'Goose' Gossage joins Hall of Fame
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., July 27 (UPI) -- Rich "Goose" Gossage, a dominating right-handed closer and a nine-time all-star, was inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y.
Gossage earned 310 saves, nearly half of them with the New York Yankees. He was the only player elected to the hall this year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. His election came on his ninth year on the ballot.
Also inducted into the hall:
-- Dick Williams, who managed four teams to the World Series, winning in 1971 and 1972 with the Oakland A's, and Billy Southworth, manager of St. Louis Cardinals series teams that won three pennants and two World Series from 1942-44.
-- Former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
-- Walter O'Malley, who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for 29 years, and Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first three decades of the last century.
All were elected by the Veterans Committee.
Gossage pitched for the Yankees from 1978 to 1983, saving 150 games, and again for the Yanks during the 1989 season. He also pitched for the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh, San Diego, the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco, Texas, Oakland and Seattle.
"I think I had a lot to do with setting the bar for relievers and doing the job the way it should be done," Gossage said. "Nobody did it the way I did it. Nothing beats pure power."
Spain's Sastre wins Tour de France
PARIS, July 27 (UPI) -- Spanish cyclist Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France Sunday, besting Australia's Cadel Evans by 58 seconds in the overall standings.
While Belgian cyclist Gert Steegmans won the annual race's final leg to the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Sastre took home the tour crown, finishing amid a pack of fellow bicyclists.
Sastre's victory marked the third straight Tour de France won by a Spaniard, following Oscar Pereiro in 2006 and 2007 winner Albert Contador.
After winning the prestigious bicycling event, Sastre thanked those in his team for their work during the lengthy competition.
"Today was a really nice day," Sastre said. "The team has done everything to make this Tour as easy as possible for me and even as we came to Paris for the final stage, they continued to work for me. It's a great atmosphere now and I know that relief has set in and now everyone is happy."
The next top finishers were Austrian Bernhard Kohl, Russian Denis Menchov and Christian Vande Velde of the United States.
Nadal triumphs again
TORONTO, July 27 (UPI) -- Spaniard Rafael Nadal won the Rogers Masters in Toronto Sunday, his 30th title on the ATP Tour.
Nadal stretched his match win streak to 29 with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 victory over German Nicolas Kiefer.
Nadal, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, is closing in on Roger Federer's four-year hold on the No. 1 ranking in men's tennis. Federer was ousted in the second round in Toronto.
Nadal could take over as No. 1 if he reaches the final next week in a tournament in Cincinnati and Federer again goes down in an early round.
"Every player wants to be No. 1, no? I would love to be No. 1, but I am No. 2 right now," Nadal said.
Jimmie Johnson wins at the Brickyard
INDIANAPOLIS, July 27 (UPI) -- Pole-winner Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag at Sunday's Allstate 400 Sprint Cup auto race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis.
Johnson drove the No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the second win in his career at the Brickyard despite two blown tires, which forced a critical late pit stop.
Johnson was one of numerous drivers with tire problems during the race.
Carl Edwards was second, Denny Hamlin second and Elliott Sadler, in his best finish this season, was fourth. Jeff Gordon completed the top-five.
"I knew what we were setting up for," Johnson said in a post-race television interview when talking about the pit stop. "We had a great car and it was a pleasure to drive it all weekend. Carl put as much pressure on me as he could."
With six races remaining before the season-ending "Race to the Chase" for the Sprint Cup's points title, Kyle Busch leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 253 points and Jeff Burton trails by 271 points.
