#ty jamie stewart always

[oldblood]

i think about this quote all the time, it articulates a type of ending i enjoy that’s hard to explain to people without them thinking that i want there to be a catch. “very specifically narrates some particular horrible things that happen to somebody and there’s no positive resolution in the end at all.” yeah

[wazafam]

The Crew is all about a professional racing team, so it makes sense to include some real-life NASCAR drivers. Starring Kevin James, The Crew relies heavily on workplace humor as the employees at Bobby Spencer Racing try to stay competitive. There's little actual racing in The Crew, but several NASCAR drivers make brief cameos and gently troll the main protagonist.

In The Crew, Kevin Gibson (James) feels threatened when a young Stanford graduate named Catherine Spencer (Jillian Mueller) becomes the new company CEO. Right away, she wants to replace driver Jake Martin (Freddie Stroma) with the more appealing Jessie De La Cruz (Paris Berelc), and quickly changes the office dynamics. As the crew chief, Kevin plays by the rules yet still looks for a job elsewhere, all the while looking after his close friend Beth Paige (Sarah Stiles), the office manager. When The Crew does feature racing-themed sequences, it's usually to point out Jake's lack of intelligence, even though he is indeed a capable driver.

Related: Every New Show Releasing On Netflix In 2021

The Crew season 1 includes a voice cameo from Fox Sports' NASCAR announcer Mike Joy, along with a special appearance from TV host Jamie Little. However, the series doesn't quite provide an immersive look at NASCAR culture, which may partially explain the poor reviews thus far. Plus, there are only a few cameos from actual racers that take place during The Crew's early episodes.

NASCAR drivers Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney show up in The Crew episode 2, "My Name's Kevin And I Care About Feelings". During a restaurant scene at the 12-minute mark, Catherine explains to Kevin and sponsor Rob (Kim Coates) that their waitress apologized because Blaney took of a side of wings. In a follow-up shot, a heavily-mustached Blaney appears to make a lewd gesture while eating, and Dillon suggests that Kevin has already had too many wings during his lifetime. After a couple lines of dialogue, Blaney teases Dillon about always reminding people that he won the Daytona 500, stating, "I just wanted to have one meal without you bringing that up, man."

Known as "The Ace", Dillon won the Daytona 500 in 2018. He's been competing in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2011, and most recently finished third at 2021 Daytona 500. He's the brother of NASCAR driver Ty Dillon and the grandson of former NASCAR driver Richard Childress. As for Blaney, he similarly comes from a racing family, as his father Dave Blaney competed in nearly 500 NASCAR Cup Series races over 17 years. Ryan, who is currently 27 years old, has four wins in the Cup Series and seven in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He finished second at the 2020 Daytona 500.

NASCAR driver Cole Custer appears in The Crew season 1, episode 3, "Hot Mushroom Meat". During another restaurant scene, he's introduced by Blaney at the 12-minute mark and delivers a deadpan one-liner about Kevin's team always being behind him on the track. Blaney once again steals the spotlight, not only with his Red Man belt buckle, Winston hat, and thick mustache, but also because of his comedic timing when reacting to Custer.

Currently 23 years old, Custer won the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year award in 2020. He's competed in over 40 races since 2018, and won the 2020 Quaker State 400. His father is Joe Custer, the president of Stewart-Haas Racing.

More: What To Expect From The Crew Season 2

The Crew: Every Real NASCAR Driver In Netflix's Show from https://ift.tt/2NVdeks

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, October 5

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Cops in the Crosshairs

Page 2: Fears for the health of Ryan Seacrest as Keeping Up with the Kardashians which is his cash cow is being put out to pasture -- Ryan is pulling his hair out about the potential loss of revenue and racking his brain trying to come up with something that can replace it 

Page 3: Ellen DeGeneres is in a panic fearing she may lose her daytime TV show and wife Portia de Rossi in the wake of the scandal that’s tarnished her once pristine reputation as the Queen of Nice -- Ellen is in the deepest funk of her life as most of her high-powered Hollywood pals have been ghosting her and she is convinced there may be no coming back from this -- what’s more Ellen is concerned additional bad news may drive away her wife Portia 

Page 4: Kelly Clarkson has vowed to remain silent about the nightmare behind her divorce from Brandon Blackstock to protect her kids -- Kelly is known for oversharing but she’s keeping her lips zipped about Brandon because she never wants her children to know how bad things really were with their dad 

Page 5: Cardi B’s divorce filing from Offset described her marriage as irretrievably broken -- Cardi accused Offset of cheating in 2018 five months after the birth of their daughter Kulture and Offset seemed to own up to his infidelities on Instagram -- following the massive success of WAP Cardi finally listened to pals who have been telling her to toss the cheater but she wants the break to be amicable and will accept a joint custody arrangement for Kulture 

Page 6: Kanye West is crowing he personally engineered the downfall of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and that he’s the one calling the shots in his marriage to Kim Kardashian from now on -- Kanye hated the show and his constant negativity wore Kim down and killed it for her too and without her it couldn’t possibly go on -- Kanye believes Kim’s appearance on the show was at the heart of all their problems and now that she’s out of there he’s got every hope they can fix things 

Page 7: Endless renovations at their Los Angeles mansion have left George and Amal Clooney at each other’s throats and the feuding twosome are on the brink of a $500 million divorce -- the construction work which has soared over budget to more than $1 million has confined them to close quarters with their twins Ella and Alexander and they’re constantly bumping heads, love-hungry Katie Holmes is heading for a showdown with new boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr.’s scorned ex Rachel Emmons who was blindsided by Emilio and now she’s demanding answers from both him and Katie -- Katie knew Emilio was engaged to the designer but launched a steamy fling with him anyway and Rachel is not finished with Emilio or Katie by a long shot 

Page 8: Hollywood Hookups -- Ray J and Princess Love split again, Kaia Gerber and Jacob Elordi dating, Cassie Randolph gets a restraining order from Colton Underwood 

Page 9: Queen Elizabeth snubbed Tom Cruise’s request for a private chat and it’s got the snobby superstar’s nose out of joint -- the Scientology poster boy got the bright idea to drop in on the British royal while filming the latest Mission: Impossible movies using London as a base because he is a huge royal fan but so far no one from the palace has responded and Tom’s ego is hurt because almost no one refuses the opportunity to meet with Tom and no isn’t a word he’s used to hearing and being ignored happens even less -- Her majesty would barely know who Tom Cruise is and he’d be just another American pipsqueak to her and Hollywood is not exactly her favorite place at the moment 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Kristen Taekman of The Real Housewives of New York City in California, Riley Keough at the beach in Malibu, Frances McDormand offered the Vulcan salute before the L.A. screening of her film Nomadland, Jennifer Lopez at a lunch date in NYC, Bruce Willis out and about in Brentwood 

Page 11: A skin cancer scare has friends of sun-worshipping Caitlyn Jenner worried she’s playing Russian roulette with her health -- Caitlyn recently revealed a doctor took all the skin off her nose and reattached it to patch up a skin cancer scar -- she’s been treated for skin cancers on her cheek and nose but she’s a self-confessed tanning freak and can often be seen playing golf under the blazing California sun, Sofia Richie is getting revenge on ex Scott Disick by flirting up a storm with Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith and a string of other studs -- her phone was ringing off the hook with hot guys wanting a date and now that Sofia’s finally got Scott out of her hair she plans to show him what he’s missing

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Gavin Rossdale plays tennis (picture), Kelly Ripa is fuming over Drew Barrymore’s new talk show and it’s been made clear to A-listers if they appear on Drew’s show they will not be welcomed back to talk with Kelly and Ryan Seacrest any time soon and the competition between talk shows to book big-name celebrity guests has never been more intense, there’s a new stud in town at ABC and it’s got World News Tonight anchor David Muir’s knickers in a twist because weekend anchor Tom Llamas is horning in on David’s spotlight, Britney Spears and her little sister Jamie Lynn Spears are looking for a home together because Jamie Lynn has accepted that she’ll need to help look after Britney for the rest of her life and Britney can afford to buy a house with separate wings so they’ll each have their privacy but Jamie Lynn can keep an eye on Britney 

