SONOMA, Calif. – After securing the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in each of the last two years, Kyle Larson is hoping to break through for his first win at the California road course.

He got that mission off to a fast start on Friday afternoon, turning the fastest lap across a pair of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practices at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn track.

Larson posted a time of one minute, 35.026 seconds (95.469 mph) with his No. 42 Credit One Chevrolet during final practice, more than half a second clear of anyone else in that 80-minute session and nearly a tenth and a half better than the second-best lap of the day.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native is still seeking his first Cup Series win of the season and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

Behind Larson, the next four fastest laps overall were all turned during the opening practice round on Friday.

Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 Cup Series champion and defending Sonoma race winner, was second-quick overall and fastest in first practice with the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota at 1:35.168 (95.326 mph).

Truex is seeking his fourth win of the year and is tied with Kyle Busch among active drivers for the most Cup Series victories at Sonoma Raceway.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney ended the day third overall with a time of 1:35.299 (95.195 mph) in his No. 12 PPG Ford, followed by Chris Buescher’s No. 37 Hellmann’s Chevrolet at 1:35.454 (95.041 mph) in fourth.

Completing the top five was another past Sonoma winner in seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Ally Chevrolet turned a best lap of 1:35.460 (95.035 mph).

Johnson won at Sonoma in 2010.

Sixth through 10th on the overall speed charts were Kurt Busch, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola.

Friday marked the first time since 1997 that NASCAR has utilized the full-course layout at Sonoma, featuring an extra half-mile of distance between turns four and seven.

Kyle Busch was 11th-fastest on the day (1:36.170/94.333) after missing the carousel and spinning during final practice, while an impressive effort was turned in by Gaunt Brothers Racing’s Parker Kligerman, who posted the sixth-quickest lap of final practice and was 13th-best overall in the No. 96 TRD 40th Anniversary Toyota.

Qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Alexander Rossi believes that when a race car is at its best, driving at high speeds around the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road course can be “a blast.”

But even in the best conditions, it can be a long lap around one of the longest road courses on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule.

“It’s a big lap,” Rossi said. “If things are going well, it’s fun. If the car is not quite where you want it, it’s a long time out there struggling, so … it can go either way.
“In general driving an Indy car at Road of America is pretty awesome.”

Rossi was awesome for Andretti Autosport on Friday, as the NTT IndyCar Series star was the fastest in Friday’s combined practice sessions with a fast time at 1:43.1206 (140.131 mph).

Rossi’s laps were fast and sometimes highly aggressive, showing that sometimes, smooth is not fast.

“I think we gave up a lot of time in turn six and turn 13 on that lap,” Rossi said of one of his faster trips around Road America on Friday. “We should be a bit better than what we were.

“It’s always interesting, though. We come to these tracks where not a lot theoretically has changed, but the car that you had pretty good performance with and balance with the previous year doesn’t necessarily translate the same the next year. It’s something we all have to stay on top of and continue chasing.

“I’m not too happy with the car right now. I mean, I’m pleased obviously there’s pace in it, but it’s a handful to drive. Hopefully we can make that a bit better for tomorrow. The race running is pretty substantially different. The tires seem the alternate tires definitely do have a falloff. We’re all trying to understand what that is and what that looks like come Sunday.”

Rossi has yet to win at Road America in his three previous attempts. It’s a track that often favors the leader of the race, so qualifications will be very important on Saturday afternoon.

“I think we’ve been strong here, pace-wise,” Rossi said. “The end result has never been really great on Sundays for one reason or another, but I think in general, the team has been pretty strong here.

“We came here obviously looking to make this one of our tracks that we’ve had good results at, hopefully after this weekend. I think the team is doing a good job. I think all cars are working in a positive direction.
“We’ll just have to stay on top of the track as it evolves, which is always key on these weekends with ever-changing track conditions.”

