Sports in Brief
Published 11:01 am Friday, November 15, 2013
Motor sports
Edwards takes Texas pole — Jimmie Johnson qualified third for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas, one row ahead of Matt Kenseth. Johnson and Kenseth are tied for the points lead going into Sunday’s race in Fort Worth. Carl Edwards starts on the pole after a qualifying lap of 196.114 mph on Friday. Edwards earned his first pole at Texas, where he is the only three-time Cup winner. Brad Keselowski starts on the front row after a fast lap of 196.100 mph, just ahead of Johnson’s 195.943 mph. Kenseth qualified sixth. Jeff Gordon starts eighth, the same as he did in April at the track before finishing 38th because of a suspension problem. He is third in points, 27 behind Johnson and Kenseth.
Horse racing
Beholder wins Breeders’ Cup Distaff — A wily older jockey and a whip-smart filly named Beholder teamed up to win the $2 million Distaff by 4 ¼ lengths Friday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., spoiling Royal Delta’s bid for a third straight victory at the Breeders’ Cup. Sent off as the third betting choice, Beholder relaxed while running third down the backstretch before moving up to wrest the lead from pacesetter Authenticity and going on to the easy victory under Gary Stevens. Royal Delta and jockey Mike Smith finished fourth as the 7-5 favorite in the Distaff.
Baseball
Jeter signs with Yankees — Derek Jeter and the Yankees worked out a $12 million, one-year deal that kept the captain from going on the open market, while Joe Nathan, Jose Veras, Ubaldo Jimenez, Kurt Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez were among the players who became free agents Friday. The Mets declined their option on injured pitcher Johan Santana, while Boston exercised its option on pitcher Jon Lester. Toronto exercised options on closer Casey Janssen, first baseman Adam Lind and infielder Mark DeRosa and declined an option on infielder Munenori Kawasaki. Seattle declined a $7.5 million option on Gutierrez and a $7.9 million option on left-hander Joe Saunders. Each get $500,000 buyouts.
— From wire reports