Page 13: In the latest sex scandal to hit the Fox News network senior legal analyst and former New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano is battling back against allegations he sexually abused a New Jersey man in the 1980s, frail Ryan O’Neal reconciled with daughter Tatum O’Neal after 17 years but he’s a long way off from doing the same with son Redmond O’Neal -- ailing Ryan has distanced himself from his only child with the late Farrah Fawcett since Redmond was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a knife and battery in 2018 -- Ryan sees Redmond’s troubles and demons as his alone to conquer and may even cut Redmond out of his will 

Page 14: Crime

Page 15: Reality show train-wrecks Kate and Jon Gosselin have renewed their toxic battle as the bickering exes engage in an ugly war of words over child abuse charges 

Page 16: Goodfellas movie gangster Ray Liotta has taken his whirlwind romance with brunette stunner Jacy Nittolo to the next level by tying the knot -- his new bride’s father was a real-life killer Stewart Woodman who was found guilty in 1990 of the execution-style slaying of his parents, Zac Efron’s summer lovin’ with an Aussie waitress seems to have already hit a sour note -- Zac has been living the high life Down Under with Vanessa Valladares since he hit up her boss for her number two months ago but by early September the pair were caught on camera in an outdoor cafe reportedly locked in a heated argument about their future -- this has been a fun fling for Zac but the reality is he has to head back to the U.S. and attend to his career while Vanessa is just a kid and her whole life is in Australia 

Page 17: Denise Richards is ditching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in a desperate bid to save her marriage -- the endless rehash of former co-star Brandi Glanville’s allegations they shared a same-sex fling despite Denise’s denials has pushed her relationship with alt-medicine guru Aaron Phypers onto life support 

Page 18: American Life -- I was trapped in wildfire hell 

Page 19: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood plan to tell their story in a no-holds-barred documentary -- the country duo hopes to mimic the success of Walk the Line which was a biopic about Johnny Cash and June Carter’s fiery romance and they’ve been talking to producers and writers -- they’ll also discuss their weight battles and food binges and how they got back in shape with clips of Garth working out and Trisha whipping up some of her healthier meals 

Page 20: America’s colleges infested by spies -- enemy nations using top schools to steal vital secrets and recruit moles 

Page 22: They Stayed After Partners Strayed -- cheating scandals that couldn’t tear star couples apart -- Jay-Z and Beyonce, David Letterman and Regina Lasko, Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie 

Page 23: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish 

Page 26: Jaime King is locked in a vicious war with estranged husband Kyle Newman who has accused her of being a chronic drug addict and alcoholic and cleaning out their bank accounts -- Kyle also claims Jaime was abusing drugs during her two pregnancies and that their son Leo was born addicted to opiates -- Kyle said he makes $750 a month now as a writer and claimed he had to give up his directing career to look after their family and after their unsuccessful settlement talks in June he claimed Jaime went to Canada to film her show Black Summer leaving the boys with him for four months without support or any funds 

Page 27: Hoops phenom Maya Moore recently revealed she married Jonathan Irons the man she put her high-flying sports career on hold for as she helped free him from prison following his wrongful conviction more than 20 years ago -- Maya considered one of the greatest WNBA players ever ditched the league in 2019 to focus on social justice issues and secure Jonathan’s release -- Jonathan now 40 was only 16 when he was slapped with a 50-year sentence for burglary and assault in Missouri 

Page 28: Cover Story -- Cops in the crosshairs

Page 32: Acting legend Diana Rigg’s dying regret was that she never took advantage of the steamy chemistry she shared with Avengers co-star Patrick Macnee -- their sexual tension drove the series and young Diana always wanted to make it a reality but Patrick was married to Katherine Woodville at the time 

Page 34: Health Watch 

Page 36: Film femme fatale Sharon Stone is 62 but griped that folks are still angling to get an eyeful of her rack -- she compared her situation to Marilyn Monroe’s where she did movies that mattered but she still couldn’t get completely out of being that thing, Duane “Dog” Chapman claimed his late wife Beth haunted him after he found new love with fiancee Francie Frane 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Robert Pattinson 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Laurence Leboeuf and Kenny Wong on Transplant 

