Three Crew Chiefs Say What Their Drivers Must Do to Win Sprint Cup

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Crew Chiefs, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Denny Hamlin is said to be over his minor meltdown after the Phoenix race, and his crew chief, Mike Ford, is feeling good because they've had the best car and done the most winning down the stretch in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kevin Harvick is bringing a new car to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend and as the third-place driver, will race flat out, crew chief Gil Martin said. But before Harvick goes for broke, the team is hanging out the "Gone Fishing" sign and headed to the Keys.

And Jimmie Johnson? Well, he's just a better driver than the other two, or so says crew chief Chad Knaus.

It may be that some of the things said Tuesday in a triple-header media conference featuring the three contending crew chiefs will - for motivational purposes - end up taped to one or another team's tool box in the garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Or it may be that it's just a lot of hot air that disappears into the air like so much exhaust smoke out of their engines.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/16/three-crew-chiefs-say-what-their-drivers-must-do-to-win-sprint-c/

Josh Meyers Zbynek Michalek Vladmir Mihalik Brendan Mikkelson

Faber says he'd work with Lesnar to fix his fear of getting hit

No fighter likes to get slugged in the face, but it's part of the job. From MMA to boxing, the best fighters in the world can absorb shots and return fire without hesitation. Just seven fights into his MMA career, Brock Lesnar isn't there yet. In fact, after watching him turn and run from Cain Velasquez, he's really at square one.

Urijah Faber knows the feeling. The former featherweight king also comes from an NCAA wrestling background and said that five years ago he was in the same place as Lesnar.  

"We've all been there, where Lesnar is at," Faber said (6:00 mark). "Dude, getting hit is not the coolest thing to have done to you, but it's not that big of a deal. It takes a ton of sparring and some great defense and a knowledge of what it's like to get hit, to be able to get used to it."

Faber's career skyrocketed when he began working with Master Thong, a veteran of muay thai. The top level muay thai fighters have a calm demeanor and the uncanny ability to eat big shots so they can fire back. Lesnar has to bring in striking experts and allow himself to get blasted. 

"I think he's going to be a great fighter as long as he decides to do that," Faber told ProMMARadio. "He needs to get in there and accept 'hey I'm going to get hit and there are guys who are better at punching than I am. But he just needs to put in the time like everyone else."

Faber's had a change of heart about Lesnar. After UFC 100, Faber was actually one of his detractors inside the sport.  

"I just kinda didn't like the fact that he had so many eyes on him, and had so much influence in the sport when he came off so bad for the sport after his fight with Mir. But I think he's grown a lot."

Faber's Team Alpha Male in Sacramento is filled with little guys but he'd be interested in working with the former heavyweight king on his issues.

"Man, I'd be willing to help him out, if he was really into learning," Faber said. "I think some simple things that would help him out a lot. He shouldn't be losing to guys that are 40 pounds lighter than him."

Lesnar may face Mir for a third time in 2011. UFC president Dana White confirmed that the match is being discussed but was also getting some negative feedback from fans on Twitter. Lesnar's rumored fight against Roy Nelson hit a snag because "Big Country" is dealing with contractual issues.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Faber-says-he-d-work-with-Lesnar-to-fix-his-fear?urn=mma-285653

Zdeno Chara Taylor Chorney Joel Chouinard Brett Clark

NASCAR Championship Scenarios as Finish Line Nears for 2010

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Denny Hamlin certainly had plenty of frustration boiling over after late-race strategy failed to work in his favor. So, he took a water bottle and threw it Sunday in Phoenix.

The temperament, however, may be unjustified: Hamlin heads into Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the proverbial driver's seat to win the 2010 crown.

Sure, the Virginia driver is sporting just a 15-point lead and could lose it by finishing second to Jimmie Johnson at Homestead.

But if that happens, Hamlin will be just the third driver in NASCAR's modern points system era to lose the championship in the season's final race. The first was 1979 when Richard Petty beat Darrell Waltrip and the second in 1992 when Alan Kulwicki topped Davey Allison.

Hamlin, however, clinches his fate by simply leading the most laps and finishing second or better. If Hamlin pulls that feat while Jimmie Johnson wins, the two will finish tied in the point standings.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/17/nascar-championship-scenarios-as-finish-line-nears-for-2010/

Robert Bortuzzo Francis Bouillon Marc-Andre Bourdon Jay Bouwmeester

Happy Thanksgiving from The Marbles!

