AREA

AREA

Sharon Speedway

HARTFORD — Sharon Speedway is set to play host to back-to-back nights of festivities as part of the "Bill Kirila Memorial" this weekend.

The action will kick off on Friday with a car cruise in from 6-9 p.m., and then the FANtastic Five Divisions will take to the 3⁄8-mile dirt oval on Saturday as part of Midseason Championships night.

Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m.

Call (330) 772-5481 or visit www.sharonspeedway.com for information.

Tri-City Speedway

FRANKLIN, Pa. —Dale Blaney won the O’Reilly All-Star Circuit of Champions on Tuesday night at Tri-City Speedway.

In other action, Guy Griffin (Limited Sprints) and Jeff Manners (Thundercars) scored feature wins on The Freedom Fifty Night at the Venango County half-mile oval.

Taking the lead with five laps to go, Blaney won his fifth All Star race of 2007 in the non-stop 30-lap A main.

Driving George Fisher’s Berlin Natural Bakery⁄Kemp Insurance Agency Schnee No. 2, Blaney earned $5,000 for his fourth career win at Tri-City. He last win at the track came in a surprise Sunday appearance in May, 2001.

“We’ve watched a lot of races over the years here at Tri-City,” said Blaney, whose father, Lou, has 53 career wins in the Super Sprints and DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds at the track.

“We’ve had pretty good success here. I just wish that tonight’s win was last week.”

Blaney won three out of seven races last week during the 25th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. He lost out on a $50,000 bonus when he failed to win Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.

NATION

A-Rod may sit out
all-star game

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez may be watching from the dugout for the next few games. Rodriguez said after Sunday’s game that the left hamstring strain he suffered Monday night has not improved, and that he will discuss with Manager Joe Torre on Thursday how best to proceed.

Asked if he might sit out some games, Rodriguez said: “Anything’s possible right now.”

Rodriguez is in an 0-for-19 slump, his longest of the season. And he admitted that the hamstring is bothering him.

“Some,” Rodriguez said Wednesday after an 0-for-4 day. “I’m going to have to sit down with Joe and evaluate how we handle it going into the break.”

Rodriguez’s leg had a giant wrap around it that went nearly from his hip to his knee. And that was after a game in which he was the designated hitter rather than the third baseman.

If Rodriguez can’t play, the Yankees will miss their top offensive player. Rodriguez is batting .314 with a major-league best 28 home runs and 80 RBIs. Yet he is hitless in his last five games to drop his average from .334 to .314.

For Rodriguez even to contemplate sitting out for multiple games, the pain must be severe. Rodriguez has played in 154-plus games each season since 2001, and has played 162 games three of those years. He has been on the disabled list four times in his career, but not since 2000. He missed 15 days in 1996 with a pulled left hamstring, 15 days in 1997 with a deep chest bruise, nearly six weeks in 1999 with torn left knee cartilage that required surgery.

WORLD

U.S. makes its debut
in football event

TOKYO (AP) — The United States should have a big advantage in this World Cup.

The United States will make its debut in the 2007 American Football World Cup, sending a team of college players to compete in the July 7-15 championship in Kawasaki.

Japan, the host, is the two-time defending champion. Germany, South Korea, France and current European champion Sweden are the other teams taking part.

The U.S. team will be made up of players from Division I, II and III colleges and will be coached by John Mackovic, the former Kansas City Chiefs coach who has also spent many years in the college game.

“I have always wanted to spread the game of football around the world,” Mackovic said on USA Football’s Web site. “We welcome the chance to play against other countries in a true world championship.”

Japan meets France in the opening game in Kawasaki on July 7, and the United States will face South Korea on July 10 and take on Germany two days later.

Vindicator staff⁄wire reports