Page 47: Odd List 

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: UCONN BEATS WILDCATS, 7-4

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The suddenly revived UCONN offense aided by a pair of seniors, Alexander Payusov two goals and Wyatt Newpower three assists and a plus-five, swept a critical Hockey East weekend series from UNH by the score of 7-4 before a season-high crowd of 8,211 at the XL Center. UCONN’s record goes to 11-12-4 overall, but the all-important Hockey East number went above .500 at 8-7-2  and UNH falls to (13-11-2 overall, 7-8-1 HEA). The Huskies are in sixth place in the conference, but in a four-way tie in points at 18 with UMASS-Lowell in fourth place, Providence is in fifth followed by UCONN and then Maine. Northeastern is in eighth with 17 points. “I was very pleased with the weekend it was the second is where we won the game from start to finish. It was one of our five best periods of the year and we kept the pressure on them,” said a smiling head coach Mike Cavanaugh. For UNH’s head coach Mike Souza it was a big disappointment. “Not much to say. Credit UCONN they wanted it more than we did this weekend. It was an unacceptable defensive performance on our part. Hats off to Mike (Cavanaugh) they competed hard and made more plays than we did, that’s for sure. We beat ourselves in a lot of ways tonight.” In the third period, the Huskies added some extra icing on the cake as sophomore Jachym Kondelik scored two goals himself as UCONN erupted for 14 goals in two games and 12 different Huskies were on the scoresheet at game’s end. The play was all started by a blind backhand pass by Wyatt Newpower to Kondelik standing at the right side of the UNH net and his first shot was stopped by Trey Taylor, but he got the puck right back and buried his seventh goal of the year at 7:06 for a 6-2 lead. Newpower’s backhand pass was a no-no as the head coach wanted the blind backhand passes to stop as it was leading to turnovers that have been hurting the team. In this case, it ended well. “The coach told our defenseman not to do those types of passes just get to the net. It doesn’t have to be the hardest shot it has to be on the net and a speed we can tip it at or get a (rebound) like on Sasha’s first goal, that’s what we need,” said Knodelik. The head coach was pleased not only his big players came through, but the team got scoring throughout the lineup. “We got everybody scoring Sasha had two goals, Jachym had two goals, Ruslan’s line two goals. We got scoring from all four lines, that’s a recipe for success. When all four lines are chipping in its hard for the other team to focus on one line and shut it down. I told the kids if you keep getting multiple shot shifts, not just one and done. Several multiple shot shifts you will wear teams down and will score.” UNH got a puck bounce of their own on their third goal as Will Mackinnon right point drive went wide short side, but the eight ball bounced off the backboards and off Vomacka’s skate and into the net at 10:04. It was Mackinnon’s third goal of the year and West Haven’s Eric Esposito picked up the first of his two assists for the game and made the score 6-3. Kondelik scored his second goal at 16:37 on a great feed from Kale Howarth from behind the net and UNH closed out the scoring as Joe Sacco Jr. son of Boston Bruins assistant coach Joe Sr. scored his first of the season at 18:06 to make it 7-4. The Huskies regained the lead early in the second period as Brian Rigali, who had a net-front presence, and pest with four shots on goal started this scoring sequence. Rigali put the puck up the left-wing boards and defenseman Yan Kuznetsov shooting off his back foot got it on the net. UNH goalie Ty Taylor left a 28 oz. porterhouse rebound that Alexander Payusov easily slapped past him far side for his sixth goal at 4:32. For Cavanaugh, he shows more from his senior winger from Montreal. “He showed more emotion, he was vocal and was into the game. He was moving his feet, he’s a fun kid to watch when he is playing like that. You can get paralyzed by statistics sometimes were your not scoring goals, but you're helping your team in a lot of other different ways. I was really glad to see him get a few goals because were gonna need Sasha going down the stretch.” The Huskies got the all-important two-goal cushion on some fine work from UCONN’s fourth line. Defenseman Blake Wheeler (plus four) kept the puck in the UNH end of the ice after a Zac Robbins attempt was stopped. Justin Howell deep in the right-wing corner corralled the puck that UNH goalie Taylor missed behind the net. Robbins circling back like an eagle looking for a squirrel went to the net and made a perfect open blade redirect for just his second goal of the year at 15:06. “That was a big goal and gave our bench a big lift. They did very well in the second and in the third with good puck management.” Tomas Vomacka kept the lead for the Huskies with several breathtaking saves on Patrick Grasso hat trick bid, Filip Engaras, and Eric MacAdams. The best though came on Will Mackinnon as the original shot by Mackinnon came off the backboards past Vomacka and went right back to MacKinnon. Vomacka incredibly got back to the net, past a prone teammate top of the crease to deny him what seemed was a sure goal. The Huskies went back on the rush from that save as Vladislav Firstov stopped on a left-wing bid on across ice pass on a late-developing break play with 2:50 to go in the period. The Huskies got some serious puck luck on its fifth goal and third of the period. Alexander Payusov from behind the goal line as he got the puck from hard work by Harrison Rees dump in. Payusov just wheeled and fired the puck that went off the skate of UNH defenseman Ryan Verrier and into the net with 12.7 seconds left, ending a 20 shot barrage from UCONN. The Huskies went to the intermission with a commanding 5-2 lead plus roaring ovation from the crowd. “We shot a lot more pucks than we did last week. We didn’t get the bounces last week but we're happy with the outcome. The crows were great today.” The Huskies grabbed the 1-0 in the first period as they did Friday in New Hampshire. Once again their top line Ruslan Iskhakov-Vladislav Firstov and Jonny Evans factored in the goal. Evans on the right-wing got a good lead pass from t Firstov and Ruslan Iskhakov had inside position on the defenseman and redirected the perfect soft lead pass by Wildcats netminder Ty Taylor at 4:12 for his ninth goal. They finished a combined plus five with six points and on Friday had 11 points and combined plus 15 with each forward plus five. “The commitment to playing defense is helping them, they’re playing a 200-foot game. It was an emphasis we made to shoot one-time pucks, off the pass we saw that a couple of times tonight. My college coach Terry Meagher at Bowdoin always said shoot five-hole when your struggling when looking to pick corners that’s when you miss the net. That is something we have been doing really, really well this week,”. UNH’s lethal powerplay quickly tied it at one just 36 seconds later and 16 seconds into the penalty. The penalty call by Jamie Koharski on Adam Karaschik was a very weak interference call. UNH’s Patrick Grasso received a pass from the left-wing boards from fellow assistant captain Charlie Kelleher at the left side of the net, Grasso completely unchecked turned and swept his 10th goal of the season by Tomas Vomacka. UNH took the lead at 2-1 as Max Gildon from the right point with the puck on edge came off the right point with a slapshot that Vomacka stopped. The rebound was right there and Patrick Grasso found a still bouncing puck swiped at it and put in his second of the period and 11th of the season at 14:01. The Huskies top line was involved in their second goal that came in the last minute of play in the first. Wyatt Newpower at the right point let one fly and with a partial screen from Firstov who cleanly tipped the puck with 52.6 seconds left the Huskies had a lead and momentum going into their locker room. The period saw Vomacka keep the lid on what could have become a wild scoring free-for-all with several stops that he has made look routine as he has all season. NOTES: -UCONN has a bye week off and returns to action against the Maine Black Bears with the second game in Orono will be another NESN broadcast at 7:30 pm on the 15th. -RW Carter Turnbull (lower body) was injured on Friday was out and likely won’t be back till the Maine series in Orono in two weeks. -UNH lost Charlie Kelleher for the game with a lower-body injury late in the first period. -Ben Freeman continues his solid faceoff work with 12 of 23 many in the UCONN end of the ice in PK situations. -UNH had some local ties in Eric Esposito (West Haven/Loomis Chaffe Prep), head coach Mike Souza an ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger and associate head coach Glenn Stewart, is a former UHL New Haven Knights in his sixth season. Goaltending Development coach ex-Pack, Ty Conklin in his first season. -The Wildcats Patrick Grasso’s uncles are former NHL superstars Joe and Brian Mullen and ex-New Haven Nighthawk, Tom Mullen. Patrick Mullen his cousin is still playing with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland-EIHL). -A recent article in USHCO .com by Jim Connelly intimating that Hockey East as a conference might change its format and become part of all-conference setup with all sports. A longtime trusted hockey source and confidant, very familiar with Hockey East and hockey in general, collegiate and minor pro, shot the article down like an incoming drone. “Utterly and completely baseless. I have no idea where that information came from, but there is no truth to it whatsoever.” It seems farfetched because nearly half of the conference would be disqualified from BU, Maine, UNH, Merrimack, Vermont, and UCONN either are have no conference affiliation or only in certain sports. College hockey is on the verge of expansion not contraction in the next two years. The long plan anticipated inclusion of Holy Cross into Hockey East is still not on the horizon our source commented, “I think that issue might be something the next commissioner will handle.” Joe Bertagna after 23 years is stepping down at the conclusion of the season and a conference committee has been interviewing candidates and has been narrowed down to five candidates. -The UCONN rink bond package has been written according to our source, however, when it will be formally presented to the bond commission remains unknown at this time as legislative jockeying is still ongoing with the Governor and other legislators. -Good news for UCONN hockey fans for next season a Nashville organizational source said both Tomas Vomacka and Jachym Kondelik will be back for their junior years as neither will be offered contracts this spring when the college season ends. -Matej Blumel, from the Czech Republic who was a former UCONN player, but never skated a minute for the Huskies bolting for the Czech Elite League three weeks before the season was to begin. The NHL draft choice of Edmonton Blumel has just three goals and four points in 26 games has re-signed with HC Litvinov (Czech Republic-CEL) for next season. Read the full article

[junker-town]

The NFL’s best remaining free agents

Many of the top names have already agreed to deals, but as free agency officially begins, these are the top names available.

The NFL’s official start to their new league year is here, but due to the league’s negotiating or “legal tampering” period, many of the big name free agents are already off the market. That’s because the negotiating period allows agents and teams to enter into contract talks even though pen cannot be put to paper until the start of the new league year.

Last year was a frenzy during the negotiating period, with most of the top players gone by the time the market actually opened. A whole bunch of deals were cemented right at 4 p.m. ET when the league year started, and that’s the case this year as well. Players can continue negotiating with other teams after agreeing in principle to a new deal — nothing is final until the contract is signed and submitted to the league office. But once something is reported as a done deal, there is minimal flip-flopping.

It’s likely this trend — the biggest players agreeing to deals before free agency actually starts — will continue.

That said, there are still plenty of good to great players still out there, waiting to find a team for the 2019 season. Below, we’re going to point you to the best still available — in alphabetical order — at each offensive and defensive position.

Quarterback

Signed: Derek Anderson, Nick Foles, Ryan Griffin, Taylor Heinicke, Brett Hundley, Matt Schaub, Tyrod Taylor Best Available: Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Colin Kaepernick

Nick Foles is getting paid a ton of money by the Jaguars, and after that the market gets a little bit stale. Obviously, the best available quarterback (Kaepernick) s probably not going to get signed. Another team will surely try and kick the tires on Blake Bortles if/when he’s relesed, while old standbys like Taylor, Fitzpatrick, and McCown are the more reliable of the group.

