Chris Snee came off the Physically Unable to Perform list and joined the New York Giants at practice during training camp in New Jersey August 6.

“It felt good to be out there and working a little bit,” Snee said, according to an interview transcript on the team’s Web site, giants.com.

The Montrose graduate is returning from extensive hip surgery in the offseason.

Snee, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound guard who had surgery after playing in the Pro Bowl, has helped the Giants to two Super Bowl titles in his career. During an earlier phone interview, he pointed out multiple areas the team will be trying to improve as it hopes to return to the playoffs.

“Even the years after we won the Super Bowls, we had plenty of areas we could fix,” Snee said.

Snee said he would only assess the issues the offense faces as it prepares to open the regular season September 8 in the Sunday night NBC golf.

“We need to do a better job when we get down; we need to score when we’re in the Red Zone,” Snee said. “We want to be in the top five in the league.

“It doesn’t matter how many yards you put up if you don’t get in there.”

Snee also wants to be part of a team that is in the top five in the league in rushing again.

“We want to rush the ball,” he said. “We were 11th last year. That improved from two years ago, which was a good thing, but we want to get back in the top five.”

When not opening holes for the running game, Snee and the rest of the offensive line unit has another big responsibility in pass blocking for Eli Manning.

“We always want to keep the number of hits on Eli down,” he said.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Major League Baseball’s series of suspensions last week struck close to home, hitting both the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and the Eastern League-leading Binghamton Mets.

MLB suspended Alex Rodriguez through the end of the 2014 season and issued 50-game suspensions to 12 other players for violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program as part of the Biogenesis investigation.

Rodriguez, the fifth-leading home run hitter in MLB history, spent part of the this season with the RailRiders on an injury rehabilitation assignment following hip surgery.

The 50-game suspensions included outfielder Fernando Martinez, who was with the RailRiders at the time; New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, who spent parts of three seasons with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, including last season as a starter; and Tacoma Rainiers catcher Jesus Montero, a former SWB Yankees standout before being traded to the Seattle Mariners.

Eastern League all-star outfielder Cesar Puello, a current Binghamton offensive leader, and Las Vegas 51s infielder/outfielder Jordany Valdespin, a former B-Met, also received 50-game suspensions.

Puello was second in the EL with a .328 batting average and third with 73 RBI.

While Rodriguez fought his punishment, the other players began serving their suspensions immediately.

In golf, Montrose resident Sam Lewis shot an even-par, 144 for 36 holes Aug. 5-6 at the Country Club of Scranton to finish second in the 85-player field at the 54th annual Pennsylvania Senior Amateur Championship.

Lewis shot a 73 to come out of the first day in a four-way tie for ninth place. He shot 71 Aug. 6 for one of only two under-par rounds on the day.

Tournament champion Robin McCool shot the best second-round score with a 69 for a three-stroke victory over Lewis.

Lewis closed the tournament with a birdie on the 502-yard, par-5, 18th hole. He had two birdies and just one bogey in the second round.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Fall high school sports practice is underway.

Competition begins with golf first, starting Friday.

The boys’ Jackman Memorial Tournament is scheduled for Friday at Scranton Municipal Golf Course.

Lackawanna League Small Division play opens Monday, August 19 with Riverside at Blue Ridge, Old Forge at Elk Lake, Lackawanna Trail at Forest City and Montrose at Mountain View. Holy Cross, Carbondale, Lakeland, Mid Valley and Dunmore are also part of the 13-team division. Montrose finished fourth last year with a 9-3 record.

The girls’ Jackman Memorial Tournament is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20 at Scranton Municipal Golf Course.

In girls’ tennis, the Lackawanna League opens Tuesday, August 20. Riverside is at Elk Lake and Montrose is at Mid Valley in Lackawanna League Class AA Division matches. Montrose went 9-6 last year to finish tied for third in the 10-team division, which also includes Scranton Prep, Valley View, Honesdale, Holy Cross, Dunmore, and Western Wayne.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.

