WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) - A year ago, Ryan Hunter-Reay left Watkins Glen International brimming with confidence after a surprising IndyCar victory.

He returns to defend his title Sunday in the Camping World Grand Prix, sometimes having to glance down at his racing suit just to make sure he knows who he's driving for.

And it's not Rahal Letterman Racing, the team he was with in his first and only IndyCar victory.

"We had a great thing going there at Rahal Letterman," Hunter-Reay said. "Definitely, momentum was building through the season and the end of the season with a third place at Surfers Paradise. We had every sign that things would continue."

Every sign vanished after the season. RLR lost its primary sponsor when an American ethanol company decided to pull out of the open-wheel series. The team had to search for sponsorship in one of the nation's deepest recessions ever, and when the money didn't come through Hunter-Reay was out of a ride.

"To have everything going for you and then have it all fall out from under you, yeah, that's pretty hard," the Texas-born Hunter-Reay said. "But there are two sides to every coin. I'm very persistent, and no matter where I end up going I end up, hopefully, making the best of it."

A ride with Vision Racing surfaced right before the season opener in April.

"I didn't sign my deal until Friday practice at St. Petersburg," he said. "We had a great week at St. Pete, finished second. But the team's been in a bad financial situation to run two cars."

So bad that Hunter-Reay is driving the No. 14 for A.J. Foyt for the remainder of the season in place of Vitor Meira, who's recovering from a back injury sustained in the Indianapolis 500.

"I've been wearing three different race suits, so it's definitely been all over the place," Hunter-Reay said. "I'm still working with everybody at Vision trying to get the chemistry going together there and now I'm starting from scratch again. It's definitely going to take some time. That said. That doesn't mean it will stand in the way of good race results."

It hasn't before. Racing for several Champ Car teams, he won a race in Australia as a rookie in 2003 and added an impressive wire-to-wire victory for another team the next year at Milwaukee. However, by the middle of 2005 - with yet another team - he again was looking for work.

Hunter-Reay's best finish in his short IndyCar career came at the 3.4-mile track in upstate New York's Finger Lakes wine country. He passed Darren Manning, now his teammate, with less than 10 laps remaining after Scott Dixon made an uncharacteristic mistake while running second on a restart late in the race that cost him in his bid for a fourth straight victory at the historic road course.

"I've been looking forward to Watkins Glen since I left Watkins Glen last year," said Hunter-Reay, who began racing go-karts in the 1990s and also has driven in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and Toyota Atlantic Series.

"It's such a tough race track. Unfortunately, quite a few of the teams have come to test, the big teams, so it's going to be tough to go there with no testing and to be on par with those guys. But hey, we did it last year."

After a stretch of six consecutive oval races, the IndyCar Series transitions to Watkins Glen, the first of three consecutive road and street course events.

Dixon, the defending IRL champion, has been the master of the high-speed turns at The Glen and is fresh from a win at Richmond, his series-best third of the season. He trails Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti by one point in the standings and is itching to make up for last year's blunder.

"It was definitely one we threw away," Dixon said Friday before taking off on a different kind of ride aboard Fat Alpert Airlines, the four-engine, propeller-driven C-130T cargo plane the Blue Angels use in their air shows.

"To be going for a record of four in a row (at Watkins Glen), it was extremely frustrating to let it slip by. It ranks right up there along with the constant reminder from (team owner) Chip (Ganassi)."

Mainly because of Dixon's dominance, AGR hasn't had that breakthrough victory at Watkins Glen. So it was no surprise when Marco Andretti and teammates Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan tested at the track three weeks ago.

"It just seems like it's one of the tracks where we've been very competitive but have never won here," said Kanaan, who was third a year ago and fourth in 2007. "It's something in our setup and the way we run our cars. We can't figure it out."

Verona (WSYR-TV) - Last year, PGA pro Notah Begay III held his inaugural annual charity skins game at Turning Stone's Atunyote Golf Course.

Unfortunately, his good friend and former college teammate Tiger Woods was unable to attend due to knee surgery after winning a June golf tournament.
    
This year, things could change.

On his Twitter page, Begay says he has “huge news” about this year's skins game, which will be announced next week; a Monday morning news conference has already been scheduled at Turning Stone.

After Woods pulled out of last year's event, Begay said it would be 50/50 if he played this year.

Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas are listed as participants on Begay's website, with one other participant labeled “TBA.”

This year's skins challenge is set for August 24.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The SU men's basketball schedule continues to take shape. Thursday, the Big East released everyone's conference opponents for next season.

The Orange will face three teams twice; they'll play a home-and-home series against Louisville, Georgetown, and Providence. The Cards, of course, made it all the way to the Elite 8 last season.
    
The six other teams that will be visiting the Dome include UConn, Villanova, Marquette and Pittsburgh.

