Briscoe wins IRL pole at Watkins Glen

Scott Dixon went into the weekend insisting it wasn’t going to be easy to make it four consecutive Indy Racing League victories at Watkins Glen International. Looks as if he was right.

Ryan Briscoe gave Team Penske its fourth straight pole on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn circuit in upstate New York on Saturday, supplanting teammate Helio Castroneves, whose string of three in a row was ended by a broken throttle cable that sent him to the rear of the 26-car field for today’s race.

Justin Wilson, one of the nine drivers making the transition from the defunct Champ Car World Series to the newly unified IRL IndyCar Series, will start second.

Wilson appeared to have his first IndyCar pole wrapped up when he pitted after turning a lap of 1 minute 29.38 seconds.

But, as he sat in his car on pit road for the final moments of qualifying, Briscoe lapped the track at 1:29.34 to earn his second series pole and the 36th for Team Penske.

If Dixon is going to set an IndyCar record of four straight wins on the same track, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver is going to have to do it from the fourth starting spot.

Heikki Kovalainen won his first Formula One pole and will try for his first victory in the series in today’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England.

The McLaren driver had a fast lap of 1 minute 21.049 seconds, more than half a second faster than Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who also will be seeking his first win.

Defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen, last year’s British GP winner, was third fastest in his Ferrari ahead of Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, whose bid to take the pole was hampered when he skidded off the circuit at a left-hand bend.

Nick Joanides led all 100 laps of the NASCAR Auto Club Late Model Division race at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale on Friday night to win his second division race of the season.

In the feature, Jason Bowles took the lead from David Mayhew on Lap 129 and held on to win the California Highway Patrol 200 NASCAR Camping World Series West race.

BOXING

Sturm retains WBA middleweight title

Felix Sturm jabbed his way to a unanimous decision over American Randy Griffin at Halle, Germany, earning a fourth successful defense of his World Boxing Assn. middleweight title.

The German, whose victory comes 8 1/2 months after the two fought to a draw in October, repeatedly used his left jab from the opening seconds and won, 116-113, 116-112 and 118-110.

Sturm, who improved to 30-2 with one draw and 13 knockouts, took control in the fifth round. Griffin lost for the second time in 29 fights -- including three draws.

Recently retired welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. accused HBO’s announcers of bias against him and other black fighters.

Mayweather told the Grand Rapids Press in an interview Friday that the network “is great,” but criticized its boxing announcers.

“They talk about Kelly Pavlik, a white fighter, like he’s the second coming. Or they go crazy over Manny Pacquiao. But I’m a black fighter,” Mayweather said.

“Is it racial? Absolutely. They praise white fighters, they praise Hispanic fighters, whatever. But black fighters, they never praise.”

HOCKEY

15 players to take clubs to salary arbitration

Center Brooks Laich and defenseman Shaone Morrisonn of the Washington Capitals were among 15 players who elected to take their teams to salary arbitration, the NHL Players’ Assn. said.

The only other club to have two players go that route was the Minnesota Wild, which is set to have hearings with forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Stephane Veilleux.

The deadline for teams to decide to take players to salary arbitration is today. Hearings will be held July 20-Aug. 4.

SOCCER

Lloyd’s goal lifts U.S. over Sweden

Carli Lloyd scored on a deflected shot in the 39th minute to give the U.S. women’s team a 1-0 victory over Sweden in an Olympic tuneup game at Skellefta, Sweden.

Lloyd dribbled past three defenders inside the box, then fired a low left-footed shot that glanced off Sara Thunebro’s leg and past goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.

The victory was the United States’ 20th in a row this year.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United probably will sit out the start of the English Premier League season next month because of ankle surgery he’s having this week.