Carolina RailHawks midfielder Daniel Paladini is among the Best XI players from the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League, as announced Thursday by the United States Soccer Federation.
Paladini, whose seven goals was second most on the club, led the RailHawks in games played (34) and was tied with Matt Watson for the most assists with five.
"It's Daniel's second year in a row that he has been voted to the best 11, and it's well deserved," RailHawks head coach Martin Rennie said. "He has been a big player for us and won games for us. We look for him to continue that now until the end of the season and help the team win a championship."
Paladini and the RailHawks will play at the Puerto Rico Islanders on Sunday in the first leg of the USSF D-2 championship series.
The second leg of the series will be held on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Tickets start at $10 when purchased in advance. Contact the LGFCU box office at (919) 859-5425 or log on to carolinarailhawks.com to learn more.
Kahne joins Red Bull team
Kasey Kahne will finish this season driving for Red Bull Racing, a move made possible when Richard Petty Motorsports granted him an early release, presumably to dump the remainder of his contract.
Kahne will finish this year in the No. 83 Toyota, Red Bull said Thursday. He's signed to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and is moving to Red Bull next year as a one-season stopgap.
With the early switch, Red Bull now must make the final two payments on Kahne's contract, and he could be owed at least $2 million.
"With our agreement only being for one year, there is a great sense of urgency to get started on 2011," Red Bull general manager Jay Frye said. "With Kasey coming earlier than planned, we are excited to have a five-race head start."
RPM said it will use Aric Almirola in its car this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
The team signed AJ Allmendinger to an extension to stay in the No. 43 - Petty's iconic car - and is adding Marcos Ambrose to the lineup next year.
Federer advances in Sweden
Roger Federer cruised into the Stockholm Open quarterfinals in his 900th match on the ATP Tour, defeating Taylor Dent of the United States 6-1, 6-2.
Federer needed just 51 minutes to record his 727th tour win on Thursday. It was his first match in the Swedish capital in a decade.
Kremlin Cup: Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas beat top-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2 Thursday in the second round in Moscow.
The 268th-ranked Diyas, who celebrated her 17th birthday on Monday, led 5-0 in the first set when Jankovic called for a doctor and had her blood pressure checked.
China wins gymnastics title
Olympic champion China won the men's team title at the world championships on Thursday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, while the United States struggled on pommel horse and never recovered while finishing fourth.
Proving its continued strength in depth, China led rival Japan most of the night, and even a strong effort from the injured Kohei Uchimura could not stop the relatively untested Chinese team from winning its fourth major title in a row.
China finished with 274.997 points, beating Japan by 1.228 points. Germany was 3.745 points behind in third.
Monty OK after car wreck
European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie bruised his left side in a four-vehicle crash Thursday and said he was lucky to escape with only minor injuries.
He was driving from his home in Dunning, Scotland, to see his father in Glasgow at the time, authorities said. No one was hospitalized.
Montgomerie said a van slammed into his car, and then his car was struck by a truck and another car. He added that he was pulled from the car by other drivers.
"It was a terrible shock, and I am lucky to have come out of it relatively unscathed," he said.
Castello Masters: Paul Lawrie of Scotland and Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina shot 7-under 64s to tie for the first-round lead in Castellon, Spain.
Each had seven birdies in bogey-free rounds at the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo near Valencia.
The Associated Press
