Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesWill Power celebrates after his second career victory, which came in the IndyCar opener at Sao Paulo, Brazil.The race had to be red-flagged near its halfway point after heavy rains made track conditions unsafe, marking another setback for the track which was initially being hailed as one of the highlights of the season but faced problems throughout the weekend.Home crowd favorite Vitor Meira was third, followed by compatriot Raphael Matos at the 2.6-mile, 11-turn Anhembi temporary circuit in South America’s biggest city.Danica Patrick lost control of her car as it started raining, finishing 15th.Power, whose other victory was last year in Edmonton, got out of his car and celebrated with the thousands of fans packing the grandstands of the stadium-like Sambadrome where the race took place.”I feel awesome,” the Penske driver said. “We battled it out, it was a great day.”There were only about three minutes left when Power overtook Hunter-Reay, breaking late to make the pass at the end of the long backstretch.The win was extra special for Power, who last year sustained a season-ending back injury in a crash in Sonoma and only landed a full-season deal with Penske late.”It’s been a tough recovery,” he said. “I’m very grateful to be given this opportunity. I laid in bed at the hospital and never thought it was going to happen.”Hunter-Reay dominated much of the race with his Andretti Autosport car, but was not able to contend at the end.”I had a blast all day,” said Hunter-Reay, who led for the first time since Watkins Glen in 2008. “I had so much fun with conditions changing all the time, that’s what racing is about.”Power’s Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe got past Hunter-Reay for the lead late in the race, but he crashed with about 13 minutes left after missing a corner. Both had been battling each other for several laps until Briscoe lost control.It was the first time in IndyCar Series history that the race was run on the same day as qualifying, which was postponed from Saturday because the front straight was too slick and drivers complained it made racing unsafe. Officials added grooves to the track overnight and fixed the problem in time for qualifying.Defending series champion Dario Franchitti earned his 13th career pole earlier in the day. He led the race after it was interrupted, but eventually fell to seventh at the end after sticking with rain tires longer than the other drivers.The race had to be red-flagged when pouring rain created deep puddles throughout the newly built street track.Just before the red flag, Alex Tagliani — who led early in the race — crashed with Brazil’s Tony Kanaan after being touched from behind by Dan Wheldon.The start of the race was marked by a scary incident involving U.S. driver Marco Andretti, who escaped injury after his car was hit from behind.The car of Brazilian driver Mario Moraes finished on top of Andretti’s and they slid tangled for several yards. The bottom of Moraes’ car appeared to be touching Andretti’s helmet, and it took more than five minutes for officials to remove Moraes’ car so the medical team could attend to Andretti.Andretti and Moraes were slowing down as other cars made contact in front of them, including former Formula One driver Takuma Sato, Franchitti’s teammate Scott Dixon, three-time Indy 500 Helio Castroneves and even Briscoe.It was extremely dusty where the grooves were added and dirt was being constantly thrown into the air, causing visibility problems.The Sambadrome straight stretches for about a third of a mile and was the only part of the track with concrete instead of asphalt, which was what caused the grip problems and forced officials to work overnight to allow drivers to race hard in qualifying and the race.The street circuit was set up in about three months and was expected to be one of the highlights of the season, with the Sambadrome and the series’ longest ever straight, which is just short of a mile and allowed for a lot of overtaking on Sunday.But the problems on the track this weekend dampened much of that enthusiasm.IndyCar officials were hoping for a clean race as the series tries to expand in the United States and abroad, looking to carry the momentum from a thrilling season a year ago when three drivers reached the final race with a chance to take the title.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

(17) Temple 56

(29-5, 14-2 A 10)

Rafael: Show And Prove

Round after round, Manny Pacquiao, the greatest fighter in the world, proved he’s truly one of the best, Dan Rafael writes. Story

One ringside judge gave Pacquiao every round, while the two others gave him all but one. The Associated Press scored it a shutout for the Filipino sensation.It wasn’t as flashy as his knockout of Ricky Hatton or as savage as the beating he gave Oscar De La Hoya, but there was no doubt Pacquiao was in command the entire way against a fighter who kept his gloves up high in front of his face and chose to engage him only in spurts. Clottey’s strategy worked to keep him upright, but he was never competitive in the biggest fight of his career.”He’s a very tough opponent,” Pacquiao said. “He was looking for a big shot.”Pacquiao was supposed to have been fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead of Clottey, but the megafight fell apart over a dispute over blood testing. He took out any frustrations over losing the biggest fight of his career by beating up Clottey on the biggest stage of his career.”I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it’s up to him,” Pacquiao said. “I’m ready to fight any time.”That time won’t come soon. Mayweather is fighting Shane Mosley on May 1, and the earliest the two could get together would be in the fall and only if Mayweather backs off his demands for blood testing.

AP Photo/Steven SenneTerry Francona said Daisuke Matsuzaka’s neck stiffness had nothing do to with the back issue that delayed him earlier this spring.Saturday morning, Matsuzaka was warming up for his first round of batting practice and had thrown five pitches in the bullpen when he shut it down. Red Sox publicist Pam Ganley then announced that Matsuzaka was a no-go because of a stiff neck.”I did not throw live BP today due to stiffness in my neck,” said Matsuzaka, in a written statement left with a team spokesman. “As for my schedule going forward, I’m going to see how I feel tomorrow, meet with the coaching staff, and decide at that point.”Matsuzaka returned to the Sox clubhouse and went into the training room for treatment. He left several hours later without speaking to reporters.”He talked to [pitching coach] John Farrell and decided to shut it down,” Francona said. “We’re going day to day on it. He got it worked on, we’ll wait until he shows up tomorrow. When he feels good we’ll repeat what we were going to do today.”I don’t know if that will be tomorrow or the next day or the next day.”Matsuzaka had come to camp in the best condition since he signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2007 season, spending five weeks working out at the Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona. The Red Sox had asked him to show up in better shape after a disastrous 2009 in which he made just a dozen starts, won four games and was sent back to Florida to essentially repeat spring training with a fatigued shoulder.The Red Sox were pleased with the results, but after reporting early to Florida, Matsuzaka suffered his first setback six days before the official reporting date, falling behind the other starting pitchers in camp.Now comes another setback, and while the Red Sox again insist it’s minor in nature, there is little chance of Matsuzaka throwing the 25 innings in exhibition play the Sox generally like to have their starters throw, with the season opener scheduled for April 4.There is also a possibility that Matsuzaka will have to return to Boston to attend to a family matter, which could further disrupt his preparation.

Francona said the neck issue was not related to Matsuzaka’s previous back problems, and said Matsuzaka had not experienced it previously.”I don’t think it’s anything but a stiff neck,” Francona said. “I don’t know that we need to be conservative as long as he’s OK, so we’ll see when it goes away.”It’s a reasonable expectation that when camp breaks here on April 1, the Red Sox will leave Matsuzaka behind. That would provide a temporary solution to how the Sox intend to fit six starters into five slots. The team still has five healthy starters — Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield.Buchholz, who threw three scoreless innings in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in City of Palms Park, was asked if knowing that Matsuzaka was hurt alleviated any anxiety he might have felt about the 6-into-5 quandary.”That’s the least of my worries right now,” he said. “I want to be on the team for the duration of the whole season. Two-and-a-half months wasn’t going to mean that much if something happens where I don’t do my job and end up in the same spot as I did last year.”I’m going to keep working regardless of how many slots there are in the line right now.”Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(4) Duke 77

(28-5, 13-3 ACC)