Others available: Sam Bradford, Matt Cassel, Mike Glennon, Robert Griffin III, Josh Johnson, Sean Mannion, Josh McCown, Brock Osweiler, Mark Sanchez, Tom Savage, Trevor Siemian, Geno Smith, Joe Webb

Running Back

Signed: Le’Veon Bell, Mike Davis, Andre Ellington, Frank Gore, Kareem Hunt, Carlos Hyde, Mark Ingram, Latavius Murray, Adrian Peterson, Zach Zenner Best Available: Jay Ajayi, C.J. Anderson, Tevin Coleman, Marshawn Lynch, T.J. Yeldon

There’s still a strong market for running backs, with young guys like Coleman, Ajayi, and Yeldon available. It’s a strong group of running backs, and even the players below all have shown they have something to offer.

Others available: Ameer Abdullah, LeGarrette Blount, Alfred Blue, Doug Martin, Alfred Morris, Ty Montgomery, Bilal Powell, Stevan Ridley, Darren Sproles, Jonathan Stewart, Spencer Ware

Wide Receiver

Signed: Danny Amendola, Cole Beasley, Josh Bellamy, John Brown, Jamison Crowder, Larry Fitzgerald, Devin Funchess, Adam Humphries, Cordarrelle Patterson, Breshad Perriman, Tyrell Williams Best Available: Randall Cobb, Michael Crabtree, Phillip Dorsett, Donte Moncrief, Golden Tate

The biggest names to change teams at the wide receiver position were not free agents — Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr. were both traded — but there are still some talented pass catchers out there. Veterans Tate, Crabtree, and Moncrief are always looking to prove they still got it.

Others available: Tavon Austin, Kelvin Benjamin, Dez Bryant, Chris Conley, Pierre Garcon, Justin Hardy, Chris Hogan, Dontrelle Inman, Jermaine Kearse, Jordan Matthews, Rishard Matthews, J.J. Nelson, De’Anthony Thomas, Demaryius Thomas, Mike Wallace, Terrance Williams

Tight End

Signed: Dwayne Allen, Nick Boyle, Charles Clay, Demetrius Harris, Jesse James, Tyler Kroft, C.J. Uzomah Best Available: Jared Cook, Tyler Eifert, Austin Seferian-Jenkins

Most of what remains in the tight end market includes veterans who never quite developed as receiving threats or veterans who have a history of injuries. It’s not a great market, one of the weaker ones in recent years.

Others available: Darren Fells, Antonio Gates, MarQueis Gray, Jermaine Gresham, Jeff Heuerman, Michael Hoomanawanui, Lance Kendricks, Marcedes Lewis, Logan Paulsen, Richard Rogers, Dion Sims, Geoff Swaim, Levin Toilolo, Maxx Williams, Luke Willson

Offensive Line

Signed: Oday Aboushi, Jamon Brown, Trent Brown, James Carpenter, A.J. Cann, Jon Feliciano, Ramon Foster, Mark Glowinski, Denzelle Good, Jonotthan Harrison, Bobby Hart, Seantrel Henderson, Ja’Wuan James, Ted Larsen, Spencer Long, Cornelius Lucas, Bobby Massie, Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe, Michael Ola, Kevin Pamphile, Matt Paradis, Mike Person, Greg Robinson, Rodger Saffold, Ty Sambrailo, Brian Schwenke, Donovan Smith, J.R. Sweezy, Billy Turner, Daryl Williams Best Available: D.J. Fluker, Mike Iupati, Kendall Lamm, John Miller, Jeremy Parnell, Ryan Schraeder

As usual, teams did their best to re-sign their own offensive linemen. It’s rare that a high-end tackle or guard makes it to free agency, and when they do, they are quickly snatched up, as was the case with Brown and Paradis.

Others available: Jeff Allen, Joe Barksdale, T.J. Clemmings, Chris Clark, Nick Easton, Cameron Fleming, Ereck Flowers, Max Garcia, Garry Gilliam, Ryan Groy, Ulrick John, T.J. Lang, Andy Levitre, Jordan Mills, OT Marshall Newhouse, Cedric Ogbuehi, Tyler Shatley, Quinton Spain, John Sullivan, Travis Swanson, Jared Veldheer, LaAdrian Waddle, Josh Wells, Stefen Wisniewski

EDGE

Signed: , Anthony Chickillo, Frank Clark (franchise tag), Jadeveon Clowney (franchise tag), Dee Ford, Trey Flowers, Dante Fowler Jr., Brandon Graham, DeMarcus Lawrence (franchise tag), Steven Means, Brooks Reed, John Simon, Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs, Cameron Wake Best Available: Ezekiel Ansah, Shaq Barrett, Markus Golden, Justin Houston, Clay Matthews, Shane Ray

Just look at the signings to determine the value of the EDGE position in the NFL — all of the top players got franchise tags except for Flowers and Fowler, who were quickly locked up.

Others available: Sam Acho, Jerry Attaochu, Connor Barwin, Vinny Curry, Kony Ealy, Eli Harold, William Hayes, Bruce Irvin, Michael Johnson, Dion Jordan, Matt Longacre, Aaron Lynch, Benson Mayowa, Pernell McPhee, Derrick Morgan, Alex Okafor, Nick Perry, Frostee Rucker, Derrick Shelby, Frank Zombo

Defensive Tackle

Signed: Tyson Alualu, Henry Anderson, Angelo Blackson, Carl Davis, Johnathan Hankins, Margus Hunt, Malik Jackson, Grady Jarrett (franchise tag), Jordan Phillips, Sheldon Richardson, Shamar Stephen Best Available: Christian Covington, Timmy Jernigan, Corey Liuget, Darius Philon, Ndamukong Suh, Muhammad Wilkerson

There weren’t many top-end defensive tackle talents available in free agency. The ones who have had recent success on the field either agreed to terms quickly, or were given the franchise tag.

Others available: Allen Bailey, Malcom Brown, Tyeler Davison, Dominique Easley, Mario Edwards, Rodney Gunter, Ziggy Hood, Ricky Jean-Francois, Zach Kerr, Brandon Mebane, Earl Mitchell, Haloti Ngata, Mike Pennel, Ahtyba Rubin, Danny Shelton, Brent Urban

Linebacker

Signed: Kwon Alexander, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Anthony Barr, Preston Brown, Deone Bucannon, Bruce Carter, Thomas Davis, Jordan Hicks, Justin March-Lillard, C.J. Mosley, Denzel Perryman, Craig Robertson, Adarius Taylor, Damien Wilson, Paul Worrilow Best Available: Mark Barron, Jamie Collins, Gerald Hodges, Brandon Marshall, K.J. Wright

C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander, and Anthony Barr got big-time deals to kick off free agency and there’s still a few quality players left on the market — especially for teams looking for run stoppers.

Others available: Stephone Anthony, Josh Bynes, Will Compton, Kyle Emanuel, L.J. Fort, Najee Goode, Mike Hull, Mychal Kendricks, Cameron Lynch, Kevin Minter, Mark Nzeocha, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Vincent Rey, Kelvin Sheppard, Nathan Stupar, Manti Te’o, Ramik Wilson

Cornerback

Signed: Robert Alford, Justin Coleman, Pierre Desir, Kareem Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Jason McCourty, Steven Nelson, Darryl Roberts, Bradley Roby, Eric Rowe, Buster Skrine, Blidi Wreh-Wilson Best Available: Ronald Darby, Darqueze Dennard, Jason Verrett

There weren’t many big name cornerbacks on the market this year, but there are still a few names that can help people. Teams looking for a quality cornerback that isn’t a world-beater, but still effective should be able to find some value in free agency.

