Busch brothers thriving at Darlington

Kyle Busch took the lead from Joey Logano 18 laps from the end to win his fifth Nationwide race this season and second in three years at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.

The victory also capped a dominant showing by the Busch boys at the South Carolina track “Too Tough To Tame.”

Older brother Kurt Busch set a qualifying record to win the pole for the Southern 500 on Saturday night.

Kyle was third in Sprint Cup qualifying before dominating the Nationwide race.

The younger Busch started from the pole and was the strongest car throughout. He led for 107 of the 147 laps and finished a second in front of Elliott Sadler.

Joe Gibbs Racing placed four in the top five, Busch and Elliott’s teammates Brian Vickers finishing third and Matt Kenseth fifth.

ETC.

Nadal, Serena advance at Madrid

Rafael Nadal rallied past David Ferrer, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, maintaining his bid to reach a seventh straight final since returning from a knee injury.

Top-ranked Serena Williams struggled before defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5, and second-ranked Maria Sharapova joined her in the semifinals after easing by Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-2, 6-4.

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Chris Hansen has increased his total valuation of the Sacramento Kings from $550 million to $625 million in another attempt to sway NBA owners to allow him to buy the franchise and move it to Seattle.

Hansen also announced on his website Friday that he has guaranteed owners that the franchise would pay into the league’s revenue-sharing system in Seattle and not collect money as it has in Sacramento.

The NBA’s relocation committee voted 7-0 last week to recommend that the NBA Board of Governors -- which consists of all 30 owners -- reject the Seattle move. The board is expected to vote on the issue at its meeting in Dallas on Wednesday.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves waived guard Brandon Roy, probably bringing an end to an All-Star career that was shortened by knee problems.

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The New Orleans Pelicans said guard Eric Gordon has undergone successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle. The procedure, performed Thursday by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles, was aimed at alleviating pain caused by scar tissue.

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A person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press the Philadelphia 76ers have hired analytics guru Sam Hinkie as team president and general manager. The deal was not expected to become official until next week.

Hinkie must hire a coach after Doug Collins resigned following three seasons.

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Olympians Bryshon Nellum and Aaron Brown of USC are among the athletes who will compete in the Pac-12 Conference track and field championships on Saturday and Sunday at USC’s Loker Stadium.

USC is hosting the event for the first time since 2003. Competition on Saturday begins at 11 a.m., on Sunday at noon.

-- Gary Klein

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The top-seeded USC women’s water polo team will carry a scoring streak of 27 unanswered goals into the NCAA semifinals after the Trojans trounced No. 8-seeded Pomona-Pitzer, 27-1, in the first round of the NCAA championship at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool. The Sagehens took a 1-0 lead, and then it was all USC.

The Trojans (25-1) will play Hawaii at 2:15 Saturday in the semifinals. Hawaii beat UC San Diego, 13-6, on Friday.

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The top-seeded UCLA men’s tennis team kicked off the NCAA tournament with a 4-0 victory over Missouri Kansas City in a first-round match at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. UCLA (25-1) moves on to Saturday’s second round where it will meet Drake (25-3) at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs beat Texas Christian, 4-1, in their first-round match.

No. 4 USC, the four-time defending national champion, won its 25th consecutive NCAA match with a 4-0 win over visiting Sacramento State at Marks Tennis Stadium. USC will play host to San Diego on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Toreros beat Alabama, 4-3, on Friday.