Kyle gains grudging respect

Kyle Busch took another sarcastic bow in victory lane Sunday and got his customary chorus of boos after making Dover a boring race," says DetNews.com.

"After four Cup wins, four more in the Nationwide series and two in the Craftsman truck series, I think the guy may be powered by spite he draws directly from the resentment that radiates from NASCAR grandstands.

"Like him or not, we are going to have to give him his due. Kyle Busch is having an amazing season."

The 23-year-old phenom out of Durango High School won Sunday at Dover, Del., and padded his lead in the Cup standings. He might have added wins in the truck and Nationwide series races there had his Toyotas not developed mechanical problems.

And this week he could get booed after four races when he tries for a unique NASCAR triple play after competing tonight in Tony Stewart's dirt late models charity race at Rossburg, Ohio.

Busch's agenda: race in the truck series Friday at Fort Worth, Texas; the Nationwide series Saturday near Nashville, Tenn.; and Sunday in the Cup race at Pocono, Pa.

He could be the first NASCAR driver to compete in each national series at tracks in three states.

• BIG UNIT FLU -- Arizona's Randy Johnson, 44, moved past Roger Clemens into second place on baseball's career strikeout list Tuesday at Milwaukee. He trails only Nolan Ryan (5,714).

"I don't know what was worse: Facing (Johnson) in his prime or just before his prime, when he didn't have his control and he threw very hard," Kirk Gibson, former major league star and current Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach, told Dan Bickley of AzCentral.com.

"For a left-handed hitter, facing him was hell on Earth," said former major leaguer Mark Grace of the 6-foot-10-inch Johnson's delivery. "He basically went through his entire 30s without facing left-handed hitters. Guys just took the day off."

• SEEING RED -- The Las Vegas Wranglers last week urged their fans to wear red to Game 3 of the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals to help motivate the team to victory.

The "A Red Sea in Game Three" ad campaign worked, just for the wrong team.

The "red out" was supposed to spark the Wranglers -- who played in white jerseys. But it must have made the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones feel right at home considering they wore their red jerseys and won 4-2 at the Orleans Arena.

• BUCKEYES COUNTING -- When Ohio State football fans are having a bad day, they only need to go to Dispatch.com and click on the Buckeyes football page. They will find an item tagged "Days since Michigan's last victory over Ohio State in football."

The number today: 1,656.

• THROW-BACK CUBS -- From RosenBlog at ChicagoTribune.com: "Colorado's Omar Quintanilla hit his first major league homer Saturday against the Cubs, and I'm thinking, Wrigley is the best place to hit your first homer as a visitor because you know you'll get the ball back."

It's a Cubs tradition for fans to reject a visiting dinger by tossing the ball onto the field.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF/ REVIEW-JOURNAL