IN BRIEF

MOTOR SPORTS

Kyle Busch puts blame on Stewart for wreck

Kyle Busch hasn't mellowed after his last-lap accident Saturday at Daytona that sent him into the wall and then the infield care center -- even as points leader Tony Stewart says all is fine between the two former teammates.

Busch claimed Stewart "dumped him," or, caused him to wreck, and questioned if drivers should be allowed to win if they cause an accident that lets them take the lead.

"I think NASCAR can take a step in looking at it, and if the second-place driver bumps the leader, then black-flag (him)," Busch said Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. "He doesn't get the win."

At Daytona, Busch took the lead on the next-to-last lap and tried to fend off Stewart. He successfully blocked Stewart once, but when he tried to do it again, Stewart hooked Busch's right-rear fender, sending Busch into the wall a few hundred yards from the finish. Stewart won the race.

Stewart called the accident a part of racing and said the two were on the same page after talking this week. He declined to address Busch's comments Thursday.

Also: Brian Vickers won his fifth pole of the season, running a lap of 184.162 mph at Chicagoland Speedway for Saturday's Lifelock.com 400.

Red Bull Racing teammate Scott Speed qualified second at 182.958, followed by Jimmie Johnson at 182.217.

Unable to find funding since his suspension for failing a random drug test, NASCAR's Jeremy Mayfield said he is considering selling his race team.

Mayfield told ESPN he had a meeting scheduled with a potential buyer Monday when NASCAR summoned him for a drug test. It was the first indication he might not bring back Mayfield Motorsports to the track.

HOCKEY

Battered Sakic, 40, says goodbye to Avs, NHL

Joe Sakic, the longtime Colorado Avalanche captain, officially ended his standout 20-year career with a news conference in Denver that was packed with family, friends, teammates and even the governor of the state.

Sakic, 40, had hoped to play one more season, possibly culminating his career by suiting up for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But his body simply wouldn't allow it.

Sakic missed most of the 2008-09 season with an aching back that required surgery to repair a herniated disk. He tried to make his way back onto the ice before the end of the season but couldn't.

"I didn't think I could be the player I wanted to be," said Sakic, the face of the franchise since the team moved to Denver in 1995. "I always said to myself that the minute I thought I'd slipped, and not be the player I wanted to be, it was time for me to go."

Also: The NHL is accusing Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes of trying to derail the sale of the team to a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf by filing a flurry of requests for depositions before the July 24 deadline for formal submission of the bid.

Reinsdorf, owner of baseball's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls, plans to submit a $148 million offer to buy the team and keep it in Glendale, Ariz., where it has lost more than $30 million in each of the last three seasons.

Jiri Hudler's contract with Dynamo Moscow was filed with the Continental Hockey League.

Hudler's two-year deal could be worth up to $5 million per season, according to the Detroit Free Press. Hudler made $1.15 million with the Red Wings last season and reportedly rejected a Detroit offer of $3 million for up to five years.

Defenseman Rob Blake re-signed with the San Jose Sharks, getting a one-year contract. Financial details weren't announced. The 39-year-old has played 18 years in the NHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a standard, three-year rookie contract. He was the second overall pick in June's entry draft.

FOOTBALL

Judge halts suspension of Vikings' Williamses

A Minneapolis judge blocked the NFL's plan to suspend Minnesota Vikings defensive linemen Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for violating the league's anti-doping policy, a move that should let them start the season with camp beginning in three weeks.

Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson granted the players' request for a temporary restraining order that keeps the NFL from suspending them until their case is decided. The order also prohibits the league from subjecting them to extra drug testing.

The Williamses "would suffer a significant loss of playing time" without the restraining order, the judge wrote, and they have shown "some likelihood" of winning their lawsuit.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the court order "effectively exempts" the Williamses from the league's collective bargaining agreement.

Also: Former NFL star Bruce Smith was convicted of drunken driving in Virginia Beach, Va., by a judge who rejected his claim that old football injuries, not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests. Smith appealed the verdict, and a hearing was scheduled for Aug. 27.

Smith, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 7, also was convicted of speeding and refusing to take an alcohol breath test. He received a 90-day suspended jail term, was fined $350 and had his driver's license suspended for a year.

Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in Franklin, Tenn., and will be on probation for three months. He also is required to perform 25 hours of community service, make a $5,000 charitable contribution and attend driving school.

The Arizona Cardinals signed third-round draft pick Rashad Johnson, a safety from Alabama, to a three-year contract. Two Arizona draft picks -- running back Beanie Wells (first round) and linebacker Cody Brown (second) -- remain unsigned.

MISCELLANEOUS

Janzen fires 64, shares lead in PGA Tour event

Lee Janzen and Darron Stiles were tied for the first-round lead at 7-under-par 64 in the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Ill.

Janzen, 44, has not won on the PGA Tour since he captured his second U.S. Open in 1998. He was at 8 under after birdies on the 16th and 17th holes and played bogey-free golf until the 18th.

J.J. Henry, Matt Bettencourt and Dean Wilson were one stroke off the lead.

Also: Australian Richard Green shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Scottish Open in Luss, Scotland. Four players were at 65, and Adam Scott shot 66.

Showtime is putting the final touches on a six-man super middleweight round-robin tournament that will include two current champions and three former U.S. Olympians.

The tournament is expected to include WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, WBC champ Carl Froch and IBF middleweight titleholder Arthur Abraham. The three Europeans will be joined by former U.S. Olympians Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick's epic Wimbledon final Sunday was the most-viewed men's final at the All England Club in 10 years.

NBC said an average of 5.71 million people tuned in to watch Federer win his record-setting 15th Grand Slam title.