ekansekans's blog: "df"

RICHMOND, Va. -- With his season essentially on the line, Jeff Gordon used a vintage drive to rally his way into NASCARs championship chase. The 41-year-old Gordon battled an ill-handling car early in Saturday nights race, then took off at the end to finish second to race winner Clint Bowyer at Richmond International Raceway. He wrested the final berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship away from Kyle Busch. Busch finished 16th, and Gordon grabbed the 12th spot in the Chase field by a mere three points. Team owner Joe Gibbs met Busch on pit road and leaned into the car window to console the angry driver. "We missed. Thats it. Plain and simple," said Busch, adding Gibbs told him, "Handle it the right way. Theres no right way to handle this situation." Gordon, meanwhile, was ecstatic. He qualified second, but was terrible early in a race that was marred by three different rain showers. The start was delayed almost two hours, and a second shower caused a stoppage that lasted just under 52 minutes. Gordon was livid when he exited his car on pit road during the red flag. "I was pretty ticked off that we got that far behind," Gordon said. "When you have that kind of a start to a race, you dont have a lot of hope that youre going to get it turned around." But his Hendrick Motorsports team got it figured out during the third and final rain shower. NASCAR called a caution for rain, and Gordon was one of eight top drivers to head to pit road. Denny Hamlin, the leader, stayed out apparently in a strategy that relied on the race being stopped once and for all for rain. Instead, NASCAR went back to green and Hamlin led a group of drivers down pit road in a desperate late pit stop. Busch was part of a group that had pitted shortly before the rain so he stayed out and was fourth on the restart. But everyone who had pitted at the start of the caution was on fresh tires -- Gordon included -- and they quickly drove through the field. It put Busch back in traffic, and when he finally did go to pit road, a slow stop further hurt his chances. He never had another chance as Gordon, a four-time champion, picked his way through the field to his second-place finish. It came a week after he failed to move Hamlin out of the way on the final restart at Atlanta, a decision that cost him the win and ate away at him all week. "I went from last week being the most disappointed Ive ever been to finish second this week, being the most excited Ive ever been to finish second," Gordon said. Hamlin, who went into his home track as winner of the last two races, led a race-high 202 laps but faded to 18th. He still goes into next weeks Chase opener as the top seed based on his series-best four "regular season" victories. Hamlin goes into Chicago up three points over five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, defending champion Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski, who are all tied for second. The fifth slot in the Chase went to Greg Biffle, then Bowyer, who got three more bonus points Saturday night. The seventh spot went to Dale Earnhardt Jr., then Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr., who along with Bowyer gave Michael Waltrip Racing two berths in the first Chase appearance for the organization. The wild-card slots went to Kasey Kahne and Gordon, who ensured all four Hendrick Motorsports made the 12-driver field. Cheap Jerseys . Fernandez-Castano first won this event in Milan in 2007. His biggest previous victory came at last years Singapore Open. The Spaniard hit a solid shot out of the rough following an errant tee shot and birdied the final hole of the Royal Park I Roveri course outside Turin, finishing at 24 under with a 64. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale . The Yankees made the move Thursday after an MRI revealed the problem. The team says treatment will consist of medicine and rest, and that the right-hander will not play catch for five days. http://www.dancewithmeusa.com/hot.html . But Jose Reyes wasnt the focal point of Novembers blockbuster 12-player trade that made him a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. The club officially unveiled its new star shortshop on Thursday, however when general manager Alex Anthopoulos first called the Miami Marlins about making a deal, it initially involved pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle.As the NHL lockout reaches its 45th day, the games winningest goaltender is still not committed to playing overseas - just yet. The future Hall of Famer told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on ESPN.com on Monday that he gave agent Pat Brisson specific parameters and conditions on when playing in Europe is a viable option.  "I told him I dont want to steal anyones job, but if theres an opportunity for me to play somewhere Id be more willing to go, especially now with negotiations coming to a halt," said Brodeur. "I dont want to force it, I told Pat if he has younger goalies in his agency that need jobs, I dont want take a job from a younger goalie. I want to make it that if somebody needs me, Ill go. Well see what that brings." Brodeur,, 40, signed a two-year-contract with the New Jersey Devils in July after testing the free market as an unrestricted free agent and is one of 10 active NHL player to have gone through all three league-imposed work stoppages.dddddddddddd "The league really had almost the same attitude as the last time around," Brodeur said. "And with the last few weeks and the way theyve conducted themselves, I dont know whats in the back of their heads, but they seem to be on a path that we saw seven years ago and its not something thats fun to see. "For me, its just disappointing. Because of the structure we had already in place, I didnt think we needed to be still talking about it by (U.S.) Thanksgiving. But thats what it looks like now." ' ' '