Vickers races to his fifth pole of the season AGREEING TO DISAGREE

Brian Vickers won his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup pole of the season, running a lap of 184.162 mph at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

Red Bull Racing teammate Scott Speed qualified second at 182.958. Three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was third.

Those poles haven’t helped Vickers drive to Victory Lane. He hasn’t finished higher than fifth this season. He has 10 career poles in 191 Cup races.

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Unable to find funding since his suspension for failing a random drug test, NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield says he is considering selling his race team. . . . Formula One’s leading teams revived their threat to form a breakaway series despite the sport’s governing body insisting that a deal to end the long saga over regulations could be reached in days.

HOCKEY

Ducks’ defense adds Boynton

The Ducks signed veteran defenseman Nick Boynton to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.

Boynton, 30, played in Florida last season, scoring 21 points and recording 91 penalty minutes in 68 games. Previously he was with Phoenix and the Bruins.

-- Lisa Dillman

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Rob Blake is staying with the San Jose Sharks, who signed the defenseman to a one-year contract. The team also re-signed defenseman Kent Huskins to a two-year deal. . . . Jiri Hudler has left the Detroit Red Wings and will play for Dynamo Moscow. . . . As expected, longtime Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic retired after 20 seasons and two Stanley Cup titles.

JURISPRUDENCE

USC players are not charged

USC defensive lineman Everson Griffen and linebacker Jordan Campbell were cited for violating Nantucket Island’s noise bylaw on July 4, a news release from Nantucket (Mass.) police said.

The players were identified as hosts of a party that emitted noise more than 100 feet from the property during restricted hours, which violated the town’s noise bylaw, the release said. The case was treated as a civil matter and resolved in Nantucket District court on July 6. No criminal charges resulted.

USC Sports Information Director Tim Tessalone told The Times the players were not arrested and must write a letter of apology, but no other action will result from the incident.

-- Bill Brink

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Former NFL star Bruce Smith was convicted of drunk driving by a judge who rejected his claim that old football injuries, not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests. . . . Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in Tennessee and will be on probation for three months. . . . A judge blocked the NFL’s plan to suspend Minnesota Vikings linemen Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for violating the league’s anti-doping policy, a move their attorney said should let them start the season with camp beginning in three weeks.

ETC.

Mexico gets a tie, Guadeloupe wins

Stephane Auvray and Ludovic Gotin scored one minute apart in the second half and Guadeloupe clinched a berth in the Gold Cup quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over Nicaragua at Houston. In the second game, Miguel Sabah scored for Mexico and Blas Perez scored for Panama in a 1-1 tie.

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Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof The Nile has been retired because of a soft-tissue injury in his left front leg. . . . Jockey Rafael Bejarano won his 2,000th career race when he rode Good Time Sally to victory in the fifth race at Hollywood Park.

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Roger Federer and Andy Roddick’s epic Wimbledon final Sunday was the most-viewed men’s final at the All England Club in 10 years. NBC said that an average of 5.71 million people tuned in.

PASSINGS

Liu, 42, ex-USC volleyball MVP

Jen-Kai Liu, the MVP of USC’s 1988 NCAA men’s volleyball championship team, has died. He was 42. Liu died of heart failure on June 1 in Shanghai.