Others available: Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Bashaud Breeland, Tramaine Brock, Morris Claiborne, E.J. Gaines, Phillip Gaines, Brent Grimes, Davon House, Nevin Lawson, Tony Lippett, Rashaan Melvin, Captain Munnerlyn, Brian Poole, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Orlando Scandrick, Sam Shields, B.W. Webb, Kayvon Webster, Shareece Wright

Safety

Signed: Adrian Amos, Chris Banjo, Antoine Bethea, Landon Collins, Tashaun Gipson, Colin Jones, LaMarcus Joyner, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid, Earl Thomas, Kenny Vaccaro, Jaylen Watkins, Eric Weddle Best Available: Tre Boston, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Johnathan Cyprien, Glover Quin, Jimmie Ward

Yet another strong year for the safety position, and this time, they didn’t wait around to get deals done. Big names like Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu made it to the open market, and quickly agreed to deals with their new teams. However, there is still some meat left on the bone at the position.

Others available: Mike Adams, Jahleel Addae, Kurt Coleman, Chris Conte, Clayton Geathers, Marcus Gilchrist, George Iloka, Kendrick Lewis, Mike Mitchell, Reggie Nelson, Ron Parker, Adrian Phillips, Curtis Riley, Andrew Sendejo, Darian Stewart

[investmart007]

Chasing 3rd straight win, Harvick talks about penalties

New Post has been published on https://goo.gl/JSVuxQ

Chasing 3rd straight win, Harvick talks about penalties

AVONDALE, Ariz/March 09, 2018 (AP)(STL.News) —Kevin Harvick got right to the point when a NASCAR media official tried to open a news conference with a comment about his record success at ISM Raceway.

“Nobody wants to talk about that,” Harvick said. What everyone wanted to talk about Friday were penalties handed down against Harvick and the No. 4

Stewart-Haas Racing team for violations discovered after his victory Sunday in Las Vegas. The controversy was fueled by photos of his buckled rear windshield on social media.

“You look at golf and the fan officiating and the chaos that it caused,” Harvick said. “That didn’t work in golf. It won’t work here.”

NASCAR said inspectors at its Research and Development Center in North Carolina found the Ford violated a rule requiring rear window support braces holding the glass rigid and another requiring the right rocker panel extension to be aluminum.

“The roof caved in, pulled the back and top of the window down, and that is really the root of the social media outrage that came after the race,” Harvick said. “The car passed all the optical scanning station inspections and everything after the race. The car was built to tolerance. The scary part for me is the fact that we went far enough to find something on the car at the NASCAR R&D Center. They could find something wrong with every car if they took it apart for a whole day at the R&D Center.”

Harvick was penalized the seven playoff points he earned for winning the race and the first two stages. He was docked 20 regular points and the team lost 20 owners’ points. Crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000, and car chief Robert Smith suspended two races.

“If it is such a big deal, why is my crew chief still here?” Harvick said. “I don’t understand that.”

Also the winner two weeks ago in Atlanta, he’s trying to become the first driver to win three straight since Joey Logano in 2015. The 42-year-old Californian has a record eight victories at ISM Raceway.

“I can’t wait to win another race and jump up and down in victory lane on the back of my car,” Harvick said.

The Las Vegas car had a steel panel extension instead of an aluminum one.

“The side skirt material is on us,” Harvick said. “That rule was put into place Feb. 18 and it should have been aluminum. That is really kind of the meat of what gave them the ability to actually get the fine to where it was meaningful enough to appease everyone on social media.”

Logano was asked if he believed NASCAR was influenced by social media.

“I would think NASCAR is bigger than that,” Logano said. “I think it just makes the story bigger when you see it all over social media.”

Stewart-Haas Racing has until Monday to appeal the penalties.

HOME RACE

Tucson driver Alex Bowman is in his first season as the retired Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s replacement in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet.

The 24-year-old Bowman won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500. He started 10 races in the No. 88 car in 2016 when Earnhardt was sidelined by a concussion, winning the pole and finishing a career-best sixth at Phoenix in the fall race.

“It’s always fun to come home,” Bowman said. “Don’t really get to spend a lot of time out here.”

XFINITY LINEUP

Jamie McMurray is making his first Xfinity Series start since September 2013 at Richmond, driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. McMurray has eight Xfinity victories, winning at Phoenix in 2004. Fellow Cup drivers Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Ty Dillon also are racing Saturday in the second-tier series. Busch has a series-record 91 victories.

NAME CHANGE

The International Speedway Corp.-owned track changed its name to ISM Raceway in a rights deal with Ingenuity Sun Media. Built in 1964, it was previously Phoenix International Raceway and Phoenix Raceway. The facility is undergoing a $178 million redevelopment expected to be completed in time for the November playoff race. The start-finish line will move from the front straightaway to near the second turn in front of a new 45,000-seat grandstand. The project includes 51 hospitality suites.

PIT STOPS

Jimmie Johnson is winless in 26 races, the longest drought of his career. The seven-time season champion has four victories at Phoenix. … JR Motorsports is going for its third straight Xfinity victory at the track. Justin Allgaier won last spring, and William Byron took the fall race.

VALLEY OF THE SUN

The high Friday was in the mid-80s in the Sierra Estrella foothills southwest of Phoenix. The forecast high for Saturday is 82 and it is expected to reach 80 again Sunday.

By JOHN NICHOLSON by Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (US)

[leitch]

As you may have seen, today is the last day of publishing for Sports On Earth. I wrote many, many words for Sports On Earth, but I also hosted more than 500 The Will Leitch Experience podcasts. For the first two years, the show was in fact a daily podcast, which seems insane now. I do not know if the podcast itself is going to continue – obviously Grierson & Leitch and WSLS are continuing – but if it does, it won’t be under the Sports On Earth name.

So at the very least, this seems like a good time to reflect on the podcast itself. I don’t know if I’m the best interviewer, but my philosophy on podcasts has always been that if you get two smart people and just tape them talking to one another, you can’t help but capture something worthwhile, even accidentally. I loved doing the show because I loved talking to smart people about things they cared about. That’s what podcasts are for, I think: To dig deep into things with people who don’t usually get to dig deep on things. That was always the goal.

And we had a rather insane assortment of guests, from Patrick Stewart to Peter Billingsley to Red Panda Acrobat. Below is a list of every guest every to appear on The Will Leitch Experience podcast. This seems about as thorough a cross-section of sports media over the last five years that I can come up with.