As for the away games, Syracuse will visit the likes of Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

Dates and times will be released as the season gets closer.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Carolina Hurricanes are keeping Oswego native Erik Cole, agreeing Wednesday to a two-year deal with the physical forward.

Cole will make $2.8 million this upcoming season and $3 million in 2010-11.

The Hurricanes' third-round pick in 1998 took a pay cut to stay in Raleigh. He made $4 million last season while completing a three-year deal he signed in 2006.

Carolina dealt Cole to Edmonton last summer, then reacquired the fan favorite at the trade deadline. His return re-energized the Hurricanes - and All-Star Eric Staal in particular - down the stretch, with points in 15 of the final 17 games in the regular season. He struggled in the playoffs with no goals and five assists in 18 games.

Cole had 18 goals and 24 assists in 80 regular-season games.

"Erik clearly had an instant impact on our team when he returned to Carolina," general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He has been an important piece for our franchise for a long time, and we are pleased that he has decided to remain at home in Raleigh."

Cole became the second of Carolina's potential free agents to re-sign this week. Playoff hero Jussi Jokinen previously signed on for two more years.

Also Wednesday, the Hurricanes signed restricted free agent forwards Patrick Dwyer and Michael Ryan to two-way contracts.

Dwyer's two-year contract will pay him $500,000 per season at the NHL level and $105,000 at the AHL level. Ryan's one-year contract will pay him $500,000 in the NHL level and $100,000 in the AHL, with $150,000 guaranteed.

Cortland (WSYR-TV) - Cortland is kicking into high gear as it prepares to host the Jets training camp in only a few weeks.

Among the initiatives underway is filming for commercials that promote the team's arrival.

We visited the set Wednesday, where central New Yorkers are sharing the spotlight.

The concept of the commercial is to recruit a handful of Jets -- actors, really -- and stick them smack dab in the middle of central New York.

“We're going to put them into a ‘slice of life’ upstate New York scene. We have a Jet crossing guard, one tending a corn stand, one fishing,” says the commercial’s executive producer, Jeff Johnston.

Clay's Chuck Rogers auditioned for the part of the Jets crossing guard because he's a fan -- a big fan -- of the game.

“I played with the Syracuse Express, the Vipers, then I had a shot at playing with the Chargers -- I was there for six months pre-season,” Rogers says.

Two minor challenges in bringing the Jets to Cortland -- at least as far as this commercial is concerned -- first: you never know what the weather will bring, and second, turning 100 central New Yorkers into Jets and Jets fans.

Johnston says he’s “not [looking for] professional talent, but people that are very motivated to be out here to help support the Jets coming into Cortland this year.”

Hopefully these 15 minutes of fame will be enough to get neighbors off their couches and out to the Jets training camp.

These commercials will hit the air from Watertown to Binghamton and Auburn to Utica in about a week and a half. 

Jets training camp begins July 31.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1987 with an inaugural class that included the likes of Carmen Basilio, Dolph Schayes, Vic Hanson and Roy Simmons, Sr.

Twenty-two years, and almost 175 members later, the Hall is about to welcome six more local legends into its ever-growing museum.

The announcement was made Tuesday at the Hall of Fame headquarters in Cicero.

The Class of '09 is headlined by former Nottingham star and ex-Orange football player Keith Moody, who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Raiders.

Larry Kimball is also a part of this class; Kimball was the longtime sports information director at SU who didn't miss a single football game in 31 years.

Kimball and Moody are joined by Beth Mowins, a former two-sport athlete at C-NS who now works for ESPN, long-time referee John Sherlock, legendary LaFayette volleyball coach Kris Terrillion and Old Timer Edmund Dollard, who coached the SU basketball team to a national championship in 1918.

Induction day is set for October 19th in Liverpool.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Thursday night, Paul Harris watched as his best friend and former teammate Jonny Flynn got picked up early in the first round of the NBA draft by Minnesota.

Harris, though, never heard his name called, and the former SU players’ future was in doubt.
    
Monday night, though, NewsChannel 9 has learned that Harris and Flynn will be reunited next month in Las Vegas.

Harris was in Cleveland working out for the Cavaliers over the past couple days, but he apparently already had an offer from Minnesota to play for their summer team.

Harris will have to fight for a spot on the roster, but what better way to warm up to the pros than with your best friend.

At least for a little while, Flynn and Harris will be reunited in Las Vegas; the Timberwolves’ first summer league game is July 12th against the Houston Rockets.

Meanwhile Flynn was honored in his hometown of Niagara Falls Monday night; the major gave Flynn the key to the city at a City Hall ceremony.

Flynn graduated from Niagara Falls High School, and most of his family still lives there. He's the first ever player from the area to be drafted by the NBA.