Larkin, Santo are inducted

Barry Larkin lost it before he even started. Vicki Santo never wavered as she honored her late husband, Ron.

Baseball’s highest honor always seems to leave a special impression on those directly involved.

Larkin, the former star shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, and Ron Santo, a standout third baseman for the Chicago Cubs and later a beloved broadcaster for the team, were inducted Sunday into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y.

Larkin, who played his entire 19-year career with the Reds, retired after the 2004 season with a .295 average, 2,340 hits, 1,329 runs scored and 379 stolen bases.

Santo didn’t live to experience the day he always dreamed of. Plagued by health problems, he died Dec. 3, 2010, at age 70.

In 15 major league seasons, all but one with the Cubs, Santo compiled a .277 batting average, and had 2,254 hits, 1,331 runs batted in and 365 doubles in 2,243 games.

ETC.

Castroneves gets second win

Helio Castroneves thrust himself into the IndyCar Series championship race by winning at Edmonton, Canada, his second victory of the season.

The Brazilian relied on pit strategy from his Penske Racing crew to take the lead, then held off hard-charging Takuma Sato over the final 15 laps to pick up the win. It moved him one spot in the standings to second — he jumped over teammate Will Power — and he’s trailing leader Ryan Hunter-Reay by 23 points with four races remaining.

Fernando Alonso led from the start to win the German Grand Prix in his Ferrari and extend his Formula One championship lead, and two-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel was penalized and dropped from second to fifth.

Alonso never opened up a big lead at Hockenheim but never looked in serious danger of losing it either, successfully fending off the Red Bull of Vettel and the upgraded McLaren of Jenson Button.

Elliott Sadler held off a charge by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on a green-white-checker finish to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

Stenhouse finished second, followed by Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace and Michael Annett.

Pro stock racer Allen Johnson continued his mastery of Bandimere Speedway, racing to his fourth win at the Morrison, Colo., track during the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

Antron Brown, Jack Beckman and Eddie Krawiec also won, in top fuel, funny car and pro stock motorcycle, respectively, in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Denver.

Andy Roddick beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, to win the Atlanta Open and earn his 32nd ATP World Tour title.

Scott Stallings shot a four-under-par 68 in the final round to win the True South Classic at Madison, Miss.

The 27-year-old won the second tournament of his career and his first in 2012, shooting a 24-under 264, which is a tournament record.

The Philadelphia Eagles have ruled out defensive tackle Mike Patterson for their entire training camp and possibly more because the incision where he had brain surgery in January hasn’t fully healed.