PODCAST GUESTS

Red Panda Acrobat

Rick Ankiel

Jorge Arangure

Nicole Auerbach

Katie Baker

Chris Ballard

Steve Bardo

Howard Beck

Andy Behrens

Michael Beller

Alex Belth

Ted Berg

Jonathan Bernhardt

Neil Best

Carl Bialik

Peter Billingsley

Sigmund Bloom

Jon Bois

Mike Breen

Will Brinson

Chris Brown

Matt Brown

Jay Busbee

Mary Byrne

Craig Calcaterra

Peter Robert Casey

Anthony Castrovince

Rick Chandler

Jim Cooke

Cliff Corcoran

Dom Cosentino

Noah Coslov

Tommy Craggs

Chuck Culpepper

Ed Cunningham

Chris Cwik

Kavitha Davidson

Noah Davis

Josh Dean

Joe DeLessio

Jack Dickey

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Ezra Edelman

Rich Eisen

Leigh Ellis

Ryan Fagan

Doug Farrar

Paul Finebaum

Chad Finn

Roy Firestone

Steve Fishman

Alyson Footer

Reid Forgrave

James Freedman

James Frey

Fred Frommer

Jason Fry

Shawn Fury

John Gasaway

Jason Gay

Willie Geist

Matt Giles

Aaron Gleeman

Andy Glockner

Derrick Goold

Aaron Gordon

Rick Grayshock

Jon Greenberg

Karl Taro Greenfeld

Tim Grierson

Andrea Hangst

Spencer Hall

Dirk Hayhurst

John Heilemann

Chris Herring

Jon Heyman

Ty Hildenbrandt

Jason B. Hirschhorn

David Hirshey

Greg Howard

Patrick Hruby

Ed Hula

Vinnie Iyer

Jay Jaffe

Nate Jackson

Rany Jazayerli

Sally Jenkins

Lindsay Jones

Richard Justice

Jim Kaat

Kevin Kaduk

Danny Kanell

Brian Kenny

Trey Kerby

Jonah Keri

Dave Kindred

Paul Klee

Dan Klores

Sarah Kogod

Rafi Kohan

Gwen Knapp

Molly Knight

John Koblin

Matthew Kory

Trenni Kusnierek

Jenifer Langosch

Keith Law

Matthew Leach

Joe Lemire

Josh Levin

Kevin Lincoln

Ben Lindbergh

Mark Lisanti

Zach Lowe

Jerry Lucas

Jeb Lund

Steven Madden

Drew Magary

Erik Malinowski

Chris Mannix

Beckley Mason

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Jack McCallum

Randy McClure

Ben McGrath

Howard Megdal

The Mighty MJD

Bernie Miklasz

James Andrew Miller

Sam Miller

Earl Monroe

Leigh Montville

Jack Moore

Jamie Moyer

Paul Myerberg

Amy K. Nelson

Joe Nocera

Matt Norlander

Chris O’Leary

Paul Pabst

Sridhar Pappu

Gary Parrish

Jeff Passan

Kevin Pearce

John Perrotto

Mike Pesca

Mike Petriello

Michael Pina

Dan Pompei

Joe Posnanski

Shaun Powell

George Quraishi

Scott Raab

Ray Ratto

Josh Reed

Tomas Rios

Daniel Roberts

Selena Roberts

C. Trent Rosecrans

Seth Rosenthal

Michael Ruhlman

Shane Ryan

Gar Ryness

Richard Sandomir

Bill Scheft

Jonathan Schuppe

Michael Schur

Frank Schwab

Cory Schwartz

Peter Scolari

Dan Shanoff

Joe Sheehan

Drew Silva

J.E. Skeets

Michael David Smith

Emma Span

Harrison Stark

Jayson Stark

Brandon Steiner

Adam Sternbergh

Patrick Stewart

Chris Strauss

Dan Szymborski

Mike Tanier

Pete Thamel

Chase Thomas

Wendy Thurm

Mike Tollin

Marc Tracy

Michael Tunison

Matt Ufford

Bobby Valentine

Matt Vasgersian

Grant Wahl

Ron Wechsler

Michael Weinreb

Jon Weisman

J.R. Wilco

George Will

Jason Wojciechowski

Dan Wolken

Alex Wong

Cyd Zeigler

Jeff Zillgitt

Tom Ziller

Dave Zirin

[junker-town]

NASCAR report card: Grading the top race teams for 2017

Evaluating how each of the top teams in the NASCAR Cup Series performed over the course of the 2017 season.

It is that time of the year when the red marker comes out and NASCAR’s top teams are issued grades based on how each performed during the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series season. Only the top 25 in the owner point standings were evaluated, with a reminder that while every organization was graded fairly not all were graded equally based on factors like talent, expectations, and resources at their disposal.

Furniture Row Racing

Martin Truex Jr.’s dominance, which included leading the series in wins, top fives, top 10s, laps led and average finish, makes this an easy grade to divvy out. That the superiority extended from the beginning of the season to the end without any performance dips underscores just how overpowering Furniture Row Racing No. 78 team’s consisting of Truex and crew chief Cole Pearn were en route to their first championship.

But Truex wasn’t FRR’s lone team in 2017, as the Colorado-based organization expanded and fielded a second Toyota for rookie Erik Jones. And although he crashed out of eight races and often overdrove beyond his capabilities, the 21-year-old still turned in a fine freshman season that saw him nearly win a couple of races, qualify for the playoffs and rank 10th in laps led.

Bookending Truex’s championship, Jones earned Rookie of the Year honors.

Grade: A+

Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth won a combined eight races, with Busch narrowly missing on delivering Joe Gibbs Racing its second series title in three years. And had Hamlin not cut a tire in the semifinal round elimination race, he in all likelihood would’ve joined Busch in the championship bracket.

Busch’s season was especially superb, as his five wins and 2,023 laps led were second to Truex in both categories. Only misfortune and a lack of execution during the early months kept Busch from amassing even higher numbers.

Daniel Suarez didn’t match the production of the guy he replaced, Carl Edwards, though that was to be expected. Nonetheless, the rookie posted 12 top-10 finishes and made noticeable strides in the second half of the season. He’s poised for a breakout second year in 2018, with a career-first win a realistic possibility.

The lone blight for JGR in 2017 was how Kenseth’s tenure with the team ended. A decision brought about by a lack of sponsorship that forced JGR’s hand in jettisoning the veteran Kenseth, who not only wanted to remain as driver of the No. 20 car but demonstrated he still had the skills worthy of being with an upper echelon team. It wasn’t a popular decision, however in the long-term the move made sense.

Grade: A

Chip Ganassi Racing

Once known for not maximizing its potential, Chip Ganassi Racing has emphatically shed that reputation. Not only did both its drivers earn playoff berths for the second consecutive year, but Kyle Larson also emerged as the only consistent challenger to Truex and Kyle Busch on a weekly basis.

Unquestionably CGR’s No. 1 driver, Larson won a career-high four races and were it not for an engine failure would’ve likely vied for the championship. For the fourth year in a row, Jamie McMurray failed to win a points race and never really came close to doing so on a non- restrictor-plate track. But the veteran rarely made mistakes and his average finish was only one spot below Larson’s.

Grade: B+

Wood Brothers Racing

A strong technical alliance with Penske, including the loaning of young talent Ryan Blaney, elevated Wood Brothers Racing back into the victory lane for the first time since 2011 and produced the team’s best season in two decades. Blaney scored his first-career win in June at Pocono Raceway, and put together a surprise playoff run where he made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.

The only knock against the team were the too frequent mechanical failures -- a byproduct of being Penske’s de facto R&D team -- along with some weeks where it inexplicably struggled.

Still, the positives far outweigh any negatives.

Grade: B

Stewart-Haas Racing

As has become customary, the team co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas again struggled to generate consistency across all four of its cars.

Whereas Kevin Harvick won twice, was second in average finish and led the fourth-most laps, Kurt Busch had a rollercoaster year where after winning the season-opening Daytona 500 he went 13 races until recording another top-five. Then there was Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick, who each went winless and failed to earn a playoff berth.

One factor that skews Stewart-Haas Racing’s grade in its favor is the offseason manufacturer switch from Chevrolet to Ford, which included the team also constructing its own chassis. That change contributed heavily to the unevenness -- especially through the early months.

Grade: B-

Team Penske

How divergent were the results between Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano? Keselowski won three times and advanced to the championship finale, while Logano had just a single victory and missed the playoffs altogether.

Logano’s futility was striking, considering he made the championship finale in 2014 and 2016 and entered this year as a title favorite. But after NASCAR penalized the No. 22 team for a nonconforming rear suspension after its win at Richmond Raceway in May, Logano’s results fell off a cliff through the summer. He had only three top 10s in the 16 subsequent races, and with his win classified as encumbered he ended below the cutoff to earn postseason eligibility.

The common hurdle the Penske Fords faced in 2017 was finding winning speed on mile-and-a-half tracks. And with those sized speedways making up the bulk of the schedule combined with Toyotas dominance, it often made for a trying season leaving Keselowski and Logano at a disadvantage.

Grade: C+

Germain Racing

Ty Dillon’s respectable rookie season saw him rank 24th in points with a 20.7 average finish. He also showed the occasional flash that he may be able to lift midsize Germain Racing to greater heights, putting together especially strong efforts at Dover International Speedway in June and at Phoenix Raceway in November.

