against the turn, it was his ability to keep the good balls out

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Nearly five years after an intense battle on the racetrack for the Sprint Cup championship, Carl Edwards found himself in the middle of a different kind of firestorm.The afternoon show on Boston sports talk radio station WEEI was broadcasting live from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A day earlier, the hosts of the show started plugging their trip to the racetrack. The hosts, including a former major league baseball player and former NFL player, debated whether NASCAR drivers are athletes.They had some harsh words, with former NFL tight end Christian Fauria saying Carl Edwards is not an athlete.Right off the bat with Edwards on the air, the hosts came clean about what they said the day before about Edwards, who got to hear some of the comments. Fauria, one of the hosts, also said a day earlier that Joe Gibbs was the worst football coach he ever played for in his 13-year NFL career. Fauria and the other hosts laughed about that comment as well in welcoming Edwards to the show.Edwards, nearly on cue, smoothly joined the brofest: My god ... and this is the best Boston has?And then he rationalized with them: No. 1, you dont have to be an athlete to drive a race car. ... I might argue that guys in both of your sports are probably not the best athletes. Edwards explained that he believes his fitness level helps him on the hot, taxing days -- that it allows him to relax and focus instead of feeling worn out.Its hand-eye coordination, you have to be somewhat brave. There are a lot of risks, Edwards said. You have to be pretty technical. ... Its a semantic thing.Heres the deal: You want to get in my car and give it a shot? Its a skill set. Lets say Im the best athlete in the world, the decathlete gold medalist, I cant go line up in an NFL game and do it.Afterward, as he walked back to his hauler to get ready for qualifying, Edwards said he enjoyed the segment.It was great, Edwards said. At the end of the day, its cool for those guys to come to the track. Theyre not race savvy and ... to be able to talk to a new crowd and have those guys ask those questions and talk like that and bust right through the door, I think thats cool.In other words, Edwards appreciated the opportunity to promote his sport and perform at his best in a public setting.Now four months later, he gets to do that on the track. Just like that radio show, he appreciates the opportunity he has to add a Sprint Cup trophy to his mantel and participate in what could be an epic finish to the season.Hes had championship opportunities in the past, ones that ended in epic disappointment. He finished tied for second in points behind Tony Stewart in 2005. He was second behind Jimmie Johnson in 2008. And then in 2011, he finished tied with Stewart, losing the title on a tiebreaker as Stewart had five wins in the Chase. The final Stewart victory came with Edwards on his tail at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Edwards is one of the four drivers with an even shot at the title Sunday at Homestead. Whoever finishes best among Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano will be crowned the champion.Its an opportunity to go do that again, to go be a part of that weekend with everything on the line -- thats as good as it gets, Edwards said. When that race was over in 2011, I wanted to line it up again and do it again. Obviously I wanted the outcome to be different.I really enjoyed that competition, leading up to it, the whole week, qualifying, it was great.The 37-year-old Edwards ranks fifth among drivers with the most wins (28) who have not won a title. He is one of three drivers who have finished second multiple times in the standings without winning a championship.That could feel demoralizing, but its not too shabby for a driver who once passed out business cards looking for a ride before he got his start on a part-time basis in a truck in 2002.He can remember those days and what they taught him. Hes no Busch, who drove for Roush Fenway Racing at age 16. Hes no Johnson, who had some backing from Chevrolet to break into NASCAR and then joined Hendrick Motorsports at a time when it was one of the top teams in the sport. Hes no Logano, who signed a major NASCAR deal before he turned 18.Edwards crew chief, Dave Rogers, also knows what its like to struggle. His initial Cup crew chief job, with Jason Leffler in 2005, ended in 12 races, and he wound up in the Xfinity Series before working his way back atop a pit box in Cup.We have two things in common, Edwards said about him and Rogers. We have experience. We understand how to do the job.Because of everything weve done, were really grateful for the opportunity. We really value this chance to go win a championship. Thats cool. Its pure racing.Rogers, crew chief for Denny Hamlin last year and for Kyle Busch from late in the 2009 season through 2014, has never had a chance to win a title at Homestead.