Sporting KC strikes quick, beats Revolution 4-2

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (AP) — Krisztian Nemeth scored a goal in each half as Sporting Kansas City beat the New England Revolution 4-2 on Wednesday in Major League Soccer.

New England scored the first and last goals of the game after Juan Agudelo beat two defenders and sent a shot past the oncoming goalkeeper in the 11th minute. Scott Caldwell angled home Charlie Davies’ back-pass in the 64th.

The game swung when Sporting KC scored three first-half goals in 14 minutes.

Dominic Dwyer equalized it at 1-1 in the 29th minute by rolling in a left-footed shot after settling a cross with his chest.

Nemeth’s glancing header of Benny Feilhaber’s free kick gave Sporting KC a 2-1 lead in the 39th. Four minutes later, Feilhaber converted a penalty after New England was called for a questionable foul in the penalty area.

Nemeth made it 4-1 in the opening minute of the second half when Jacob Peterson won the ball deep in New England territory and fed a cross to an unmarked Nemeth.

Goodell wants to heard from Brady

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday it’s his responsibility to hear directly from New England quarterback Tom Brady in his appeal of his four-game suspension in the deflated footballs case.

Goodell said he has not had time to study a request from the players’ union that he recuse himself from the appeal because he has been focused on the spring owners meetings that concluded Wednesday.

He said he would study the request when he returned to New York but added that unless there is a factor that he is unaware of he will likely hear the case.

“It’s my job here to make sure we’re doing everything to protect the integrity of the game, protect our policies, protect our procedures,” Goodell said. “We have a process that has been negotiated with the union that has been in place for decades. It’s my responsibility and it’s something that we’ve had in place for a long time.”

NASCAR names new HOF class

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Speedway Motorsports executive chairman Bruton Smith and two-time Sprint Cup champion Terry Labonte headed up the newest group of five headed to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The others selected to the hall’s seventh class were drivers NASCAR drivers Curtis Turner and Bobby Isaac. Modified series champion Jerry Cook was the final pick for the hall.

Smith’s company owns eight tracks that host NASCAR events, including Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. The fiery Smith forged his company in competition with International Speedway Corporation, owners of 12 tracks that host the majority of Sprint Cup races.

Labonte, known as “Texas Terry,” won 22 races and NASCAR titles in 1984 and 1996.

Turner ran in NASCAR’s first strictly stock race in 1949 and had 17 wins.

Smith, Cavs beat Hawks

ATLANTA (AP) — LeBron James scored 31 points and J.R. Smith made eight 3-pointers and added 28, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks 97-89 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

Intent on bringing Cleveland its first NBA title, James sealed the victory with a soaring dunk in the final minute. But Smith was the one who ignited the Cavaliers, going 8 of 12 from 3-point range.

Lightning top Rangers in OT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored 3:33 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Ondrej Palat had two goals and an assist, and Tyler Johnson, Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn each had one goal and an assist for the Lightning. They took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series that continues Friday night at Amalie Arena.

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