Grade: C

Richard Childress Racing

The good news is Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon each made a trip to the winner’s circle, snapping Richard Childress Racing’s winless drought that dated to November 2013. Yet the wins for Newman and Dillon were by virtue of pit strategy and fuel mileage, not by overall exceptional performance.

More so, RCR continued to be average to good most weeks in 2017. Much like it has been for the past few years where circumstances needed to fall favorable for the team to have a reasonable shot at winning.

Grade: C

Roush Fenway Racing

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s pair of wins provided Roush Fenway Racing some needed positivity after a lengthy rebuilding stretch, which included the team downsizing from three full-time cars to two last season. That optimism is muted, however, by the fact both of Stenhouse’s victories occurred on restrictor-plate tracks and he wasn’t competitive much elsewhere. Meanwhile teammate Trevor Bayne virtually mirrored what he did the season before -- only two top-five finishes, eight laps led and 22nd in points.

Grade: C

Hendrick Motorsports

Expectations are always high for Hendrick Motorsports. This will happen when you’ve won a NASCAR-record 11 championships and possesses a wealth of resources.

Yet despite Jimmie Johnson winning three races, Kasey Kahne taking the Brickyard 400, and Chase Elliott posting five runner-ups, most everyone associated with Hendrick concedes the team had a subpar 2017. That its Chevrolets frequently lacked competitive speed factored significantly in Johnson having career lows in nearly every major statistical category, Kahne being an afterthought for much of the year, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final season being remembered more for what happened off the track than on it.

Grade: C-

Richard Petty Motorsports

Scaling down to a single car was supposed to allow Richard Petty Motorsports to maximize its resources where Aric Almirola’s No. 43 team would be the central focus. But the results were largely the same with little tangible performance gains, aside from Darrell Wallace Jr.’s four-race stint for the injured Almirola that injected some needed enthusiasm.

Ultimately, RPM’s 2017 may most be remembered for what happened off the track. In the wake of primary sponsor Smithfield Foods announcing it would leave for the greener pastures SHR offered, the team and company each fired public salvos at the other that cast neither side in a positive light. The demise of the relationship places RPM in a precarious situation where it enters the offseason needing to fill a sizeable sponsorship gap.

Grade: C-

[junker-town]

Arnold Palmer Invitational 2017: Tee times, TV schedule, and live stream info for Thursday

The return to Bay Hill is a special one this year.

The annual stop at Bay Hill was always one of the most special events on the PGA Tour schedule. The presence of Arnold Palmer, a legend who pushed the game of golf to the big business it now is, lorded over the tournament at Bay Hill. Everyone came to honor Arnie and interact with one of the greats of the game.

This year, the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be one of the most important and special weeks of the PGA Tour season but with a different meaning. It’s still going to be a celebration, but for the first time, Mr. Palmer won’t be there. The tributes are everywhere this week -- all over the course, golf bags, grandstands, concessions, players, and the broadcast. Palmer’s imprimatur was already on this event, but this entire week is about remembering and honoring the man responsible for this tournament and for so much of the PGA Tour’s success. It will be a sentimental, emotional, somber, and joyous four-days at Bay Hill.

It should also be a hell of a tournament. While a lot of attention has been paid to some of the bigger names that did not put this on their schedule, a really strong field quietly assembled at Bay Hill. This is a great group that includes Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose, and Henrik Stenson, among others. The purse got a dramatic bump and the PGA Tour has dangled a 3-year exemption as a reward to the winner. The efforts being poured into this event not only celebrate Palmer this year but are working to ensure this remains a prestigious stop on Tour for years to come.

Golf Channel and NBC will have the broadcast this week, with GC taking the reins for all of the first round Thursday coverage. Palmer was the founder of Golf Channel and everyone who works there adores the man and what he did for the game and to help get the network started. It’s just a few minutes down the road from Bay Hill, so this is an extra special week for that broadcast group too.

Here’s your media schedule for the opening round of the API (all times ET):

Thursday’s first-round coverage

Television:

2 to 6 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. — Golf Channel replay

Online streams:

7:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

7:30 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. ET — Free PGA Tour live stream on Twitter

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

8:11 a.m. -- Justin Rose / Henrik Stenson / Hideki Matsuyama

8:23 a.m. -- Jason Day / Bubba Watson / Martin Kaymer

3 to 6 p.m. -- PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage (No subscription required)

2 to 6 p.m. -- Golf Channel simulcast stream

Radio:

1 to 6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)

And here’s your full tee sheet for the opening round on Thursday (all times ET):

Off No. 1:

Morning wave:

7:35 AM -- Geoff Ogilvy, Francesco Molinari, Anirban Lahiri

7:47 AM -- Kyle Stanley, Daniel Summerhays, Tommy Fleetwood

7:59 AM -- Kevin Streelman, Harris English, C.T. Pan

8:11 AM -- Danny Willett, Charl Schwartzel, Ben Martin

8:23 AM -- Hudson Swafford, Ryan Moore, Emiliano Grillo

8:35 AM -- Smylie Kaufman, Vijay Singh, Ty Hatton

8:47 AM -- Danny Lee, Steven Bowditch, Brooks Koepka

8:59 AM -- Troy Merritt, Zach Johnson, Webb Simpson

9:11 AM -- Roberto Castro, Steve Wheatcroft, Michael Kim

9:23 AM -- Robert Gamez, Matthias Schwab, David Hronek

Afternoon wave:

12:20 PM -- Lucas Glover, David Hearn, Ollie Schniederjans

12:32 PM -- Louis Oosthuizen, Greg Owen, Byeong Hun An

12:44 PM -- Russell Henley, Kyle Reifers, Wesley Bryan

12:56 PM -- Adam Hadwin, Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell

1:08 PM -- Rory McIlroy, Brandt Snedeker, Sam Saunders

1:20 PM -- Brian Stuard, Chris Kirk, Paul Casey

1:32 PM -- Aaron Baddeley, Retief Goosen, Alex Noren

1:44 PM -- William McGirt, James Hahn, Branden Grace

1:56 PM -- Boo Weekley, Derek Fathauer, Thomas Pieters

2:08 PM -- J.J. Spaun, Grayson Murray, Curtis Luck

Off No. 10:

Morning wave:

7:35 AM -- Seung-Yul Noh, Ian Poulter, John Daly

7:47 AM -- Scott Brown, Kevin Chappell, Patton Kizzire

7:59 AM -- Tim Herron, Patrick Rodgers, Jeunghun Wang

8:11 AM -- Hideki Matsuyama, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose

8:23 AM -- Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer

8:35 AM -- Tony Finau, Fabian Gomez, Stewart Cink

8:47 AM -- Vaughn Taylor, Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel

8:59 AM -- Mackenzie Hughes, Si Woo Kim, Sean O’Hair

9:11 AM -- Marc Leishman, Chad Campbell, Graham DeLaet

9:23 AM -- Brandon Hagy, Thorbjorn Olesen, Robby Shelton

Afternoon wave:

12:20 PM -- Kevin Na, Chez Reavie, Jason Kokrak

12:32 PM -- Brian Harman, Martin Laird, John Huh

12:44 PM -- Trevor Immelman, Morgan Hoffmann, Cameron Smith

12:56 PM -- Cody Gribble, Keegan Bradley, Charles Howell III

1:08 PM -- Billy Hurley III, Jim Herman, Ernie Els

1:20 PM -- Greg Chalmers, Charley Hoffman, Matt Every

1:32 PM -- Pat Perez, Rod Pampling, David Lingmerth

1:44 PM -- Camilo Villegas, Harold Varner III, Matthew Fitzpatrick

1:56 PM -- Bud Cauley, Jamie Lovemark, Luke List

2:08 PM -- Kelly Kraft, Rob Oppenheim, Ryan Ruffels

[junker-town]

NASCAR 2017 season preview: Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to a new set of rules

New rules, new faces in familiar cars, and a good chance at a new champion when it’s all said and done. Here’s what you need to know for the 2017 NASCAR season.

