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KANSAS CITY, Kan. Irving Fryar Patriots Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. Not only is Gordon in the Chase, hes making a charge. Gordon finished third at Kansas Speedway behind winner Kevin Harvick and runner-up Kurt Busch, his third top-10 finish in four races in NASCARs playoffs. Thats allowed him to climb to fourth in points, 32 behind leader Matt Kenseth with six races left in the season. "Earlier this year, I was probably as frustrated as Ive ever been in a racecar. We were just missing something," Gordon said. "Right now, my team has been bringing great cars to the track, not just in the Chase, but I think three, four races prior to that we started to make gains." Still, those gains wouldnt have been enough for Gordon to squeeze into the Chase when at least three organizations appeared to manipulate the ending to the race at Richmond. NASCAR chairman Brian France used his power the following weekend to make an unprecedented expansion to the field after two separate investigations revealed that Gordon did not have a fair chance to race his way into the 12-driver Chase because of the late-race controversy. Now, the four-time champion is making a move toward the top of the table. He finished sixth in the Chase opener at Chicago, struggled to a 15th-place finish at New Hampshire, and then bounced back with a fourth-place run at Dover. His performance on a slippery surface at Kansas Speedway on Sunday sends him to Charlotte brimming with confidence. "Its a team effort," Gordon said. "Im just proud of how weve fought through everything weve fought through this year, and were making the most of it." Gordon isnt the only one making a Chase charge. Harvicks third victory of the season shot him to third in points behind Kenseth and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. He was 39 points back heading into the weekend and trimmed off 14 points from his deficit, putting him within striking distance of his first championship. "Everybody wrote us off at the beginning of the year," said Harvick, who recalled that nobody wanted to talk to him at the series annual media day. "Were just going to keep going our thing, and hopefully keep doing it quietly and have fun at it." Even though hes won 22 times in the Sprint Cup series, and has long been considered one of its best drivers, Harvick hasnt been able to break through for a championship. He had back-to-back third-place finishes in 2010 and 11, and was fourth in the Chase last year. It would also tie a nice bow on his lengthy career with Richard Childress Racing. Harvick is heading to Stewart-Haas next year after more than a dozen years with the same team. "Were committed to try to win the championship," Childress said. "We owe it to our sponsors and our fans to give them 100 per cent, and thats what we agreed to do, and thats what were going to do until Homestead. No matter what happens between now and then, thats our goal is to go after the championship. What a great way to go out." Harvick also indicated that it would be the proper way to go out. "Its business, but its also you have a sense of pride," he said. "You want to go out with a sense of success and everything has gone well." Harvick and Gordon both have plenty of work to do if they want to catch Kenseth and Johnson, two drivers who are certainly familiar with the pressure of winning a championship. Kenseth, who won Saturdays Nationwide race, struggled to tame repaved Kansas Speedway on Sunday. He made a late charge just to finish 11th, allowing him to maintain a three-point lead over Johnson, who finished sixth for his 10th straight top-10 finish at the track. "It was just a struggle all day, even when we were in front. It was as struggle," Kenseth said. "It was so incredibly treacherous." Johnson also called the racing treacherous. There were 15 cautions, a record for a Sprint Cup race at the track, and one of the wrecks claimed Chase contender Kyle Busch. Johnson managed to navigate through the carnage to another solid finish, one that he hopes will put him in position to win his sixth Sprint Cup championship. "We had so many things happen to us and still salvaged a very strong finish," he said. "We got a little points on the No. 20 and put a bunch on the No. 18, so in the big scheme of things, it was a very good day for the team." Jamie Collins Womens Jersey . May means its still early in the big league baseball season. Tyronne Green Jersey . 1 and No. 2 in womens golf at the World Ladies Championship. Park closed with a 6-under 67 for a five-shot victory over Suzann Pettersen in a Ladies European Tour event.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NFL and marijuana, Canadian world champion boxer Bermane Stiverne, Steve Kerrs choice for head coach and FIFA backtracking on Qatar 2022. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050: My thumb is up to the National Football League which - according to reports this week - is planning to soften its penalties for players who test positive for marijuana. Look, even if youre part of the minority which still believes pot should be illegal, its not hard to see the hypocrisy here. The NFL is a down-and-dirty league, where all kinds of nasty stuff happens and players are often welcomed back to the field despite risky and dangerous behavior. And yet, as of now, Clevelands Josh Gordon will miss this coming season because he did something that is legal in two states and which many believe is a safer way to manage the pain associated with pro football than popping pills. What would the NFL be like if the league stopped testing for weed altogether? Well, we have a pretty good idea because in Canada the CFL does not list marijuana as a banned substance. And frankly, no one cares. The NFL has followed the CFLs lead when it comes to the forward pass, two-point converts and a few other things … its time to follow its lead on pot as well. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up Bermane Stiverne, and if you dont know the name, youre not alone. A week ago, Stiverne, the Haitian-born Montreal-raised boxer, won the WBC heavyweight championship. Once upon a time, that was a title that began with Sonny Liston and moved through Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes and George Foreman and Mike Tyson and another Canadian of other countries, Lennox Lewis. It was the title of all titles not just in boxing, but in all of sport: heavyweight champion of the world. Duron Harmon Jersey. Somewhere in time that disappeared, just not the history; now its Stivernes time, after his sixth round stoppage of Chris Arreola in Los Angeles. He might be like Trevor Berbick, a one and done champion. But after all these years, we still remember Berbicks name. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to Steve Kerr for a wise choice. Offered coaching positions with the Knicks and Warriors, the broadcaster took door no. 2, Golden State. The job might not be all rainbows and lollipops because Warrior players are angry former coach Mark Jackson was fired, but it is a better option than Madison Square Garden, the worlds most famous asylum. Kerr wont have to answer to bullying owner James Dolan or face inevitable second-guessing from Knicks president Phil Jackson, a fair coach himself. Golden state provides Kerr with a more talented roster and a better family situation, but mostly if offers a truly precious commodity - sanity. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to soccers world governing body, FIFA for managing to sound dumber than its president, Sepp Blatter. Blatter has finally admitted that the selection of Qatar as the site of the 2022 World Cup was a mistake, which, until now, has been obvious to all but FIFA, because if the summertime heat makes it dangerous to watch a soccer match, its probably not a good idea to play in one. But, said Blatter, people do make mistakes. Well, an embarrassed FIFA spokesman tried to distance the organization from Blatters remarks by claiming that Blatter never actually said that Qatar was the wrong choice, which means that Blatter meant...... FIFA made the right choice and it was a mistake. They cant even stand this heat. ' ' ' |
