Auto racing
LOGOLESS: The fight between NASCAR and AT&T heated up Friday when the telecommunications giant refused to use a paint scheme or logos on Jeff Burton's car at Bristol Motor Speedway. AT&T is still sponsoring the car but had to remove its logos because the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction that had permitted their use. At issue is if AT&T is allowed as a sponsor under NASCAR's exclusivity agreement with series sponsor Sprint Nextel.
NASCAR says only Cingular and Alltel, two companies involved in the sport before the Sprint Nextel deal, can compete. AT&T believes its 2006 merger with Cingular allows the company to participate. It doesn't want to use the Cingular logos because it is phasing out the name.
AT&T says NASCAR vetoed all of its submitted designs, and its only option was to use a plain orange car in Saturday night's race.
Soccer
U.S. GETS BYE: The United States was among 13 nations that will receive a first-round bye in soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA, soccer's governing body, said Friday it based the decision on its rankings from May, when the United States was second in the region, a position it also holds in the latest rankings. Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Canada, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines also received first-round byes.
The top two teams in each semifinal group advance to the six-nation regional finals. The top three teams in the finals qualify for the 32-nation field, and the No. 4 team meets the fifth-place team from South American in a home-and-home playoff for another berth.
College football
GAMECOCK ARRESTED: South Carolina safety Emmanuel Cook was arrested on a gun charge and suspended from the university Friday, making him ineligible to play for the Gamecocks. The 19-year-old player was charged with unlawful possession of a pistol, according to a police report. Cook and James Gore III were arrested by university police Thursday night at a parking lot near campus dormitories, the report said.
The athletic department said Cook was suspended from the university because of an arrest involving a weapon.
Tennis
KUZNETSOVA ADVANCES: Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced to the finals of the Pilot Pen after Elena Dementieva retired while trailing 6-4, 3-6, 0-3 on Friday.
Dementieva called the trainer after being broken for the second time in the third set, and retired with a stomach ailment. She had doubled-faulted three times in the final game and had 12 double-faults in the match.
Hockey
SHARKS SIGN MICHALEK: Milan Michalek agreed to a long-term contract extension with the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
The Sharks refused to disclose terms of the deal, but Michalek's agents told Czech media outlets they agreed to a six-year, $26 million extension.
Michalek is perhaps the Sharks' most valuable young talent after two full NHL campaigns. He had career highs of 26 goals and 40 assists last season, finishing with a plus-17 rating while mostly playing on San Jose's second line with captain Patrick Marleau.
Michalek, the sixth overall pick in the 2003 draft, will make about $942,000 next season in the final year of his current contract.