Ferris finishes sixth at qualifier

July 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Former Ohio State gymnast Ronald Ferris, 27, of Austintown, finished sixth at Saturday’s USA Gymnastics Men’s Summer Qualifier. More than 80 gymnasts competed.

In August, Ferris will compete for one of the top 16 spots in at the U.S. Visa Championships which make up the U.S. Senior Men’s Team.

An employee at the Ohio Gymnastics Institute, Ferris was 2005 NCAA national champion and five-time NCAA All American. He retired from competitive gymnastics in 2005 then returned in April 2010 in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Bolland captures Speedway race

Hartford

Kevin Bolland won the Governor Insurance Agency Big-Block Modifieds race on Saturday at Sharon Speedway.

Other winners were: Josh Double, Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models; Joel Watson, Ainsley 500 Heating & Cooling E-Mods; Mike Clark, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars; and Bill Fuchs, Presidential Lawn Care Mini Stocks.

Franchitti wins again in Toronto

TORONTO

Dario Franchitti avoided multiple crashes and a drive-through penalty to win his third title at the Honda Indy Toronto and add to his lead in the IndyCar points standings.

The Scot held off Graham Rahal on a late restart, then beat teammate Scott Dixon on the 1.75-mile temporary street course at Exhibition Place.

Franchitti caught a break when his team successfully appealed the penalty he received for nudging rival Will Power into a spin that stalled the pole-sitter’s car on the 57th lap. Franchitti kept going, while the defending race winner had to try to recover from 18th.

Ryan Hunter-Reay finished third. Marco Andretti, the winner in Iowa 15 days earlier, was fourth and Vitor Meira finished a season-high fifth.

Shock routed in Edwards’ debut

PHOENIX

Penny Taylor scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half as the Phoenix Mercury built a big halftime lead and routed Tulsa 102-63 in Teresa Edwards’ debut as interim coach.

Edwards took over from Nolan Richardson, who resigned after the Shock’s loss to Phoenix on Friday night that gave Tulsa a WNBA-worst 1-10 record on the season.

Diana Taurasi added 12 points and six assists for Phoenix (8-4), which has won four straight and eight of its last nine to move into first place in the Western Conference by percentage points. The rout was on early in this one as the Mercury built a 32-point halftime lead.

Tiffany Jackson led the Shock (1-11) with 19 points, and rookie Elizabeth Cambage added 15 points.

Beckham, Donovan headline MLS stars

NEW YORK

David Beckham and Landon Donovan led four Los Angeles Galaxy players onto the MLS All-Star game roster for the second straight year, and Thierry Henry was among three New York Red Bulls selected.

The league announced the results of the voting by fans on Sunday for the July 27 game against English Premier League champion Manchester United at Red Bull Arena.

Seattle goalie Kasey Keller also was chosen and the defenders will be Sean Franklin and Omar Gonzalez of Los Angeles; Rafa Marquez and Tim Ream of New York; and Matt Besler of Kansas City.

Portland’s Jack Jewsbury and Dallas Brek Shea joined Beckham at midfield, and San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski will be up front with Henry and Donovan, who tied Eddie Pope for the most All-Star selections with 11. MLS Commissioner Don Garber will make two picks Saturday and the complete roster will be announced July 18.

Staff/wire reports