Team Penske driver Will Power was second in a Chevrolet at 1:43.4089 (139.740 mph). Power’s Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden was third at 1:43.4758 (139.650 mph), while rookie Colton Herta was fourth in a Honda at 1:43.7415 (139.292 mph).

Another rookie in Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five at 1:43.7464 (139.286 mph).

“It’s a great track,” Rossi continued. “It’s always a privilege to come here. It’s nice to be able to stretch our legs a bit in terms of the lap distance. The only other track we have similar is COTA. It was a great race for us.

“I think all the drivers are of the same kind of opinion: we love driving here. The fan turnout is always amazing. The autograph session today was fantastic. It’s a real privilege.”

CAIRO -- When Egypt's winner came, it was little surprise to see one of their wingers tricking past two opponents before cutting inside and belting an unstoppable finish into the far corner, bringing the house down on the Africa Cup of Nations' opening night. It was just not the player we have all come to expect. Trezeguet, the mercurial left-sided player, was the man who ensured the hosts passed their first test and, on the opposite flank, Mohamed Salah was able to get away with a rare off night.

Salah broke through late on only to be thwarted by a low save from Zimbabwe's substitute goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze, and it was the second presentable chance Egypt's talisman had squandered. Nothing really came off for him on this late, humid Cairo evening -- certainly nothing to justify the swell of anticipation around the International Stadium whenever he set off on another sortie towards the Warriors' goal.

But a little imprecision is generally forgiven on a competition's opening day. Egypt's collective scraped through on the pitch and early signs are that the country is rising to the occasion off it; they had handled the pressure of kick-starting a tournament that was only granted them in January and, for now, that was enough.

- When is the Africa Cup of Nations?
- Full Africa Cup of Nations fixtures schedule

Egypt needed a stress-free night on an occasion that, given its tragic recent football history, was always going to stir some emotions. In the 20th minute a chant of "To the heavens, martyrs" rang around in memory of the 20 Zamalek fans who died after a confrontation with police outside Cairo's Air Defence Stadium in 2015. In the 74th minute, the same refrain could be heard, accompanied by a display of cell phone lights around the ground, honouring the 74 Al Ahly fans who lost their lives in the Port Said disaster three years before that. The sport has been played under a cloud here ever since; a successful Cup of Nations will entail remembering, while showing Egypt can move on.

Nothing was left to chance security-wise on a week when the country's former president, Mohamed Morsi, died while in custody as he was being tried for espionage charges. The lockdown when the present-day incumbent, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, arrived to take his seat in the stands -- addressing the crowd to open the tournament before doing so -- was grimly effective, although by then most of the red-shirted home supporters, who began filing into the 70,000-capacity venue eight hours before kickoff, were inside making a din that rarely let up.

They were warmed up by an opening ceremony, featuring laser and firework displays around three model pyramids, that exceeded most expectations as a tone setter. Egypt burned brightly themselves early on and would have led without a series of fine saves from Edmore Sibanda, who was later stricken by injury. Trezeguet's blast meant the half-time scoreline was fair but Javier Aguirre's side could not maintain their tempo and, had Evans Rusike not nodded a fine opportunity off target at the death, those misfires from the visibly frustrated Salah might have come at a high price.

"The second half was strange," Aguirre admitted. "They had most of the ball, we had a couple of counterattacks -- Salah had his chances. But hey, it's three points and we'll take it."

There is a nagging suspicion that Egypt, while a more cohesive attacking unit under Aguirre, still look to involve Salah too much. Perhaps the issue lies both ways: at times he seemed overly keen to involve himself in deep areas and there was a sense, throughout, that Egypt had not quite clicked consistently.

They were given flickers of trouble by a Zimbabwe side, lively and smart on the break, that only found an incisive final ball in those dying moments. "We didn't play well and didn't create enough chances to win the game," said coach Sunday Chidzambwa, a touch harshly on the first count. Zimbabwe's participation had been in doubt until earlier in the day, their players threatening to boycott amid a row over payments. Out on the grass they did not appear despondent and, on this evidence, can harbour realistic hopes of a last-16 place. Had they not appeared, the optics for a tournament that has endured a rocky buildup would have been horrendous.