IT’S “ROWDY” KYLE AT THE GLEN

"Rowdy" Kyle Busch, Cup winner at the Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.—Kyle Busch displayed one of his better driving performances on the way to victory in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

Starting fifth, he didn’t take the lead in the 90-lap race until lap 65. During the last 25 laps, he survived four restarts, and fought off six challenges by runner-up Brad Keselowski, and third-place finisher, Martin Truex.

Each time someone tried to pass, Busch raced that much harder. The last restart came with three laps-to-go. When the green flag was given, Busch was gone. The best the other leaders could hope for was to finish second.

“We really had an awesome car,” said Busch. “The engine ran great and it was fun to drive. I knew that I had to keep my position, because if someone got out in front of me, it was going to be hard to pass them back.”

At the end, Brad Keselowski had the second-fastest car.

“My car was really good after five or ten laps,” said Keselowski. “But on that last short two-three lap restart, we couldn’t quite catch Kyle.”

Martin Truex tried several times earlier in the race to get around Kyle, but never succeeded.

“This being a road course, I’d say we held our own,” said Truex. “We were good on short runs, but couldn’t quite catch Kyle near the end.”

Carl Edwards was fourth, followed by Juan Montoya, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and A. J. Allmendinger.

Polesitter Marcos Ambrose, who led the most laps, got bumped into the wall on lap 83 by Max Papis, who was substituting for Tony Stewart. Ambrose finished 31st.

Jeff Gordon spun coming out of a turn on lap 15, and hit the inside fence, heavily damaging his car. He returned to the track but finished 36th.

During lap 80, Kasey Kahne spun, and was then hit by his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. The track was blocked and several more cars ran into them.

Top-10 leaders with four races before the Chase begins: 1. Johnson-808, 2. Bowyer-733, 3. Edwards-728, 4. Harvick-707, 5. Kyle Busch-693, 6. Earnhardt-670, 7. Kenseth-659, 8. Keselowski-634, 9. Biffle-627, 10. Truex-625.

KESELOWSKI GETS NATIONWIDE VICTORY

Brad Keselowski held off Sam Hornish to win Saturday’s Nationwide road course race at Watkins Glen.

Brian Vickers finished third, followed by Regan Smith, Elliott Sadler, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Nelson Piquet, and Trevor Bayne.

Top-10 leaders after 21 of 33: 1. A .Dillon-730, 2. Hornish-727, 3. Smith-725, 4. Sadler-718, 5. Vickers-712, 6. Allgaier-685, 7. Scott-674, 8. Larson-665, 9. Bayne-661, 10. Kligerman-656.

DRIVER CHASE SCENARIO

Jimmie Johnson has clinched a berth in this year’s Chase which begins September 15, after the Richmond race.

Clint Bowyer will make the Chase. The Michael Waltrip Racing cars aren't as fast relative to the competition as they were last year, but that doesn't mean he won’t be in the final number.

Kevin Harvick has had a so-so season. He’s run well at some tracks, and at others he’s bombed. This will be his last year at Richard Childress Racing. He will probably make the Chase, but don’t look for him to challenge for the championship.

Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Ford team are still searching for the right package with the new Gen-6 car, but Edwards has shown speed in qualifying, even if he hasn't converted excellent starting spots into quality finishes. But he's running fast enough to qualify for the Chase.

All Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs to grab a Chase spot is have a respectable finish next Sunday at Michigan and the sort of steady, consistent performances in the final four races that have become commonplace for Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte this year.

Jeff Gordon made a statement, two Sunday’s ago at Pocono, where he got his runner-up finish the old fashioned way, by earning it. But after his dismal 36th-place finish at the Glen, he needs to have better luck in the final four races if he is to make the 12-driver field.

Kyle Busch always makes a race exciting. Personally, I think his team has experienced more than the average amount of bad luck. If things turn just a little in their favor, like they did at the Glen, he could be on top.

Matt Kenseth started off well, but has slowed down lately. His team is not on an upswing.

Greg Biffle and his Ford team have suffered the same fate as Carl Edwards, mediocre performance. His average finish over the last five races is 18.4. Biffle is between a top-10 guaranteed Chase spot and a Wild Card one.

