Vorschau » idnt find a long-term starter, let alone anoth

SPARTA, Ky. -- Brad Keselowski wont soon forget an eventful Saturday night in which the same right hand that held the winners trophy was soon bloodied and bandaged after he broke a champagne bottle celebrating. "We were playing around with some champagne and I told my good friend I should have stuck with beer," Keselowski joked after receiving four stitches in the infield care centre. "We had too much fun with champagne and one of the bottles broke and I cut my hand open. Its no big deal." Hell certainly remember the masterful performance that set those wild series of events in motion. Keselowski showed early and often that his No. 2 Ford was the best car at Kentucky Speedway, dominating the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to become the tracks first repeat winner. The Penske Racing driver and 2012 race winner and Cup champion followed his record-breaking pole effort to lead 199 of 267 laps en route to his second victory of the season and 12th of his career. Keselowski won from the pole for the first time, pulling away after rallying from sixth on a restart to chase down and pass leader Kyle Busch on Lap 248. "I knew it was going to be a dogfight to get back to Kyle and then race him," Keselowski said. "We got there with a really fast car and I hit the perfect run on him with traffic. Next thing I knew, we were there. It feels really good to get that second win." Busch was second, followed by Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who rallied from a 29th-place start. A night after dominating the Nationwide Series race before finishing second to Kevin Harvick, partly because of a pit-road speeding penalty, Keselowski saved his heavy foot for the bumpy, rough track. The 2012 Cup champion went on to win by 1.014 seconds and post his ninth top-10 this season in moving one spot to fourth in the standings. Teammate Joey Logano started second and led 37 laps before a dropped cylinder left him ninth. Busch led 31 in a race that featured 12 lead changes -- all but one featuring Penske drivers. "I felt like we were better than (Newman), but nowhere near as good as (Keselowski) or (Logano)," Busch said. "Those guys were really stout." Keselowski, also the winner in Las Vegas, became the first driver this season with multiple victories on 1.5-mile tracks that make up much of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The circuit wont see another such track until late August at Atlanta, and Keselowski made a case for being a favourite with arguably the most impressive run of his career. It followed his track-record qualifying speed of 188.791 mph and 138 laps led in the Nationwide race, which also featured a furious late run before settling for second to Harvick, who was seventh in the 400-mile race. This time he had enough laps to pass Busch. But the tone was set from the start, as Keselowski and Logano justified their front-row qualifying sweep with a vengeance. Keselowski wasted no time with that agenda, taking charge at the green flag and leading the first 78 laps before Logano took over for five laps. The two traded leads from there with nobody else to challenge them until Aric Almirolas wreck brought the sixth caution on Lap 213. That sent the leaders down pit road and scramble off produced the races first non-Penske leader in Busch, whose No. 18 took over on Lap 217 and led the restart with Newman second. The Penske duo needed just seven laps to draw a bead on both drivers and Keselowski was soon second and making a furious effort trying to chase down Busch, who had a 2-second lead at one point. Once Keselowski caught him in the backstretch, he again showed his Fords superiority. "Our car was awesome," said Keselowski, who has led a series-high 346 laps in four starts at Kentucky. Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart meanwhile overcame bad starting spots to finish in the top 11. Johnson was 10th after starting 25th and Stewart recovered from a 42nd-place start because of a transmission change for 11th. He had qualified 13th. "I would have liked to have been a little better than what we were there at the end," Stewart said, "but I think we definitely had to fight our way up through the day. .. All in all I thought we had a pretty honest day there; cant complain about that." Points leader Jeff Gordon finished sixth and leads Johnson and Earnhardt by 24. Peyton Manning Womens Jersey .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Kenny Moore Jersey . According to a report from CSN Bay Area, the 49ers are bracing for 6-8 game suspension for their outside linebacker. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authentic-khari-willis-colts-jersey/ . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). Reggie Wayne Womens Jersey .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage. Devin Funchess Youth Jersey . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence.LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Times just about up. The three-day proceeding starts with the first round Thursday and the Bears, owners of the 14th pick, still need help on defence even after some big moves. So a little extra time to study the prospects suited Emery just fine. "I love it, honestly. Ive heard reports of people complaining about it," he said. "I dont know what theyre complaining about." The draft was pushed back about two weeks because of a scheduling conflict at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall. Emery said that allowed the Bears to have "less-rushed conversations" as they try to weigh short-term gains against long-term benefits. The defence ranked among the leagues worst a year ago and was the biggest reason the Bears missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years at 8-8. The Bears have been busy addressing that, bringing in Jared Allen and parting with Julius Peppers in an effort to spark a defence that ranked 30th overall, last against the run, and tied Jacksonville with a league-low 31 sacks. They still need help on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary, particularly at safety. Chicago has one pick in each of the first five rounds (Nos. 14, 51, 82, 117 and 156) and two in the sixth round (183 and 191). With that in mind, here are five things to know about the draft. STILL ON THE DEFENSIVE: Emery said he has six candidates for the 14th pick assuming the Bears keep it, and theres a good chance hell go with a defensive player even though he wasnt ruling out offence. Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Alabama free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert could be strong possibilities for Chicago. ROLL THE DICE: Emery showed in his first two drafts hes not afraid to take a chance on a first-round pick. He gambled on Shea McClelllin in 2012 and did it again with Kyle Long last year.dddddddddddd The results? Hes batting .500 so far. Long was a hit at right guard even though he made just five starts in his lone season at Oregon. McClellin is a swing and miss so far and is moving from defensive end to linebacker. At least Emery hit it big in the second round in 2012 with receiver Alshon Jeffery, who broke out last season with 1,421 yards receiving. PASS ON QB?: Emery insisted hes comfortable with Jordan Palmer backing up Jay Cutler and that hes not in favour of grooming a quarterback drafted in the later rounds as a potential starter down the line. "That developmental theory doesnt hold a whole lot of water," he said. Starting with the 2006 class, Emery examined how quarterbacks drafted after the third round fared. He didnt find a long-term starter, let alone another Tom Brady. Mostly, it was a collection of third-stringers, many of whom did not last long in the league. "Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round. So thats where you need to take a quarterback," he said. The idea of pairing a late-round QB with coach Marc Trestman doesnt seem to interest him. "Im more intrigued with how Marc matches up with Jay and Jordan and Jerrod (Johnson)," he said. PLAYING IT SAFE-TY: Emery declared the starting safety spots "wide open" with the struggling Chris Conte back and Major Wright gone. Theyve brought in Ryan Mundy and M.D. Jennings and figure to add more help in the draft. The Bears have also scouted college cornerbacks with length with the idea of converting them to safeties, although that carries some risk. MAKING A MOVE: Emery said hes fielded calls from teams looking to move up to No. 14. He also indicated trading up is unlikely, saying such moves are "expensive." ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '