MOTOR SPORTS

Newgarden wins again at Barber Motorsports Park — Josef Newgarden has won at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, for the third time in four years. Newgarden led virtually the entire way after starting the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on the pole in a dominant performance that gave him his second win in the first four races this season. Heavy rains Sunday forced IndyCar to run the final 1 hour, 15 minutes of the timed race Monday. Newgarden finished with a 10-second advantage over two-time race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, followed by James Hinchcliffe, rookie Robert Wickens and Sebastien Bourdais. It was the sixth win in nine years in Alabama for Team Penske.

BASEBALL

White Sox pitcher ‘progressing well’ after surgery — Danny Farquhar was talking to his doctors and family Monday after surgery over the weekend to address a ruptured aneurysm that occurred during Friday night’s game between the relief pitcher’s Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros. Farquhar, a married father of three children, remains in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The team announced Monday that the 31-year-old is expected to remain hospitalized for the next few weeks. Farquhar passed out in the sixth inning Friday after getting two outs. He had surgery Saturday to address the aneurysm, and the White Sox reported Monday that his medical team felt he was “progressing well.” He has use of his extremities and is responding to questions and commands, according to the team.

SOCCER

FIFA to meet on two lucrative tournaments — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for an emergency meeting of the leading officials in international soccer to address a $25 billion rights offer from an investment group that could radically change some of the biggest competitions in the sport. In a lengthy letter sent to members of the governing FIFA Council last week, Infantino called for a special meeting with leaders of soccer’s six regional bodies as soon as this week to discuss new details of the offer for control of a new quadrennial 24-team club tournament along the lines of the World Cup, FIFA’s $5 billion cash cow, and a proposed league for national teams. The New York Times first reported details of Infantino’s secret talks with the group of international investors April 9. Infantino disclosed the negotiations to FIFA’s board at a fractious meeting last month in Bogotá, Colombia. Officials have so far blocked Infantino from moving ahead with a deal that he said had to be signed within 60 days, in part because he declined to identify the members of the international consortium, citing a nondisclosure agreement, and also because they are concerned the event could compete with existing tournaments.

New scrutiny for Morocco’s World Cup bid — Morocco’s World Cup bid is facing fresh scrutiny this week with the arrival of another delegation from FIFA after an initial task force found deficiencies in the proposals for the 2026 tournament. In a downbeat conclusion to the visit by the inspectors last week, Morocco’s bid leader acknowledged it had to improve the quality of the submission made to FIFA in March because inadequacies were identified by soccer’s governing body. The previously unplanned second inspection of Morocco is an indication of the more rigorous process introduced by FIFA following criticism in 2010 that World Cups were awarded to the riskiest nations in 2018 (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar). There will also be closer scrutiny of human rights of the bidders before the vote on June 13 when Morocco is currently due to be taking on a joint challenge from the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FOOTBALL

49ers John Lynch weighs in on Reuben Foster — Reuben Foster’s status with the San Francisco 49ers remains in jeopardy, and general manager John Lynch finally outlined why the 23-year-old linebacker is still around despite three felony charges including a domestic violence allegation. “I do want to be very clear, abundantly clear, if these charges are proven true, if Reuben did indeed hit this young lady, he won’t be a part of our organization going forward,” Lynch said Monday in his first remarks since Foster was arraigned April 12 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Foster has an April 30 court date to either make a plea or, more likely, seek to push that to a later date. He is charged with domestic violence with an allegation that he inflicted great bodily injury against his live-in girlfriend, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, and possession of an assault weapon.

— From wire reports