.AUTO RACINGDENVER -- Martin Truex Jr. has signed a two-year contract extension with Furniture Row Racing, keeping him with his NASCAR team through the 2018 season.The Denver-based operation also announced that Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats will increase their primary sponsorship on the No. 78

The St. Louis Cardinals continue at the top of the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are gaining steam, ranked a season-high third, after being ranked as low as 25th three months ago. Los Angeles has a 2.61 ERA in July, leading baseball, and their offence is obviously much better now that they have SS Hanley Ramirez and OF Yasiel Puig in the lineup every day. The Seattle Mariners, 10-3 in their last 13 games, have started to put together a batting order as they add young players to their roster. In the month of July, their .789 OPS ranked third and helped the Mariners move from 22 to 16. A six-game winning streak lifted the Kansas City Royals back to .500 and they jumped from 23 to 18 in the rankings as a result. Going the other way, the Atlanta Braves fell from nine to 13, largely because they lost starting pitcher Tim Hudson to a broken ankle, but if Brandon Beachy can return in form, the Braves could bounce back quickly in the rankings. The Toronto Blue Jays peaked at No. 14 a little over a month ago, but their descent continues, down to 22 from 18. Times are tough in Philadelphia, where the Phillies have lost eight straight and their best hitter, Domonic Brown is on the disabled list with a concussion. Throw it all together and the Phillies fall from 15 to 23. The L.A. Angels of Anaheim lost first baseman Albert Pujols for the rest of the season and sunk from 19 to 25. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.Cheap Puma Shoes UK Outlet . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Discount Puma Shoes UK .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. http://www.pumasaleuk.com/ . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Clearance Puma Shoes UK . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Wholesale Nike Shoes UK Fast Shipping .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach.OLYMPICSRIO DE JANEIRO -- The IOC approved the entry of 271 Russian athletes for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, meaning 70 percent of the countrys original team will compete after a doping scandal that has dominated the buildup to the games.The IOC rule barring Russian athletes with prior doping sanctions from competing in the games was also rejected as unenforceable by a sports arbitration panel, a decision which could open the door to further appeals and more Russians being entered.The International Olympic Committee announced the go-ahead for 271 Russian athletes about 24 hours before the opening ceremony of the games. Overall, more than 100 Russians have been excluded, including 67 in track and field.RIO DE JANEIRO -- One of the lead investigators into the Russian doping crisis accused the World Anti-Doping Agency of contributing to the chaos ahead of the Olympics by not pushing for a probe into the countrys entire sports system at an earlier date.Jack Robertson, the chief investigator for the probe of Russias track team, told Pro Publica that WADA president Craig Reedie had to be literally pressured into every investigation.Reedie responded by telling The Associated Press that Robertson, who left WADA under pressure in January, is clearly a disaffected former employee.NBAOKLAHOMA CITY -- A month after Kevin Durant bolted for Golden State, star guard Russell Westbrook signed a contract extension to stay in Oklahoma City.The team confirmed Westbrook signed the extension. A person with direct knowledge of the terms said the two sides agreed on a new three-year deal worth $85.7 million. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not release terms.After the announcement, the team feted Westbrook during an event that was part pep rally and part press conference.NFLMINNEAPOLIS -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodells power to freely punish Adrian Peterson has prevailed, two seasons after the Minnesota running back became embroiled in a child-abuse case that heightened the dispute over league discipline.A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an NFL arbitrator acted within his rights by upholding Goodells six-game suspension of Peterson in 2014. That came under the personal conduct policy the league toughened up following a brutal act of caught-on-video domestic violence committed by Baltimore running back Ray Rice.GOLFCROMWELL, Conn. -- Jerry Kelly played off the emotion of what he considers a home crowd Thursday in the Travelers Championship, shooting a 6-under 64 for a share of the first-round lead with Vaughn Taylor and Andrew Loupe.The 49-year-old Kelly, who played at the nearby University of Hartford, started his afternoon on the back nine at TPC River Highlands, sinking a 45-foot putt for eagle on his sixth hole of the day, the courses signature par-4 15th.Taylor, the 40-year-old who woon for the first time since 2005 at Pebble Beach this year, strung together five consecutive birdies starting on the 12th hole and shot a 30 on the back nine.ddddddddddddLoupe, who at 27 is looking for his first PGA Tour win, had seven birdies and a bogey on the day. He pulled into a tie for the lead after a 128-yard approach shot on 18 gave him a 2-foot birdie putt.Jon Rahm, the 21-year-old Spaniard who turned pro in June, eagled the par-5 13th hole and was a stroke back along with Ben Martin and Marc Leishman.NBANORTH BERWICK, Scotland -- Englishmen Chris Wood and Matt Fitzpatrick won their first-round matches in the Paul Lawrie Match Play as they look to lock up their first Europes Ryder Cup spots.Wood beat Australias Brett Rumford 4 and 3, and Fitzpatrick raced to a 6-up lead after nine holes before closing out Denmarks Thomas Bjorn 4 and 3.Wood is the top-seeded player at Archerfield and, like Fitzpatrick, currently occupies a spot on the European team for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine next month in Minnesota. Tournament host Paul Lawrie also advanced to the last 32, beating Denmarks Lucas Bjerregaard 4 and 2.U.S. WOMENS AMATEURSPRINGFIELD, Pa. -- South Koreas Eun Jeong Seong and Italys Virginia Elena Carta each won two matches in the U.S. Womens Amateur to keep alive their bids for rare season sweeps.The 16-year-old Seong is trying to become the first player to win the event and U.S. Girls Junior in the same season, and the 19-year-old Carta is attempting to become the second player to win the tournament and NCAA individual title in the same year.Seong beat Thailands Chakansim (Fai) Khamborn 5 and 4 in the morning in the round of 32 at Rolling Green, and topped fellow South Korean player Hye-Jin Choi 6 and 5 in the afternoon round of 16.AUTO RACINGDENVER -- Martin Truex Jr. has signed a two-year contract extension with Furniture Row Racing, keeping him with his NASCAR team through the 2018 season.The Denver-based operation also announced that Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats will increase their primary sponsorship on the No. 78 Toyota from 12 to 16 races in 2017. The outdoorsman giants served as Truexs primary sponsors for his back-to-back Xfinity Series championships (2004-05) and the first three years of his Sprint Cup career (2006-08).They were reunited this season.TENNISATLANTA -- Second-seeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia advanced to the BB&T Atlanta Open quarterfinals, beating American Jared Donaldson 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a rain-interrupted match.Kyrgios won an indoor event in Marseille, France, in February for his lone tour title. He will face fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Frances Julien Benneteau.Japans Yoshihito Nishioka and Argentinas Horacio Zeballos set up a quarterfinal in the day session. ' ' '