Kasey Kahne has shown brief moments of speed, and I expect he will make the Chase, but his team hasn’t impressed me lately.

To qualify for the Chase on points, Brad Keselowski needs to finish up front over the next four races. Another option for Brad is a win, which could come at any of the next four tracks

Kurt Busch has driven his car to the limit this year. Collectively, 11 of Busch's 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins have come at the last four tracks in NASCAR's regular season, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. I have to say that Busch is favored to make this year’s Chase.

Martin Truex Jr. might be an outsider looking in. His team’s cars haven't had the speed of the Hendrick or Stewart-Haas cars of late, and that could affect him.

Ryan Newman’s win at the Brickyard was huge. It helped turn a poor season into possibly a great one. He is a driver on the move. Statistically, Richmond is Newman's best track among the five remaining before the Chase. He has 13 top 10s in 23 starts there and may need another to secure a berth in the Chase.

NOTE: The SPEED Channel, which is owned by Fox, will cease to exist after Aug. 16. SPEED is owned and operated by the Fox Sports Media Group. On Aug. 17, 2013, it will be replaced by Fox Sports 1.

Fox Sports 1 will air live sporting events, including college sports; basketball, soccer matches, the Whelen Modified Tour, UFC mixed martial arts, and the NASCAR Truck Series.

Weekend Racing: The Cup and Truck teams are at the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway, while the Nationwide Series visits the 2.4-mile, 15-turn, Mid-Ohio road course in Lexington, Ohio for the first time.

Sat., Aug. 17, Truck Series race 12 of 22; Starting time: 12:30 pm ET; TV: Fox Sports 1.

Sat., Aug. 17, Nationwide Series race 22 of 32; Starting time: 2:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN.

Sun., Aug. 18, Sprint Cup race 23 of 36; Starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: ESPN.

Racing Trivia Question: Where is Ryan Newman’s hometown?

Last Week’s Question: Where did Dale Earnhardt Jr. make his first Cup start? Answer. In an exhibition race at Motegi, Japan in 1998.

You may e-mail the Racing Reporter at: hodges@race500.com.

John Lawson

The 79th annual Dream Game at Scranton Memorial Stadium was a special experience for John Lawson just in the opportunity to play a football game in front of nearly 6,897 fans.

Lawson made it into an even bigger night when the recent Montrose graduate led all defensive players in the game and helped the City defeat an explosive County team, 35-28, July 31 in the highest-scoring game in the history of the Scranton Lions Club-sponsored game for Lackawanna Football Conference players.

For his efforts, Lawson has been selected as the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for July.

“From the time we were in the locker room to when we came back out for introductions, the number of people multiplied,” Lawson said. “It was crazy.”

After playing fullback and linebacker as a three-year starter with the Meteors, Lawson moved to defensive tackle to help the City offset what appeared to be a County advantage in the line. He took over the game in the second and third quarters when the City outscored the County, 28-6, to rally from behind.

During the middle two quarters, Lawson had seven tackles, including a sack, two assists and rushed the passer into an incompletion. He finished with nine tackles and three assists.

Lawson had his first exposure to the Dream Game last year when he attended to watch former teammate Jeremy Dibble play.

“I was sitting there watching Jeremy, thinking ‘oh boy, this would be a lot of fun to play in’,” Lawson said. “Looking at all the people in the stands, and just the atmosphere, was great.”

Lawson did well in that spotlight.

“That was phenomenal,” he said. “It was a whole new experience for me.”

Lawson played three sports at Montrose. He excelled in track and field with ninth and 10th place finishes in the state in the Class AA boys’ javelin. He was a two-time District 2 javelin champion as well as a silver medalist in the discus. Lawson also competed in the shot put.

As a senior, Lawson also played basketball at Montrose.

Lawson will attend Penn State University as an electrical engineering major. He will attempt to make the Nittany Lions as a walk-on in football.

John Lawson III is the son of the late John Lawson Jr. and Rebekah Lawson of Hallstead.