But, like everything else, it proved to be all right on the night. Egypt will need to play better than this if they are to justify their billing as favourites; Salah will certainly be required to come to the party once the knockout stage begins. The scandal-hit Confederation of African Football will need to learn lessons of its own, like making water more readily available inside the stadia amid sweltering temperatures. But the tournament is up and running and so, for all the difficulties and the demons, are its hosts.

Sri Lanka had several heroes at Headingley, with captain Dimuth Karunaratne in particular praising the contributions of his two senior stars, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews, for helping orchestrate a famous World Cup win over the hosts and pre-tournament favourites.

Having decided to bat, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start at 3 for 2 in the third over. However, after an exhilarating counterattack from Avishka Fernando, which twice saw him hook 90mph Jofra Archer deliveries for six, the middle order contributed significantly for the first time in the tournament, Kusal Mendis making 46 and Mathews anchoring the innings to the finish with an unbeaten 85.

Mathews had gone into this game having made scores of 1, 0, 0 and 9 since his ODI comeback last month, but dredged deep to produce a performance of substance. Perhaps the identity of the opposition helped - Mathews averages more than 50 against England and has made four fifties in his last six ODI innings against them - as well as the venue: in 2014, he played one of his finest Test knocks at Headingley to set up a series win for his team.

While Sri Lanka's score of 232 for 9 did not look the most imposing at halfway, Mathews had discerned that the surface was unlikely to get easier to bat on.

"It looked like a good flat wicket that played nicely but when we played on it, you could see it got slower and slower," Karunaratne said. "Angelo told us it was getting slower and slower, we couldn't get to 280-300 but we could get to 240 and that would be a good total.

"He is a good finisher and he did a really good job. And he read the game very well on this track. The middle order was important once the openers got out and he did a good job.

"The wicket gave us an advantage, we thought we had a chance. But we needed to take a couple of wickets and we were in the game."

Watch on Hotstar (India only): Mathew's vital half-century sets up Sri Lanka victory

Malinga ensured they would do just that, removing England's openers and then coming back to dismiss Joe Root and Jos Buttler on the way to figures of 4 for 43 - adding another match-winning performance to his storied World Cup record. He could have finished the game with a five-for, too, had Mendis managed to hold on to a tough chance off Ben Stokes in Malinga's final over.

Armed with Mathews' intel on the pitch and Malinga's belief that they could pull off an upset, Sri Lanka had belied their status as the ninth-ranked team out of ten at the tournament.

"Mali is a legend," Mendis said. "He has a lot of variation, an experienced player, he's played a lot of T20. I think he is a match-winning bowler. He's telling the fast bowlers, spinners to use variation. He told the players, 'We can do it today'.

"I missed a catch and was scared. When we got the [final] wicket, I gave thanks."

After Malinga had shaken England in their chase of 233, Dhananjaya de Silva then turned the heat up further with three wickets in nine deliveries. His dismissal of the dangerous Moeen Ali, caught at long-off a ball after he had hit Dhananjaya for six, was particularly damaging for England's chances.

Asked if he thought England were still the world's best players of spin, as Karunaratne had suggested on the eve of the match, Dhananjaya replied with a smile: "They are, they played very well in Sri Lanka last time they came there. This wicket was hard to bat on, it wasn't coming on to the bat. We bowled tight areas and very good lines. I got three wickets in two overs and turned the game around.

"[Moeen] can hit a long ball, so his wicket was the main thing for us. He hit me for six the previous ball, so I just slowed it up and bowled a bit wide."

Dhananjaya described the contributions of Malinga and Mathews as "key" and added that Sri Lanka had renewed confidence of gate-crashing the last four, despite complaints from the team's management earlier in the tournament that pitches were being prepared to their disadvantage.