The NASCAR offseason often carries a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it feel, with so much happening in a short amount of time it gives the impression that there was hardly any downtime. This offseason was no different.

Not only did NASCAR introduce a new Cup Series entitlement sponsor, it also enacted sweeping changes to how it conducts national level races, and saw a couple of notable faces step away. But after all the turnover and much discourse of what NASCAR should do to give itself a jolt, the 2017 season has arrived. To get you ready, SB Nation breaks down everything you need to know, watch, and follow from now through the season-ending championship final.

Biggest storylines

New format

Wanting to better incentivize drivers to race hard from the drop of the green flag and for the duration of the regular season, along with giving fans a reason to invest their time from beginning to end, NASCAR will divide all Monster Energy Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series races into thirds. The first two segments will roughly cover half the scheduled distance, with the third the final half. Drivers will earn points for finishing in the top 10 in the first two segments, and whomever is leading when the stage concludes will receive a bonus point that will be applied toward their playoff total.

The format is a dramatic departure from how national tour events have run in the modern era, and will change both drivers’ mentality in how they race and incorporate a new strategic element crew chiefs must adapt to. Almost universally, drivers have spoken positively about the revised structure and believe it will enhance the on-track product. Whether that’s true is still to be determined, but no doubt it will be an adjustment period for all involved.

Jimmie Johnson’s pursuit of a record eighth championship

Following consecutive years of early and unexpected playoff eliminations, there were some who wondered if Jimmie Johnson would be annually stymied by the knockout format. Those doubts were resoundingly dismissed when, on the strength of three playoff wins, he barreled to a record-tying seventh championship. Now a member of an elite club with only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as members, Johnson is well-positioned to win an eighth title and further augment the case that he may be the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time.

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns

NASCAR’s most popular driver 14 years running is back behind the wheel of the No. 88 car after missing the entire second half of last season with a concussion. It was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s third concussion in four years and the second time he had been forced to miss action due to a head injury. Following an extensive rehabilitation program and a medically supervised test, he was cleared to resume racing in December, and the Daytona 500 Speedweeks will mark the first time he’s raced in a competitive environment since his diagnosis.

Whether Earnhardt, 42, has any rust to shake off remains to be seen, as does what happens the next time he’s involved in a serious accident. But without question, his return is welcome news for a sport that’s seen Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, and Jeff Gordon retire, and it’s always more compelling when its favorite son is in the news for what he’s doing on the track.

Playoff qualifiers

Barring unforeseen circumstances like injury or a complete drop in performance, these 12 drivers are near-certainties to earn a berth for the Cup Series playoffs.

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Chase Elliott

Denny Hamlin

Kevin Harvick

Jimmie Johnson

Matt Kenseth

Brad Keselowski

Kyle Larson

Joey Logano

Martin Truex Jr.

Filling out the field

The final four spots will come out of this group. For each, the path to the playoffs has significant hurdles that must be overcome, with doubt as to whether those hurdles can be cleared.

A.J. Allmendinger

Ryan Blaney

Clint Bowyer

Chris Buescher

Austin Dillon

Erik Jones

Kasey Kahne

Jamie McMurray

Ryan Newman

Daniel Suarez

Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Championship favorites

1. Kevin Harvick

Since Harvick and ace crew chief Rodney Childers formed a union in 2014 they’ve been a dynamic combination, 12 times never leading fewer than 1,300 laps. Even though Stewart-Haas Racing is switching to Ford after a long association with Chevrolet, by the start of the playoffs the organization should have sorted through the changeover, with Harvick up to his customary level of high performance.

2. Kyle Busch

The 2015 champ nearly went back to back, advancing to the title-deciding race before falling just short. Inconsistency used to be one of Busch’s trademarks, but since crew chief Adam Stevens took over two years ago, the No. 18 Toyota has become a fixture at the front every week. Expect that to continue with Busch putting forth another dominant season, and if all goes right a second championship.

3. Jimmie Johnson

As last year demonstrated, an outstanding driver paired with an outstanding crew chief are always going to be formidable, even if Hendrick Motorsports experiences a rare decline. Now that the organization had an offseason to fix what ailed it in 2016, the No. 48 Chevrolet should again be one of the cars everyone else is chasing.

4. Joey Logano

A lot of attention is paid to the young talent emerging within the sport, but Logano not only is young, the 26-year-old has already amassed a collection of accomplishments in NASCAR’s top division. His 15 Cup wins since 2013 only trails Johnson (20) and Harvick (16), and Logano’s victory tally also includes a Daytona 500 triumph and wins on every type of track on the schedule. He’s also qualified for a championship race in two out of three years.

Ready for a breakout

Although overshadowed by Chase Elliott, who turned in one of the best freshman seasons during the playoff era, Ryan Blaney turned in a fine rookie season for himself with three top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. That he did so with a team that hadn’t run the full schedule in seven years — compared to Elliott, who filled the seat previously occupied by Jeff Gordon — only added to the scope of the accomplishment. That bodes well for a strong second season, where a bit more patience combined with experience should culminate in Blaney winning his first race.

Likeliest to disappoint

When you’re anointed as Tony Stewart’s heir apparent, it comes with a certain expectation. A standard made all the higher considering Stewart-Haas Racing has developed into a top flight organization where there are no shortage of resources and winning is the standard. This is what Clint Bowyer faces, and it may be a bar he has trouble clearing — it’s been four years and 149 races since his last win. Now, that run of futility can be excused by a lot of factors out of his control, but it’s a streak that casts doubt whether Stewart’s handpicked successor can fulfill the expectations before him.

Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

Top rookies

1. Erik Jones

Insiders tout Jones, 20, as a future Cup champion, and his record in Xfinity and trucks shows just how quickly he acclimates himself to stiffer competition. Expect a similar transition with plenty of highlights, and maybe even a couple trips to the winner’s circle.

2. Daniel Suarez

As opposed to Jones, Suarez is joining not only a brand-new team, but one that just missed winning the championship with Carl Edwards behind the wheel. The experience that surrounds him will help ease the transition and could be enough to take the Rookie of the Year crown if Jones falters.

3. Ty Dillon

Whereas Jones and Suarez are aligned with two organizations with a record of success, Dillon joins midsize Germain Racing. The team may have a closeknit alliance with Richard Childress Racing (owned by Dillon’s grandfather) but questions remain of just how consistently competitive Germain can be, something it’s never been able to do.

Likeliest first-time winners

1. Chase Elliott

He came close to winning several times in 2016 with only circumstances out his control and inexperience keeping him out of victory lane. That won’t be the case this season. The 21-year should score multiple wins and emerge as a force.

2. Ryan Blaney

See above.

3. Erik Jones

Although he may tear up quite a bit of equipment due to a lack of patience and the learning curve associated with jumping from Xfinity to Cup, Jones’ speed is unmistakable. Working in his favor is the new segmented race format that rewards drivers who are fast in bursts, and not necessarily extended green-flag runs.

Most under pressure to perform

1. Kasey Kahne

That it’s been two-plus seasons and 83 races since Kahne notched a victory and failed to lead a single lap last season speaks volumes. And if that slump continues, speculation will only increase that Hendrick will make a move to replace him.

2. Danica Patrick

The crossover appeal Patrick once possessed has faded after subsequent years of mediocre results. It also doesn’t help that Nature’s Bakery’s sudden departure as anchor sponsor for the No. 10 team has left Patrick without adequate sponsorship for the majority of the season. If a suitable replacement cannot be found, and if Patrick continues to struggle, don’t be surprised if Stewart-Haas makes the decision to find a driver who can better produce on the track.

3. Clint Bowyer

See above.