Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — MOTOR SPORTS

Alonso wins F1 European GP

Fernando Alonso of Ferrari won an incident-filled European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain on Sunday to become the first driver to win two races this season, while Michael Schumacher earned a first podium finish since his return from a two year retirement in 2010, coming in third. Alonso moved his way up from 11th on the starting grid to claim a victory for the Spaniard in front of his home fans after pole sitter Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull stalled on the track midway through the race. Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus finished second, while Schumacher sneaked onto the podium after Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado collided on the penultimate lap as they fought for third place. “This race is probably the best victory I have ever felt,” Alonso said. “In terms of emotions, nothing compares to this.” Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber also had a strong showing, working his way up all the way from 19th to finish fourth. Alonso’s 29th career victory lifted him into first place in the points standings, 10 points ahead of Webber, who passed Hamilton and Vettel. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg came in fifth and Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg finished sixth. Paul Di Resta of Force India, McLaren’s Jenson Button, Sergio Perez of Sauber and Bruno Senna in his Williams completed the top 10.

SOCCER

Italy beats England

Alessandro Diamanti scored the decisive penalty kick Sunday in Kiev, Ukraine to send Italy through to the European Championship semifinals with a 4-2 victory in the shootout following a 0-0 tie with England. Ashley Young hit the crossbar with England’s third attempt, and Ashley Cole’s attempt was saved by Gianluigi Buffon. Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Nocerino also scored for Italy. Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney scored England’s penalties. Italy will next play Germany in the semifinals on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland.

FOOTBALL

Fujita sees smear campaign

Scott Fujita, a union leader with a record of criticizing the NFL’s player-safety record, sees elements of a “smear campaign” in a bounty investigation that has sullied his reputation. Some NFL players agree, and question whether Fujita’s three game suspension has something to do with retribution, especially since the linebacker was with the Saints for only the first of the three seasons covered by the probe. As a member of the NFL Players Association’s executive committee, Fujita has blasted the NFL’s handling of concussions, attempts to expand the schedule and other health policies. The NFL says it stands by findings that Fujita pledged “more than token amounts” to a Saints pool that paid in part for injury-producing hits, and that Fujita failed to present evidence to the contrary when given the chance. “I’m not saying the NFL is intentionally lying,” Fujita said told The Associated Press. “I’ve been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they may have just been working with the information they’ve been given, even though much of that information was inaccurate and lacked credibility. ... They clearly proceeded with a public smear campaign with very little regard for the truth.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could rule on the appeals of Fujita and the other players suspended because of their roles in the bounty program as early as today.

HORSE RACING

Strait of Dover wins

Strait of Dover won the $1 million Queen’s Plate on Sunday at Woodbine in Toronto, beating filly Irish Mission by 1 1/4 lengths in the first leg of the Canadian triple crown. Ridden by Justin Stein, Strait of Dover led from start to finish, running 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.99 in a light rain to break the polytrack record at Woodbine. Strait of Dover paid $9.60, $5.80 and $4.30, Irish Mission returned $8.40 and $6.20, and Dixie Strike paid $5.50 to show.

Willy Beamin and Beautiful But Blue won the $125,000 stakes for New York bred 3-year-olds on Sunday at Belmont Park in New York. Willy Beamin beat Brigand, the 1-2 favorite, by four lengths in the Mike Lee. Mike Luzzi was aboard for trainer Rick Dutrow as Willy Beamin extended his winning streak to four. Returning on only three days of rest, Willy Beamin ran the seven furlongs in 1:22.44, paying $7 to win as the 5-2 second choice. Beautiful But Blue was also a dominant winner, defeating Fiftyfour Forever by 3 1/4 lengths in the Bouwerie for fillies. Junior Alvarado rode for trainer Tom Bush as she won for the fourth time in eight starts. Beautiful But Blue paid $12.60 to win. The time was 1:23.72 for the same distance.

Capital Plan beat 2-1 second choice Cambina by a nose Sunday in the $100,000 Beverly Hills Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif. Ridden by Joel Rosario, the 4-year-old filly ran 1 1/4 miles on turf in 2:04.21 and paid $3.80. Cambina returned $2.80 and $2.10 while Quaintly, who was another half-length behind Cambina, paid $2.40 to show.

BASEBALL Red Sox trade Youkilis to White Sox

BOSTON - Kevin Youkilis took off his batting helmet and waved to the crowd. A favorite at Fenway Park for so long, he wanted a final chance to say so long.

The Boston Red Sox traded Youkilis on Sunday, sending the three-time All-Star infielder and cash to the Chicago White Sox for utilityman Brent Lillibridge and right-hander Zach Stewart. The Red Sox also will pay $5.6 million of the $8.1 million Youkilis is still owed this season.

A member of Boston teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, the 33-year-old Youkilis is hitting just .233 in 42 games this season while spending time on the disabled list with lower back tightness.

He now joins the American League Central-leading White Sox, who wanted a regular third baseman. The White Sox have been looking for a third baseman with Brent Morel injured with back problems.

“I just got off the phone with him, he’s very excited to join our club and he’s got a little edge to him that I like,” White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams said. “I can’t tell you exactly what he said, but he wants to come in and prove some people wrong.”

Youkilis had a rousing end to his time with the Red Sox. After hitting an RBI triple in the seventh inning of a 9-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, he was lifted for a pinch runner.

Youkilis’ time in Boston became limited because of the play of rookie Will Middlebrooks,who is hitting .326 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI in 41 games. Youkilis, who can play both of the corner infield spots, is a career .286 hitter with 133 home runs and 563 RBI.

Stewart, 25, is 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 18 games with the White Sox this season. Lillibridge, 28, is hitting .175 with 2 RBI and 7 stolen bases in 48 games.