Johnson fluffed two late chances to steal the unlikeliest of wins and Melbourne iced it from the stripe through Goulding.Adelaide coach Joey Wright took some heart from the Sixers fierce fourth-quarter figh

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- NASCAR chairman Brian France refused Sunday to discuss his political support of President-elect Donald Trump and quickly pivoted the conversation toward his own efforts at improving diversity in his sport.France addressed the media hours before Sundays title-deciding season finale, and a day after Mexican Daniel Suarez became the first foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR national title. Earlier in the 17-minute news conference, France declared that Suarez would never have been in position to win the Xfinity Series championship if not for Frances diversity efforts.Without the Drive for Diversity program, with certainty, Daniel Suarez is not in NASCAR, France said.When the topic turned to Trump, France quickly shut down the questioning.France was an early supporter of Trump and took several drivers to a rally in Georgia earlier this year. France also appeared as a Trump supporter at a town hall meeting during the campaign.Its been Trumps stance on immigration, specifically with Mexico, that has appeared to be in conflict with Frances efforts. France has pushed for increased diversity, and was outspoken on his desire to remove the Confederate flag from NASCAR events.Asked Sunday about Suarezs championship in comparison to his support of Trump, France cut off the question from NBCSports.com.Ill stop you right there, he said. First of all, nobody wants to hear my political views. Not one person on this stage wants to hear from me politically. So I wont be talking about that.But on my diversity, nobody, nobody in this company, has worked harder, done more and resourced it better than me. I founded the Diversity Council. I fought for every single thing that makes sense, because thats my core belief about diversity. Its very, very important. I talk about it frequently, and my efforts there should never be challenged, no matter what my political views might be. Thats a ridiculous thing to do.France was prickly about several other topics and sweating profusely under the lights of the Homestead-Miami Speedway dais.He argued that the sport is healthy, even though Sprint is ending its 13-year association as title sponsor after Sundays race. NASCAR has had nearly two years to replace Sprint, but no sponsor has been named. In recent days, Monster Energy has emerged as a possible front-runner for the title rights.Its taken a little longer than I thought, but its also a big agreement and an important agreement, France said. Its not just dollars and cents, but its a fit for us. We dont want to announce anything certainly around this weekend. Were in a good spot with that, I believe, but well have to see how it finally plays out.France also downplayed the decline in television ratings -- eight Chase races have been down double-digits this season -- but France doesnt think the elimination-style playoff format is to blame. He noted ratings declines in all major sports and that consumption has shifted. For example, France said, he watched a Duke basketball game in a highlight package on his laptop rather than watch the game live on television.While some fans have pointed to the Chase for the championship system as a reason they no longer watch races, France believes the format now used in all three national series is best for the sport.Were very pleased with the formats. Wouldnt change a thing, he said. Go back a year ago for the Xfinity Series ... you had the winner and the champion and a couple others talk about all they needed to do was finish the race. `If I ran 30th, Ill be OK. 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Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Jordan Poole Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Wilt Chamberlain Warriors Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.Melbourne United survived a late scare and snapped their National Basketball League season duck with a 98-87 victory over the Adelaide 36ers on Friday night.Piloted by Tai Wesley (18 points) and Todd Blanchfield (17), Melbourne exploded with a dominant 32-17 second term and led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter in Adelaide.With skipper Mitch Creek exiting the match with a leg injury sustained in the first quarter and star guard Jerome Randle (20 points) fouling out late, Nathan Sobey provided much-needed spark off the bench for the home side, helping peg the gap back to five points near the death.But they werent able to overhaul those final buckets and slipped to a 1-2 record.United led by one point after a see-sawing opening stanza before blitzing Adelaide in the second, with Blanchfield catching fire from the perimeter and Wesley proving a powerhouse in the paintAfter a tough first half - on the back of sustained shooting ails in the opening round - Chris Goulding finally found his range, while Wesley demonstrated a nice outside stroke to go with his inside game, as Melbourne worked out to 80-56 late in the third.While United fired on all cylinderss, Adelaides offence repeatedly spluttered with poor shot options and consistent turnovers proving costly before Sobey and Ferguson did their best to conjure a last-ditch miracle.ddddddddddddive points down inside the final 30 seconds, Daniel Johnson fluffed two late chances to steal the unlikeliest of wins and Melbourne iced it from the stripe through Goulding.Adelaide coach Joey Wright took some heart from the Sixers fierce fourth-quarter fightback even though the damage was already done.Its great that we came back ... we knew if we played like that from the beginning wed be successful. But we didnt.They controlled the tempo in our own gym which was disappointing.Melbourne coach Dean Demopoulos said United must improve their ability to close out opposition fourth-quarter comebacks, after his sides 24-point third-quarter lead was whittled to just five points inside the last minute.Obviously wed like to do better, he saidBasketball is a game of runs and every team is going to get them.We could do a better job of closing that quarter out. ' ' '