Vickers expected to replace Stewart

Brian Vickers is expected to replace injured driver Tony Stewart for the NASCAR season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Stewart-Haas Racing has scheduled a Friday news conference to discuss its plans for the No. 14 Chevrolet. The decision is still pending because the team is awaiting word from NASCAR on whether Vickers is medically cleared to race.

Vickers ran only two races last season before suffering a recurrence of blood clots. He can't compete when being treated for the clots because the blood thinners increase his risk of serious internal bleeding if he crashes.

Stewart is sidelined for the start of his final NASCAR season with a fractured vertebra. He was hurt riding an all-terrain vehicle in the desert in California last week.

Vickers is only expected to run at Daytona, which opens Friday ahead of the Feb. 21 season-opening Daytona 500. SHR is still looking at all of its options for beyond Daytona. Stewart is expected to race at some point this year.

Alex Morgan scored 12 seconds in and added another goal in the 62nd minute and the U.S. women's team opened CONCACAF qualifying for the Rio Olympics with a 5-0 victory over Costa Rica.

Morgan's goal was the fastest in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying history, and the team said it is believed to be the fastest in U.S. history.

Lisa Borders has been a fan of the WNBA ever since she helped bring a team to Atlanta. Now she's the league's new president.

The WNBA announced the move Wednesday, three months after former president Laurel J. Richie stepped down.

"I have been more than a fan. I led the effort to bring this team to Atlanta," said Borders, who describes herself as a raving fan. "I've been a season-ticket holder ever since. I sit in the Hollywood seats, usually have lost my voice by the end of the game."

Borders has spent the past few years as a chairwoman of the Coca-Cola Foundation.

Portland guard Damian Lillard was added to the U.S. national basketball team pool, giving the Americans 31 players for 12 spots.

Colleges: Outgoing Southern California athletic director Pat Haden became faint on campus and went to visit his doctor. A school official said the episode was similar to one that Haden had last October in South Bend, Ind., before a football game against Notre Dame.

Baseball: Houston designated hitter Evan Gattis underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia. Gattis had the surgery Tuesday and will be out four to six weeks.

NFL: Browns outside linebacker Armonty Bryant was indicted on two counts of felony drug possession stemming from a Christmas-morning traffic stop, according to court records. … The Giants announced that linebacker Jon Beason retired and offensive linemen Will Beatty and Geoff Schwartz were released.

Olympics: Bob Costas will return as NBC's prime-time host for the 2016 Summer Olympics, extending his unprecedented run as the face of the Games for American viewers.