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us here at Yahoo! Sports and The Marbles! Hope everyone gets to where they're going safely, and hope there's a minimum of family bloodshed once you're there. Enjoy the day, and we'll see you back bright and early Friday morning with more. Pass the turkey!

Image from teh alwayz funneh LOLNASCAR. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Happy-Thanksgiving-from-The-Marbles-?urn=nascar-288880

Dan Fritsche Sam Gagner Aaron Gagnon Ryan Garlock

Video: What is Greg Robinson doing with this stuffed wolverine, or whatever?

I doubt even Greg Robinson could disagree: It's been a rough year for Greg Robinson. A rough couple years, actually. Well, more like a rough decade. Since leaving an über-talented defense at Texas in 2004 – a group that went on to win the BCS championship the year after his departure – "Gerg" has subsequently presided over a) The worst four-year span in Syracuse history as head coach, and b) Arguably the two worst defenses in Michigan history as defensive coordinator. The 2009 Wolverine D was the worst in the Big Ten; this year's green, attrition-plagued unit has taken the distinction to a whole new level. At this point, Gerg's return in 2011 would be minor miracle.

With nothing to lose and his troops struggling mightily again Saturday against Wisconsin's surging locomotive of an offense, Robinson made one final, desperate bid for competence from his troops – by anointing middle linebacker Kenny Demens with some kind of stuffed animal after Michigan recovered a Badger fumble in the third quarter:

The mysterious talisman worked for approximately one play, after which Wisconsin proceeded to score 24 points on its next four possessions without attempting a single pass en route to a 48-28 win. Oh well.

It was worth a shot, whatever it was. Maybe it will work when applied to resumés?

- - -
Hat tip: SBN.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Video-What-is-Greg-Robinson-doing-with-this-stu?urn=ncaaf-288205

Derek Morris Shaone Morrisonn

How college hoops would look if the BCS replaced the NCAA tourney

For those of us who have harped on the need for college football to introduce a playoff system for the better part of our lifetimes, it's an annual rite of November to create a mock 16-team bracket for the current season and dream about the possibilities.

Staring at what college football's postseason could be always illustrates what a travesty the BCS is. Drawing up a mock BCS-like system for college basketball only hammers that point home further. 

The abomination to the right is what the projections for the new college basketball season might look like if the sport's powers-that-be ditched the NCAA tournament in favor of college football's feeble method of determining its national champion. The sites of the BCS games are four of the most common Final Four venues and the matchups were determined by conference affiliation and the AP's preseason top-25 poll.  

What's most important to notice, of course, is that no team from outside a major conference would be projected to play in a BCS game. That would be the case virtually every year, meaning we'd have no Butler, no George Mason, no Gonzaga and none of the upset-driven charm that makes the NCAA tournament perhaps America's best sporting event.  

A popular argument in favor of the BCS has always been that it makes the regular season more relevant, but even that theory is flawed. Anyone who watched Wednesday night's College of Charleston-Maryland classic witnessed a mid-major fighting for a marquee road win to enhance its NCAA tournament profile and a big-name program fighting to avoid a humbling home loss that could damage its resume.

Ultimately, the NCAA basketball tournament has become such a cash cow for college sports that there's little chance we'll ever see a BCS logo at mid-court in April or a list of college basketball bowl games.

As we get set for the new basketball season and college football's strech run, let's be thankful sanity still reigns in at least one sport.    

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/How-college-hoops-would-look-if-the-BCS-replaced?urn=ncaab-284245

Brent Seabrook Keith Seabrook Dennis Seidenberg Andrej Sekera

Tiger Woods: 'I'm Not the Same Man I Was a Year Ago'

Tiger Woods is continuing to overhaul his personal, public and professional life in the wake of the cheating and divorce scandal that has consumed his world in the last year. It was, in fact, almost a year ago exactly, the Friday after Thanksgiving, that news of Woods' car crash shocked the world.

So it's appropriate timing for Woods to take the next step in his attempt to overhaul his image and public perception, as Woods has penned a short editorial for "Newsweek" on his struggle, recovery and where he is a year after everything changed.

Woods admits that his life was "out of balance" and that he made "terrible choices," conducting his personal life in an "artificial way." But after a year of reflection, Woods says he's in a better place.

 

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Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2010/11/17/tiger-woods-im-not-the-same-man-i-was-a-year-ago/

Johnny Oduya Mattias Ohlund Brooks Orpik Sebastian Owuya