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Sports in Brief

 
Published Aug. 20, 2014

AUTOS

sprint cup's Edwards joining Joe Gibbs team

Carl Edwards was introduced Tuesday as a fourth driver in the Joe Gibbs Racing Sprint Cup lineup at the team's Huntersville, N.C., headquarters. The move had been expected since at least May and intensified last month when Roush Fenway Racing said Edwards was not returning next season. Edwards, who has driven for Roush for 12 years, will join a new fourth Toyota team for Gibbs next season. Edwards is ninth in the Cup standings with two wins and will close out this season with Roush. Edwards hasn't been in contention for the Cup title since 2011, when he lost the title to Tony Stewart. Edwards will be reunited with former Roush teammate Matt Kenseth who has feuded with Edwards. Daniel Suarez will become the first full-time Mexican driver in NASCAR next season, running for Gibbs in the Nationwide and Truck series.

GIBBS ON STEWART: Owner Joe Gibbs is waiting for his former driver Tony Stewart to return before contacting him. Stewart has been in insolation since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. in an Aug. 8 dirt track race. "I didn't feel like it was the right time (to call him), but we're all praying for him," Gibbs said. Stewart drove for Gibbs from 1997-2008, then helped form Stewart-Haas Racing.

TRUCK SERIES: Leader Johnny Sauter (448 points) holds a nine-point lead over teammate Matt Crafton entering tonight's UNOH 200 at Bristol, Tenn. This event comes just four days after the series raced at Michigan.

NHL

Islanders owner reaches two-year sale agreement

The Islanders are selling a minority stake of the team, with former Capitals co-owner Jon Ledecky and London-based investor Scott Malkin to become full owners in two years. Current owner Charles Wang previously negotiated a deal with hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway for $420 million before backing out. Wang will continue as majority stockholder for two years, then ownership will transfer to the Ledecky-Malkin group. The sale must be approved by the league's board of governors.

SOCCER

Shorthanded Arsenal holds Turkish club to draw

Arsenal held on with 10 men to draw 0-0 at Istanbul club Besiktas in the Champions League playoff round, while Bayer Leverkusen is closer to the group stage after winning 3-2 at FC Copenhagen. Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey was sent off with 10 minutes left after being shown a second yellow card for tugging Oguzhan Ozyakup's shirt. In other matches, Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Napoli, host Salzburg beat Malmo 2-1 and Steaua Bucharest edged visiting Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad 1-0.

NORWAY CALLS UP TEEN: Martin Odegaard, 15, has been selected by Norway for their upcoming friendly against the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 27, making him the youngest-ever player on the Norwegian national team. A midfielder with Stromsgodset in Norway's top league, Odegaard has played on his nation's U-17 team.

ET CETERA

GOLF: Arnold Palmer was released from a Pittsburgh hospital and is back home in Latrobe, Pa., after having a pacemaker implanted to correct an irregular heartbeat. Palmer, 84, had the pacemaker installed Monday and remained for observation.

NBA: Referee Dick Bavetta, 74, is retiring after a 39-year career in which he never missed an assignment. Bavetta officiated a record 2,635 consecutive regular-season games starting Dec. 2, 1975. He also worked 270 playoff games, including 27 in the NBA Finals.

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BOXING: Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) will defend his WBA middleweight title against Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KOs) in Carson, Calif., on Oct. 18.

TENNIS: The Key Biscayne tournament most recently called The Sony Open will be renamed The Miami Open for five years, with Latin American bank Itau taking over from Sony as the March event's primary sponsor.

Times wires