"These are slower wickets, not the greentops - on these wickets we can beat any team," Dhananjaya said.

Sri Lanka now sit fifth on the table, one point behind India (albeit having played two games more) and with a chance to capitalise against a demoralised South Africa in their next game, at Chester-le-Street next Friday. Karunaratne was however keen that his players do not get too far ahead of themselves.

"We want to go one by one, we are not thinking about it. The next game is South Africa so we want to play and win that match so that is our main focus," he added. "We will keep focusing on that match, if we can win that we will plan for the next game."

England 180 for 6 (Wyatt 81) beat West Indies 138 for 9 (King 43) by 42 runs

An excellent knock by Danielle Wyatt propelled England to a convincing 42-run victory in the second T20I against West Indies at Northampton.

The victory gives the hosts a 1-0 lead in the series after the opening match, also in Northampton, was washed out on Tuesday and marks their 14th win in a row across all formats.

England, who were scarcely challenged in sweeping their three-match ODI series against West Indies, didn't have things all their own way in this match, however. A defiant 43 off 34 balls by Stacy-Ann King, combined with a glittering cameo from Chedean Nation, who scored 32 off 20, put the England bowlers under some pressure for a while. But they responded well to claim key wickets at the right time, assisted by some sharp fielding and, in particular, typically excellent glove work by wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor.

The same could not be said for West Indies' fielding. Described after the first ODI by captain Stafanie Taylor as "atrocious", the fielding which had improved somewhat in the two matches that followed, reverted in this match with a rash of errors resulting in missed opportunities.

But it was Wyatt's brilliant 81 off 55 balls that set England on their way to 180 for 6, their highest T20I score against West Indies. Opening alongside Amy Jones while Tammy Beuamont dropped to No. 3, Wyatt's 10 fours were beautifully struck. She dug in as Jones fell for 37 - which included four fours and a big six - when Chinelle Henry made up for dropping Wyatt at extra cover by enticing Jones to drag on.

Beaumont was out for just two when Afy Fletcher came into the attack with immediate effect, her fuller ball tempting Beaumont to try pushing it down the ground only to send it back to the bowler, who took a sharp catch low to her left on her follow-through.

Nat Sciver contributed 31 off 18 deliveries before she was bowled by Hayley Matthews, who also accounted for Wyatt eventually. Wyatt, who had just lofted Shamilia Connell through long-on for four, edged the next ball from Connell to Matthews at backward point.

"Rob [England coach Mark Robinson] said, 'go out and express yourself,' and I did," Wyatt told Sky Sports. "That's my job to go out and try and get the team off to a good total. Amy Jones has done really well, Tammy Beaumont, so there's competition for places at the minute, so everyone's got to perform."

Katherine Brunt came in up the order but didn't last long and Heather Knight reached 22 off 11 before she was run out by some tidy work from Karishma Ramharack. The England captain felt some pain in her hamstring following her innings which prevented her from fielding and meant Anya Shrubsole took on the skipper's duties. The move was later described as precautionary while the extent of the problem was being assessed.

West Indies began their chase poorly, stumbling to 19 for 2. They were 58 for 3 when Stafanie Taylor, who had survived an earlier run out chance, tried to run on an overthrow and was caught out of her ground as Brunt threw in to Sarah Taylor.

King stood firm, however, assisted by Nation, who hit Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone for sixes, the former travelling some 75 metres down the ground. King was dropped on 41 by Jones but only added two more runs before she skied Linsey Smith to deep square leg, where Wyatt was loitering just inside the boundary to swallow the catch.

When Nation was run out by Fran Wilson gathering well at mid-wicket and sending the ball back to Smith at the bowler's end, West Indies looked in trouble again and a sharp stumping by Sarah Taylor to remove Henry all but put the result beyond doubt. Smith and Brunt claimed two wickets each.

