Brett Favre expects to start for Vikings against Patriots

Brett Favre expects to start for the Minnesota Vikings against the New England Patriots on Sunday despite two fractures in his left ankle, according to a report by ESPN.

The network reported Saturday that Favre said his injuries have healed significantly and that he plans to start, which would extend his record streak of consecutive regular-season starts to 292 games.

Favre wore a walking boot the first three days of the week and did not practice until Friday, when he only participated on a limited basis.

Favre was injured in a loss to the Green Bay Packers last weekend. He said Wednesday that he wanted to play to try and help the Vikings (2-4) turn things around after a slow start to the season.

Minnesota Coach Brad Childress said Friday he “probably will� wait until the last hours before kickoff to decide whether Favre starts.

Meanwhile, the manager for Jenn Sterger said she probably will meet with the NFL by the end of this week about the league’s investigation into whether Favre sent her inappropriate text messages and lewd photos.

Sterger is the former New York Jets sideline hostess who, according to a report from the website Deadspin, allegedly was sent the text messages and photos by Favre when he was with the Jets in 2008.

Indianapolis running back Joseph Addai is doubtful for the Colts’ game Monday night against Houston. The Colts’ top rusher hasn’t practiced since injuring a nerve in his left shoulder Oct. 17 at Washington.

Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams will miss Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams with an injured foot.

Golf: Graeme McDowell, Garety Maybin share lead

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell shot a one-over 72 in windy conditions for a share of the third-round lead with countryman Gareth Maybin in the Andalucia Masters at Sotogrande, Spain.

Maybin had a 70 at Valderrama to match McDowell, the U.S. Open champion, at six under.

Martin Kaymer, who needs to win or finish second to take the top spot in the world ranking from Tiger Woods, had a 70 to drop nine strokes behind the leaders.

Larry Nelson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a four-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Jay Don Blake, Steve Lowery and Chien Soon Lu in the AT&T Championship at San Antonio.

Former UC Riverside player Brendan Steele shot a seven-under 65 to take a five-stroke lead in the Nationwide Tour Championship at Charleston, S.C.

Auto racing: Kyle Busch wins by a hair at Talladega

Kyle Busch made a last-ditch move to take the lead from Aric Almirola and win the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama by 0.002 of a second. It was the closest finish in series history when using electronic scoring, NASCAR officials said.

Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole for Sunday’s Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Talladega. Montoya is not a contender in the Chase. Championship contenders Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick will start in the middle of the pack Sunday. Harvick qualified 14th, Hamlin 17th and Johnson 19th. Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, has a six-point lead over Hamlin. Harvick, winner of the April race at Talladega and the July race at Daytona, is 61 points back.

Jim Hunter, a NASCAR executive who spent portions of six decades in the industry, first as a newspaper reporter and later as a public relations official with the sanctioning body, died Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla., after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 71.

Tennis: Clijsters, Wozniacki advance to final

U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters was unhurt in a car accident before her match Saturday and advanced to the WTA Championships final at Doha, Qatar, by defeating Samantha Stosur 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Clijsters said a truck “came out of nowhere� at a roundabout and hit the right front door of her official WTA Tour car. Clijsters said she was not injured, but her manager suffered minor cuts.

Clijsters will face top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the season-ending final on Sunday. Wozniacki routed No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-0 in the other semifinal.

Defending champion Jurgen Melzer and Andreas Haider-Maurer set up the first all-Austrian final for the Bank Austria Trophy in Vienna in 22 years. The top-seeded Melzer beat Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 6-4 and Haider-Maurer defeated Michael Berrer, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3, in the other semifinal.

Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic beat Albert Montanes of Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (4) Saturday and will play Gael Monfils of France in the Open Sud de France final in Montpellier.

Basketball: Spurs, Tony Parker sign extension

The San Antonio Spurs signed French point guard Tony Parker to a multiyear extension on Saturday that preserves their three-time NBA champion core that includes Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. The extension was for $50 million over four years, according to Parker’s website.