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NHL

Martin inks long-term deal

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are locking up general manager Jacques Martin to a long-term deal.

The NHL team announced Friday the two sides have reached an agreement for Martin to remain as GM through the 2011-12 season. Martin, 55, joined the Panthers organization four years ago as head coach and assumed general manager duties on Sept. 3, 2006. He has previously worked as a head coach with the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues.

NASCAR

Busch dominates in qualifier

CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Busch continued his dominance with a flawless qualifying effort Friday night to capture the pole for the NASCAR Sprint all-star race. Busch, the Sprint Cup points leader with three wins and seven top-10 finishes in 11 races, was the last car to hit the track. In a unique format that called for three laps and a four-tire pit stop, Busch was the fastest in and out of pit road and finished in two minutes, 1.956 seconds. Busch was more than a half-second faster than Jeff Gordon, who will start on the outside of the front row for today’s non-points race.

NFL

Boston reporter writes apology

BOSTON – The Boston Herald sports writer who reported the New England Patriots taped a pre-Super Bowl walkthrough by the St. Louis Rams in 2002 said he will regret the erroneous story for the rest of his life.“First and foremost, this is about a writer breaking one of the cardinal rules of journalism. I failed to keep challenging what I had been told,”wrote John Tomase in Friday’s editions of the newspaper. Tomase explained what led up to the publication of the Feb. 2 story, which appeared one day before the Patriots’ 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. The Herald on Wednesday apologized for the story, after former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he did not tape the walkthrough and did not know of anyone who had.

Baseball

Houston gives Clapp permission

HOUSTON, TX – The heart and soul of Canada’s baseball team will be making the trip to Beijing. Stubby Clapp has received permission from the Houston Astros organization to compete for Canada. The Astros had initially turned down a request for the scrappy infielder from Windsor, Ont., to take a month off from his duties as a hitting coach with the single-A Lexington Legends.

PGA

Byrd flies high at Sugarloaf

DULUTH, Ga. – Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic. Byrd, seeking his fourth PGA Tour victory, shared the lead with Kenny Perry, Ryan Palmer and two others when the second round began. Perry and Palmer shot 69s to drop into a tie for second. Parker McLachlin, another first-round leader, shot a 70 to drop into a three-way tie for fourth with Charles Howell III (69) and David Toms (69) at 8 under. Ian Leggatt of Cambridge, Ont., fired his second straight even-par 72 to make the cut by one stroke.