Tracy Extends Contract With Forsythe

(HOUSTON) - Paul Tracy announced a five-year contract extension with Forsythe Racing on Thursday, renewing his commitment to the Champ Car World Series.

Tracy, 37, is the circuit's active leader in starts (237), victories (30) and podium finishes (69), but he's also raced on the NASCAR Busch Series and the Grand Am circuit in recent months.

Tracy, who won the 2003 points title in his first year with Forsythe, will race this week in the Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston. He's flirted with the idea of moving to NASCAR full-time, but said he's always preferred open-wheel, road-course racing.

Junqueira Gets Provisional Pole in Houston

(HOUSTON) - Bruno Junqueira didn't have the fastest qualifying lap Thursday night, but he did win the provisional pole for Saturday's Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston.

The 29-year-old Junqueira took the top spot in qualifying after Sebastien Bourdais, his Newman/Haas teammate and a two-time series champion, was disqualified when his Ford-Cosworth-powered Lola failed a technical inspection by Champ Car officials late Thursday night.

Bourdais had the fastest lap of provisional qualifying, rounding the 1.69-mile road course at Reliant Park in 102.927 mph. The violation disallowed his time, though, dropping him to the back of the first-day grid.

Hughes Leaves Cavs After Brother's Death

(CLEVELAND – AP) - Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes left the team Thursday to be with his family in St. Louis following the death of his brother.Justin Hughes, 20, died early Thursday, Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement.

Justin Hughes was born with a heart defect and had a heart transplant 10 years ago.

No timetable has been set on Larry Hughes' return to the Cavaliers.

Cleveland trails Detroit 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 3 is Saturday at Cleveland.

"Right now, basketball should be the furthest thing from his mind," teammate Damon Jones said. "He has to be there for his family.

Ueno Finishes Tenth at NCAA Division III Golf Championships

(HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, FL) - Willamette University freshman Whitney Ueno shot a final round 77 to finish in tenth place at the NCAA Division III Women`s Golf Championships Friday at the Mission Inn Golf Course near Orlando.

Ueno played the first 13 holes even par, then bogeyed four of the final five holes to finish at +4. Overall, Ueno finished +30 and a four-round score of 322. After opening the tournament with a 92 and sitting in 46th place, Ueno rebounded to shoot three rounds under 80, one of the only players in the tournament to have three sub-80 rounds.

�Whitney played just great today,� said Coach Tom Hibbard. �On the front nine, she hit almost every green in regulation and had a lot of easy two-putts for par. She got some tough breaks on the final few holes, but she played out of trouble well. Her big putt was a 12-footer for par on the 17th hole. Overall, Whitney played very, very well in her first major collegiate tournament.�

Ueno's 77 Friday was the second lowest score of the day.

Ueno again played the back nine first in the final round. She bogeyed the 13th hole (her fourth hole of the day), but rebounded with birdie on the Par-5 17th to make the turn at even par.

Oregon State Junior Ta'Tyana McElroy Earns COSIDA/ESPN Academic First Team All-District 8 Honors

Sophomore Cambria Miranda is a second team selection.

(CORVALLIS) - Oregon State junior pitcher Ta`Tyana McElroy earned first team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 honors and sophomore utility player Cambria Miranda earned second team honors on Friday.

McElroy boasts a 14-6 overall record and has pitched the Beavers to victory against four teams ranked nationally in the Top 25. She won 12 consecutive games in the circle during Oregon State`s school record 28-game winning streak. A native of Los Angeles, McElroy holds a 3.35 GPA as a Business Administration major.

Miranda, from Camarillo, CA, is batting .325 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 46 runs scored. She was named USA Softball National Player of the Week...

Kasey Kahne Wins Darlington Pole – Again

(DARLINGTON, S.C.) - Kasey Kahne qualified fastest for the Dodge Charger 500 on Friday, his third pole in the past four events at Darlington Raceway.Kahne's Dodge sped through the egg-shaped layout with a speed of 169.013 mph, edging Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer for the top spot.

Kahne was fastest here at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 as a rookie in 2004. He also was quickest at Darlington last spring for the raceway's initial Mother's Day weekend race. The only Darlington pole he didn't get was for the final Southern 500 in November 2004 when rain wiped out qualifying.

"It's fun to qualify at Darlington, especially when you end up in front," Kahne said.

The Dodge Charger 500 is Saturday night.

Major League Baseball's Official Youth Skills Competition Comes to Volcanoes Stadium

(KEIZER) - The National Pepsi Pitch Hit and Run Competition will be held at the Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer Saturday, May 13th at 3:00 PM.

This event, The Official Skills Competition of Major League Baseball, is open to all boys and girls ages 7 to 14 (age is determined as of July 17, 2006).

The competition provides youngsters an opportunity to participate in an exciting skills competition; Pitching for accuracy, Hitting for distance and accuracy and Running for speed.

No. 9 Arizona State Softball Tops No. 7 Oregon State, 9-2

(TEMPE, AZ) - No. 9 ranked Arizona State used a six-run third inning to earn a 9-2 victory over No. 7 ranked Oregon State in Thursday`s Pacific-10 Conference softball night-cap.

The Sun Devil victory broke a four-game Beaver winning streak in Tempe.

Oregon State (38-11; 10-8 Pac-10) took an early 1-0 lead after senior Lisa Allen lofted her 32nd career home run over the right field wall in the second inning, but Arizona State (44-13; 8-10 Pac-10) answered with an unearned run to tie things up in the bottom of the frame.

Wade's 31 Leads Heat Over Nets 111-89

(MIAMI) - Siovaughn Wade doesn't necessarily enjoy when her husband leaves home for a late-night workout. "Actually, she hates it," Dwyane Wade said.

If those sessions always equate into this kind of result, well, she'll probably learn to handle it.

Wade — who was practicing with Shaquille O'Neal into the wee hours of Wednesday morning — scored 17 of his 31 points in the first quarter, sparking the Miami Heat to a huge early lead that they rode to a 111-89 victory over the New Jersey Nets in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

O'Neal added 21 points for Miami, which outscored New Jersey 25-4 in the game's first 5:49 and never looked back, ensuring that it wouldn't suffer the ignominy of losing the first two games of a series at home.