with the option to win it, and were just excited about it.LE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chad Knaus will act as if this shot at a record-tying seventh championship is just another race, and that he has barely thought of what it means for his place in the record books with Jimmie Johnson.Knaus has already led Johnson to a record five straight titles, six overall, and is now aiming to be the first crew chief in history to win seven NASCAR titles with the same driver. Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman won eight, but not with one driver.Knaus will downplay this until the bitter end -- even if he hoists the championship trophy with Johnson on Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.I guess I really dont know what I want my legacy to be, Knaus said Wednesday. I guess just to be remembered as a real racer, I guess, more than anything. I was a grass-roots racer from the Midwest who got an opportunity ... (and) was able to work my way up methodically. For people just to remember that I started out as a racer and ended as a racer is probably my biggest goal.Johnson will face defending series champion Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards on Sunday, with the highest-finishing driver winning the championship.If its Johnson, he will tie Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers with seven titles. But hell have it done it with a team that Knaus built from the bottom, and the No. 48 team would be the first to win seven titles with the same driver, crew chief and sponsor.Knaus admits that distinction would make it even more phenomenal.Its been an honor to be able to work with Jimmie, Lowes and Hendrick Motorsports throughout this portion of my career, he said. Being able to represent this company and our associates the way that we have has been a lot of fun. To Jimmie personally, obviously he is by far one of my best friends, and to be able to have seen him grow and mature into the driver and the family man that he is has been awesome. Its been a great ride.BACK-TO-BACKKyle Busch hand-picked Adam Stevens to be his crew chief when Joe Gibbs Racing made personnel changes after the 2014 season.The two had clicked working together in the Xfinity Series, and Busch felt Stevens could be the one to lead him to a championship. They succeeded last year, rallying from a deep hole after Busch missed a third of the season with injuries suffered at Daytona. Now they are back in the finale trying to become the first repeat winners since Johnson reeled off five consecutive titles.Stevens said he and Busch have not focused on the back-to-back opportunity.We havent talked about that specifically, but the chances to win a championship in this sport arent going to come every year, he said. When you get that chance, you want to make sure that youve turned over every stone and taken every turn that you can to try to make it happen.You know, back-to-back, or once every 10 years, or however often you can find yourself in this opportunity with a shot to win is colossal.OUTSIDERS VIEWDave Rogers has worked for Joe Gibbs Racing for 18 years. During that time, he watched Bobby Labonte win a championship, and was a team member on Tony Stewarts crew when Stewart won two titles. A crew chief change at JGR moved him off of Kyle Buschs team last year and Busch went on to win the title.Now Rogers is finally in the championship hunt on his own, with Carl Edwards, and hes ready to lead a team to a title he can call his own.Theres lots of experiences, successes and failures that prepare you for this, Rogers said. Theres a handful of championships that Ive witnessed. This is obviously the first time that Ive gone to Homestead personally as a crew chief prepared to race for the championship, but theres a winning pedigree here at JGR and everyones open notebook policy has prepared me well for this weekend.Rogers didnt make it to the finale as crew chief for Busch or Denny Hamlin. Edwards lost the 2011 championship to Stewart on a tie-breaker. They both feel like past experience has them prepared for Sunday.Weve both been in situations where weve come up short, and we know what its like to lose, Rogers said. Now we want to go down there and try to figure out how to win it. I know Carl was disappointed last year that he fell short. The 11 (Hamlin team) was disappointed last year that we fell short, but now were teamed up together, our first year together, were going down there with the option to win it, and were just excited about it.LESSONS LEARNEDJoey Logano and Todd Gordon thought they were ready to win a championship when they raced for a title in 2014.Then one bad pit stop ended their chances. With that experience behind them, Gordon believes they have the mental toughness to win the title.I think in 2014, that was when we went through this the first time. Not knowing what to do or what to expect or how it was going to flow out, the championship race, race weekend, he said. This time around ... I think its matters as usual.I feel a lot of calm from his feedback and what hes saying and what hes doing and the mannerisms. Hes all (about) just making this another race, and I think in a great position. Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. John Matuszak Womens Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-John-Matuszak-Elite-Jersey/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Fred Biletnikoff Raiders Jersey . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Lester Hayes Youth Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Baseballs Hall of Fame has again revamped its veterans committees to increase consideration for more contemporary players, managers, umpires and executives.Under the change announced Saturday by the Halls board of directors, there will be separate committees for Todays Game (1988-2016), Modern Baseball (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-69) and Early Baseball (1871-1949). Todays Game and Modern Baseball will vote twice every five years, Golden Days once every five years and Early Baseball once every 10 years.There are twice as many players in the Hall of Fame who debuted before 1950 as compared to afterward, and yet there are nearly double the eligible candidates after 1950 than prior, Hall chair Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. Those who served the game long ago and have been evaluated many times on past ballots will now be reviewed less frequently.Todays Game will vote in 2016, 18, 21 and 23; and Modern Baseball in 2017, 19, 21 and 23. Golden Days will vote in 2020 and 25, and Early Baseball in 2020 and 30. The Halls Historical Overview Committee will decide which committee will consider those players who span eras, based on the time or place of their most indelible impression.Since 2010, the Hall had established three veterans committees: Pre-Integration Era (1871-1946), Golden Era (1947-72) and Expansion Era (1973-2016). No one was elected by the Pre-Integration Era committee in December.In addition, the Hall eliminated the one-year waiting period between a players last appearance on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot and his veterans committee debut for consideration. The Hall also said activee executives 70 or older may be given consideration, up from 65.ddddddddddddCommittees will remain at 16 people, with a vote of at least 75 percent needed for election. The ballot size will be 10 for each committee; it had been 12 for Expansion Era and 10 for the others.The BBWAA votes on players who have been retired for at least five years and no more than 15. Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza are to be inducted Sunday.The Hall also changed some of the rules for the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball. The committee making the annual decision will consider a three-year cycle of Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers) for the 2017 award, National Voices for 2018 and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers) for 2019.Since 2013, the Fricks three-year cycle had been High Tide Era (mid-1980s to present), Living Room Era (mid-1950s to mid-1980s) and Broadcasting Dawn Era (before mid-1950s).The criteria will be commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers instead of longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.The Frick ballot size will be reduced from 10 to eight, and the three ballot spots previously determined by fan voting will be decided by historians.Ozzie Smith, inducted to the Hall in 2002, was voted to the Halls board of directors. ' ' '