Newman ends his drought by winning pole at Atlanta

Ryan Newman, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series’ premier qualifier from his rookie year in 2002 through 2005, piling up 35 poles, had only two last year -- none after taking the top qualifying spot at New Hampshire in July.

But Friday night he looked like the driver of old, turning a fast lap of 193.124 mph in a Dodge that was nearly 1 1/2 mph faster than runner-up Elliott Sadler’s 191.894 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. They’ll start on the first row for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

The fast lap, besides earning Newman his 38th pole, gave him his seventh Atlanta pole and ninth front row start in 10 tries on the fast 1.5-mile oval.

Mike Skinner, driving a Toyota, bumped past Clint Bowyer to take the lead on a restart seven laps from the finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway and raced to his second consecutive victory in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series. Todd Bodine, also in a Toyota, followed Skinner past Bowyer to finish second.

Telecommunications company AT&T; will sue NASCAR after racing series officials would not let the company put its logo on Jeff Burton’s car.

Burton’s No. 31 Chevrolet is sponsored by cell phone service provider Cingular, but AT&T; recently took full ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth and intends to eliminate the brand name.

AT&T; spokesman Clay Owen said NASCAR officials have not allowed AT&T; to switch from a Cingular logo to an AT&T; logo because of their deal with Nextel, which sponsors NASCAR’s top series -- the Nextel Cup.

COLLEGE SWIMMING

Auburn increases lead at NCAA championships

Auburn, seeking its fifth consecutive title, pulled further away at the NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships in Minneapolis.

The Tigers used first-place finishes by their 200-yard medley relay team and three-meter diver Steven Segerlin to raise its overall score to 380 points.

Arizona, second with 278 points, won four events -- three individual races plus a record-setting time in the 800 freestyle relay. Nick Nilo, Jean Basson, Darian Townsend and Adam Ritter were timed in 6:14.14.

WINTER SPORTS

Austria wins team event at Cup finals

Austria demonstrated its dominance and depth by winning its third consecutive Nations Team Alpine skiing event at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Austria -- which took the lead in the opening heat -- finished with 23 points.

Italy had 29, followed by France with 31. The U.S. finished sixth with 35 points.

Only Ted Ligety’s win in the final slalom heat prevented the Americans from finishing last again among the seven teams.

BASEBALL

Colorado’s Francis, Hurdle are suspended

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis and Manager Clint Hurdle were suspended by the commissioner’s office for their actions during Tuesday’s spring training game against the San Diego Padres.

Francis was suspended for five regular-season games for intentionally throwing at San Diego’s Kevin Kouzmanoff after a warning had been issued earlier in the game. Hurdle was banned for one game, and both were fined an undisclosed amount.

MISCELLANY

French Open extends equal pay to women

The French Open will award equal prize money to male and female players throughout the tournament, falling in line with the other Grand Slam events.

The announcement by the French Tennis Federation extends last year’s decision. The French Open paid the men’s and women’s singles champions the same for the first time, although the overall prize fund remained larger for men.

Equalizing the pay will increase the total purse to $20.34 million -- a 7.2% increase from last year and a record at the French Open.

Herschelle Gibbs hit six sixes in an over, the first ever in international cricket competition, as South Africa routed the Netherlands, 353-3, in the World Cup at St. Kitts. Gibbs helped the top-ranked South Africans amass the fifth-highest score in a World Cup match.

Nike’s golf division has issued a voluntary recall for its square-shaped Sasquatch Sumo2 driver because a “small percentage” of clubheads don’t conform to the sport’s rules. The company said an “unauthorized manufacturing variance”’ occurred during early production of the clubs.

Josh White rushed for five touchdowns to lead the Dallas Desperados to a 66-54 victory over the host Kansas City Brigade in an Arena Football League game.

PASSINGS

Stan Duke, 70, former local TV sportscaster

Stan Duke, who became one of the first black sportscasters in Southern California nearly 40 years ago, has died. He was 70.

Duke died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at his home, his second wife, Ellen Duke, said. Story in Section B.