The final match will be played in Derby on Tuesday.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Dwane Casey had nothing but positive things to say about the fact that his former team just won the NBA title.

Casey coached the Toronto Raptors for seven seasons but was fired last offseason -- even though he'd just guided the Raptors to a team-record 59 wins and would eventually win Coach of the Year honors. Nick Nurse took over, and Toronto won its first championship this month.

"It was exciting. It was good to see," said Casey, now the coach of the Detroit Pistons. "To see a guy like Kyle Lowry, kid like Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and those guys -- Serge Ibaka, guys I coached -- win. It was really thrilling, because I know that was a goal going in with that group, and to see them win it was great."

Casey was at the Pistons' practice facility Friday when they introduced first-round draft pick Sekou Doumbouya. When asked about the Raptors, he also said he was happy for the fans.

"For that city to win a championship, it had to be thrilling for them," Casey said.

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols is back in St. Louis, nearly eight years after celebrating a World Series crown in the city that made him famous.

The Hall of Fame-bound slugger has accomplished a lot during his time with the Los Angeles Angels, with whom he signed after 11 stellar seasons with the Cardinals. He has had three 30-homer seasons. He has driven in 100 or more runs four times. He has reached historic career milestones -- 3,000 hits, 500 and 600 homers, 2,000 RBIs. But he had never been back to Busch Stadium.

That is, until Friday, when Pujols' Angels were slated to begin their first interleague series in St. Louis since he left. Pujols said that not only had he never returned to the scene of his old glories as a player -- he hadn't been back to the park at all since he and the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 to clinch the 2011 World Series title.

"I drove by it once," Pujols said. "Because I had an event [nearby].

Players change teams and revisit old stomping grounds every season, but this one is special, both because of Pujols' status as one of the greatest Cardinals ever and because of the special connection to the city he has maintained to this day. Pujols' foundation still operates in St. Louis and he still owns a house in the city's suburbs.

"It hasn't hit me yet," Pujols said. "I'm pretty sure when I take the field, if we get a chance to play tonight, it will be [special]. I'm not really an emotional guy. But it's probably going to get to me. It's getting to me now."

Thunderstorms passed through St. Louis on Friday, canceling batting practice before the scheduled 8:15 p.m. ET start. Yet, as the Busch Stadium grounds crew rolled up the tarp and began preparing the rain-soaked field, early-arriving fans crowded along the rail next to the Angels' side of the field, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pujols.

Meanwhile, inside the ballpark, Pujols exchanged hugs and handshakes with numerous familiar faces from the old days. If anyone was still raw about the fact that Pujols left the club for a 10-year, $240 million contract, you'd never guess it by the scene inside the ballpark. In fact, Pujols said that in all of the years since he changed teams, he has never encountered anyone who has expressed resentment over his decision.

"The reality is here," Pujols said of the long-awaiting return. "It's just amazing. Started my career here, 11 years, the success that I had here, nine playoffs, two World Series, the best fans in baseball. I use the [saying] that I came here as little boy and I left as a really strong and grown man."

It's no wonder Pujols is expected to receive a thunderingly positive response when he steps to the plate for the first time. He's the all-time leader in batting average, homers and extra-base hits at the current Busch Stadium, the third venue in St. Louis to bear that name. Though it has been eight years since he toiled for the Redbirds, Pujols ranks second all time in the franchise's history in homers (445), RBIs (1,329) and extra-base hits (915).

Yet despite the Cooperstown-worthy numbers, the nine trips to the postseason and the two World Series crowns, Pujols says it still comes back to the friendships he has built over the years. That's especially true of the two remaining Cardinals players from his St. Louis days, pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina, whom Pujols has many times referred to as his little brother.

"I think the best things you build in this game is the relationships," Pujols said. "Nobody can take that away from you. And you play this game for 20 years or whatever -- hopefully you live longer than what you play.

"That's why you build these great relationships. That is why it's more important to me than what I have accomplished."