SPORTS digest

Harding playoff tickets

WARREN

Tickets for Warren Harding’s home playoff game on Friday against Garfield Heights will go on sale starting on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Harding ticket office. The ticket office is open from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Adult and student pre-sale tickets are $8 and they are $9 the night of the game.

Logano booed as he takes playoff race

MARTINSVILLE, VA.

Joey Logano earned a shot at NASCAR’s Cup title by using an old fashioned bump-and-run on Martin Truex Jr. to win at Martinsville Speedway. Truex slid sideways across the finish line and promptly declared Logano won’t take his title from him this year.

Logano won Sunday’s opening race to the third round of the playoffs by using the bumper on his Ford to shove Truex out of his way on the final lap. The contact caused both cars to wiggle, but Truex’s slide was nearly sideways while Logano corrected after a swerve and straightened himself out as hurtled across the finish line.

Eight drivers started the day vying for the four spots in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Now one of the slots is gone, to Logano of Team Penske, and NASCAR’s so-called “Big 3” is still trying to lock down a berth. Truex, along with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, dominated the regular season and as a trio were expected to make it to Miami to race for the winner-take-all title.

Instead, Truex wound up third and was among the fans jeering Logano as he was interviewed post-race on the address system.

Hamilton takes fourth, wins Formula One title,

MEXICO CITY

Lewis Hamilton won his fifth career Formula One championship with a fourth-place finish Sunday at the Mexican Grand Prix, a race dominated by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Hamilton’s season championship was all but assured, and after brief bid for the lead off the start and a scary run off the track late, he finished off the title with a drive further into the F1 record books. The British driver is now tied with the late Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina for second most in F1 history. Only Germany’s Michael Schumacher has more with seven.

The 33-year-old Hamilton won titles with McLaren in 2008 and with Mercedes in 2014, 2015 and 2017. He also clinched last season’s title in Mexico City.

Leicester City owner dies in helicopter crash

LEICESTER, ENGLAND

The Thai billionaire owner of English Premier League team Leicester City was among five people who died after his helicopter crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off from the soccer field, the club said Sunday.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a 60-year-old entrepreneur who owns Thai duty-free retail giant King Power, bankrolled Leicester’s improbable league title triumph in 2016.

Two members of Vichai’s staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, also died along with pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

Vichai bought Leicester for 39 million pounds ($50 million) in 2010 when it was in the second-tier Championship and funded the revival that peaked with the 5,000-1 outsiders producing one of the greatest upsets in sports by winning the title.

Thai cave boys watch Man. United game

MANCHESTER, England

The 12 boys who were trapped with their soccer coach in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for almost three weeks were guests at Old Trafford for Manchester United’s home match against Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

Wearing red-and-white United scarves and with a look of excitement on their faces, the boys from the Wild Boars team took their seats in the directors’ box for the game.

They met United manager Jose Mourinho on Saturday.

The boys’ ordeal came to a happy ending in early July when an international team of cave divers brought them out in a complicated rescue mission.

Staff/wire report