
Irv Cross, a key member of “The NFL Today” and CBS Sports for more than two decades following a career as a player and coach, died Sunday near his home in Roseville, Minn. He was 81.
Previously diagnosed with mild cognitive dementia, Cross told the Philadelphia Inquirer two years ago that he intended to donate his brain to Boston University researchers so they could study it for CTE, the brain
disease that has plagued many former NFL players. It has been linked to concussions and repeated blows to the head.
Cross played for Ara Parseghian at Northwestern from 1958-1960 then was drafted in the seventh round by the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent six years with the Eagles and three with the Los Angeles Rams.
In 1971 Cross was hired by CBS Sports as a game analyst. Four years later, CBS took a gamble putting together Cross, Brent Musburger, Phyllis George and Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder for what would become a legendary pregame show. Cross became the first Black network sports show anchor, on what became the first live pregame show.
Tennis GOFFIN ENDS TITLE DROUGHT WITH MONTPELLIER CROWN >>
Belgian David Goffin fought back from a set down to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier for his first ATP title in more than three years. Goffin got off to a poor start when he lost a tight opening set to the top seed. He regained focus to dominate the contest thereafter.
Soccer
ORLANDO CITY, MLS TERMINATE SUAREZ’S CONTRACT >> Orlando City SC and Major League Soccer have terminated defender Jonathan Suarez’s contract following his arrest on sexual battery charges.
Suarez, 24, mutually agreed to the termination “in order to focus on the allegations made against him,” according to a statement released by the team on Sunday. The league suspended Suarez indefinitely on Wednesday following his arrest in central Florida on Tuesday.
According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Suarez and his brother, Rafael Suarez Jr., were being held without bond after a woman reported that the men sexually attacked her on Feb. 21.
Boxing ALVAREZ STOPS YILDIRIM TO RETAIN SUPER-MIDDLEWEIGHT BELTS >>
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez outclassed Avni Yildirim and retained his world super-middleweight titles with a technical knockout after Yildirim failed to answer the bell for the fourth round late Saturday night in Miami Gardens, Fla. Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 KOs) successfully defended his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association belts.
Alex Ovechkin broke a secondperiod tie and the streaking Washington Capitals beat the skidding New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Sunday.
Iyla Samsonov made 19 saves in helping Washington win its third straight game and sixth of eight (6-1-1). Nicklas Backstrom and Jakub Vrana also scored as the Caps swept a weekend series at the Prudential Center.
Ovechkin, who had only one goal in his past eight games, snapped a 2-all tie at 13:37, beating Blackwood with a wrist shot from between the circles.
BLACKHAWKS 7, RED WINGS 2 >> Patrick Kane tallied his 400th career goal, Ryan Carpenter scored twice and Kevin Lankinen made a career-high 44 saves to highlight Chicago’s win.
BRUINS 4, RANGERS 1 >> Charlie Coyle scored twice, Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak added two assists as Boston snapped a two-game skid.
Tuukka Rask made 20 saves and earned his 299th NHL victory.
FLYERS3,SABRES0>> Carter Hart stopped 28 shots and Philadelphia blanked Buffalo for a second consecutive day.
Sean Couturier and Michael Raffl broke the game open by scoring 75 seconds apart early in the second period as the Flyers won their third in a row.
Hart followed Brian Elliott’s 23save shutout in a 3-0 win at Buffalo on Saturday.
PREDATORS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1 >> Nick Cousins, Eeli Tolvanen and Erik Haula scored and Juuse Saros made 28 saves to lead Nashville, which has won four of five.
Columbus has lost five straight.
ISLANDERS 2, PENGUINS 0 >> Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored power-play goals as New York beat Pittsburgh to finish a strong February.
The Islanders went 8-2-2 in the month, with all four losses coming against the Penguins.