Hockey
* NHL labor talks resume after 2-week break: With the clock ticking down to the start of the season, the NHL and its locked-out players are talking again. The sides resumed negotiations at league headquarters Friday. These are the first talks since the lockout was put in place and they came a day after the league canceled the remaining preseason games. The regular season is to start Oct. 11. The league and the union were to discuss secondary issues and not the core of the dispute — how to split more than $3 billion in annual revenue.
Motor sports
* Brown tops qualifying at NHRA Midwest Nationals: Top Fuel racer Antron Brown led a record-setting day of qualifying in Madison, Ill., Friday in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park. Brown and the rest of the NHRA teams took advantage of cool fall temperatures that led to track records in all four Full Throttle Series classes. Brown powered his dragster to a track-record performance of 3.737 seconds at 326.79 mph to qualify in front of teammate and championship rival Spencer Massey. Brown and Massey entered the event tied at the top of the Top Fuel standings, but Brown holds a two-point lead by virtue of his better qualifying effort.
• Formula 1 race set for New Jersey, confirmation pending: A Formula One race in New Jersey with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop is now officially on the racing calendar for June 2013, with final confirmation pending. The FIA calendar released Friday shows the inaugural Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial set for June 16. New Jersey race promoter Leo Hindery Jr. issued a statement announcing the New Jersey race was now set and thanking elected officials for their support.
Football
* Reed, Tulloch, Mundy fined $21,000 by NFL: Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Mundy each have been fined $21,000 by the NFL for flagrant hits. Reed was fined for striking defenseless Patriots receiver Deion Branch in the head and neck area last Sunday night. Tulloch was docked for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tennessee tight end Craig Stevens. Mundy’s hit on Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey resulted in his fine.
• Los Angeles backs deal for downtown NFL stadium: Los Angeles took a major step Friday toward building a downtown stadium to lure an NFL team back to the nation’s second most populous city, despite questions about how a 72,000-seat venue in the city’s urban core would impact notorious freeway traffic, nearby housing prices and air quality. The 12-0 vote by City Council came after starkly contrasting predictions about what the $1.5 billion project would mean for an economically troubled city that has fretted over the loss of professional football since the Raiders and Rams fled Southern California in 1994. Supporters said the deal with developer Anschutz Entertainment Group would create thousands of jobs, a hub of civic pride and new tax dollars for cash-starved City Hall.
Baseball
* Francona joins Alomar as candidate to manage Tribe: Terry Francona has joined Sandy Alomar Jr. as a candidate to become manager of the Cleveland Indians. Alomar prepared for his first game as interim manager Friday, a day after Manny Acta was fired. General manager Chris Antonetti said both were candidates and others currently employed by teams could become part of the search. “I’m excited and I’m honored that they would give me an interview," Francona told the Associated Press. “I know Sandy Alomar is also a candidate. He’s a good friend of mine. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I will do my homework over the next week."
— From wire reports
