Indianapolis 500

But first, a Memorial Day salute to the all the men and women, who, over the years, served their country gallantly and paid the ultimate price …

One cultural touchstone of the Memorial Day weekend is the Indianapolis 500. Juan Pablo Montoya won the 99th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Montoya was driving the No. 2 car for Team Penske, powered by Chevrolet. He last won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000.

Will Power, in the No. 1 car, and Charlie Kimball, in the No. 83 car, finished second and third. Montoya, Dixon, Power, and Kimball battled for first place over the final quarter of the race, after Tony Kanaan’s crash during Lap 152 eliminated him from contention. Montoya led for only nine laps on the 2 ½ mile track.

In NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, Carl Edwards got a victory after a 31-race drought, winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

LACROSSE

The University of Maryland women’s lacrosse team won its second consecutive national title and 12^th overall with a 9-8 victory on Sunday over North Carolina in Chester, Pa. Maryland trailed 2-0 and 6-3 before pulling out the win. The Terps finished 21-1. Maryland gets another chance for a title on Monday, when the men’s team takes on Denver in Philadelphia for the national title. The Terrapins are in their third championship game in five years but have not been crowned as champions since 1975.

BASKETBALL

LeBron James missed his first 10 shots but finished with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 114-111 in overtime on Sunday night. The Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference final series 3-0. The Golden State Warriors are also up 3-0 in their Western Conference series with the Houston Rockets.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .