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POMONA, Calif. -- Ron Capps earned valuable qualifying points and Jack Beckman sprinted to the qualifying lead in Funny Car on Friday in the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals.Capps had the lowest time in the first session of qualifying with a 3.883-second pass at 323.66 mph in his Dodge Charger R/T. He was awarded three points for being the quickest of the session, giving him an 89-point lead over teammate Matt Hagan, who finished in second.If Capps has at least an 81-point lead over Hagan when qualifying concludes Saturday evening, Capps will wrap up the season title. He is the winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history without a world championship.Beckman raced to the top qualifying position with a 3.865 at 332.84 in his Dodge Charger R/T. He set both ends of the track record.It was an amazing run, Beckman said. We had hot conditions all day, but us running the new track records is a testament to how fast the Funny Car category has gotten as a whole this entire season.Antron Brown was the fastest in Top Fuel a week after taking the season title, Jason Line topped the Pro Stock field, and Jerry Savoie led in Pro Stock Motorcycle.Brown had a 3.713 at 326.56. Line ran a 6.565 at 211.16 in a Chevrolet Camaro. He leads the standings, 20 points ahead of Greg Anderson. Savoie had a 6.844 at 195.93 on a Suzuki.Darnell Savage Jr. Packers Jersey . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Bart Starr Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. http://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Darnell-Savage-Jr-Jersey/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Dave Robinson Packers Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Dave Robinson Jersey . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays took themselves out of playoff contention with a terrible summer stretch that saw them lose 24 of 27 games. Without much on the line, theyve gotten off the mat nicely, winning seven of 12 since, due largely in part to consistent starting pitching that was lacking.On Saturday, left-hander Drew Smyly won for the first time in 12 starts, holding the Yankees to two runs and four hits in six solid innings.Smyly got the lead in the first, lost it and got it back again in the third. He said the scoreboard helped him relax on the mound and pitch better as a result.When youre pitching with the lead, it makes it so much easier, Smyly said. You can attack guys. You can go right at them. Great defense tonight, and this is the way we need to play.It was the 10th straight quality start from Rays starting pitching, matching the second longest streak in franchise history. The challenge of continuing that -- and potentially closing out a three-game series sweep -- falls to rookie Blake Snell, who has a 3.05 ERA and made his major-league debut against New York in April, holding the Yankees to one run and two hits in five innings in what ended up a 3-2 loss for the Rays.The Yankees, who had won eight of 10 games just last week, have dropped three straight and scored just five runs in those games. Theyyll try to stop their struggles with RHP Michael Pineda (5-9, 5.dddddddddddd00 ERA) starting Sunday.New York hadnt lost three in a row for more than a month, and its streak of three straight series wins will end regardless of Sundays outcome. The pitching is a concern, giving up six home runs in the two losses to the Rays, and that could get worse if any deals are made before Mondays trade deadline.They have totaled 12 runs in their seven losses since the All-Star break, and manager Joe Girardi understands that the bats must come alive if the Yankees are to close the gap with first-place Baltimore, just six games entering the night.Even in Saturdays 6-3 loss, he pointed to the eighth inning, when the Yankees put two on and had the tying run at the plate in Carlos Beltran, who leads the team with 21 home runs and 62 RBI. But Beltran grounded into a double play, ending a potential rally.We had an opportunity and had the right guy up in the situation, Girardi said. Unfortunately, he hit it hard into the ground. ... Theyre frustrating losses. Weve gotten behind early in games and we havent been able to catch up. You have to go out and win tomorrow. Thats all you can do is find a way to win tomorrow. ' ' '