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 [team of Hamlin] 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.If Edwards learned any lessons from his past championship runs, especially from 2011, hes not detailing them.I learned a lot [in 2011], he said. Not going into specifics about my mindset, Im really grateful for that experience. Yeah, I wanted to win just as bad as I want to win every year. But that experience -- I wouldnt trade it for anything else.Edwards wouldnt, however, say that he had to lose a championship in order to win one.You dont have to, he said. We happened to. One way to look at it is in 2005, we had a chance and I was like, Oh we will win it next year. In 2008, I was like, That one hurt a little bit.In 2011, I was like, I want to go again right now. [It means] I will be really appreciative of the championship. It will mean a lot to me because of those battles.Edwards and Johnson are the two drivers among the four who have not competed in the elimination-style Chase championship event. In each of the last two years, Edwards has been knocked out in the semifinal round.He has the best average finish of any of the finalists at Homestead as he tries to join an elite group of drivers -- Busch, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Bobby Labonte -- who have won titles in both the Cup and the Xfinity Series.Really, this whole thing for me is simple: We have a shot to win the championship and weve got the team to do it, Edwards said. Im excited for the opportunity. The last two years ... you go to Homestead and youre like, Damn it, I know if we just were in that group we could have a shot at this.So now we get the chance. Thats as good as it gets. Its like passing out those business cards saying, Somebody just let me drive the car, please. Now we get to be a part of it. Its cool.Nmd Schweiz . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Nmd Günstig Kaufen Schweiz . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nmdschweizkaufen.ch/ . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Nmd Schuhe Online . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Adidas Eqt Schweiz .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans.Maybe in the last session we can score around 200 runs, we can go for it. May be an interesting game aheadThat was M Vijay after the fourth day in the Rajkot Test. His crystal ball wasnt entirely off. India needed 261 runs in a minimum of 31 overs in its final two hours of play. And some of the shots the batsmen used did not entirely suggest they like scrapping around.It can be pleasing to know that the team you support does not give up despite mounting odds. It can be uplifting, as is the case in India, who have had occasion to envy their opponents showing off such resolve to win matches. And it has been the case more often than not with Virat Kohli at the helm. All thats needed to understand how he has moulded the side in his image is to look at India. Lean, mean and steadfastly avoiding the shaving cream.But a different kind of skill was required at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Ground. The skill of saving a Test match. India havent had to do such a thing at home since 2012.On Sunday, everything they would dish out to the opposition was stacked against them. Gentlemen, well start you off with some stiflingly hot scoreboard pressure, then a rich assortment of spin with a side of all the peppy close-in fielders and, oh, look your goose is cooked.India didnt have too long to survive. A minimum of 49 overs. They were up against a set of spinners who were playing their first Test in this country. Kohli and his men shouldnt have cut it so close.That they did was possibly because they didnt have much experience batting time. It requires good technique and a great trust in it. You have to pick the ball out of the hand, read the length as early as possible, go forward or back with purpose and use your hands to adjust if the bounce is variable. A few boundaries help. And yes, it never quite seems like such a grocery list out in the middle. So the fact that India drew a match with only five batsmen - a match they had chased all five days - was quite commendable and a very important step in their evolution.Of course, it was not without incident. On the final day, even a decent pitch would break up with the batsman and blatantly show off its love for the bowler. Rajkot was particularly fiendish. There was one delivery from left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari that pitched on a good length and reared away past Virat Kohlis head, prompting the Indian captain to insist it be called one bouncer for the over.In such circumstances, you have to either trust your defence or resort to something that you know would be equally effective. Something that has worked for you before. Your natural game. Kohli is a vociferous proponent of it. Only, blindly following it has some risk. Ajinkya Rahane tried to cut Moeen Ali against the turn and was bowled offf the pad.dddddddddddd India had less than two hours to survive and that wicket meant England were through to the allrounders. R Ashwin, who has grown into the batsman he always threatened to be and who was instrumental in securing the draw, bashed three fours in the over before he spooned a catch to cover - one of few fielders on the off side. Had either batsman been a bit more prudent, the Test would have had a smoother and earlier finish.But that is how India play now. Given the choice, they prefer to be aggressive.When things get heated out there when theres a lot of pressure on the batsman, its very important to have the intent of scoring runs, Kohli said. Because as an opposition you know that the ball is going to go to the boundary as well, you got to take more time to recover it. The bowlers panic, the opposition panics, the captain panics. At the same time, the score keeps ticking as well.So that was the whole idea - to have the intent to score runs also, because that way youre looking forward to playing the ball, youre nicely on top of the ball, your head is on top of the ball. If youre only looking to defend, sometimes your weight can be back and if the ball is turning even a little bit, the close in fielders come into play. So it was very important to keep intent onto the ball to control it better with your hands. That was the whole idea about being a bit positive as well.Kohli was excellent in balancing between attack and defence, and was the prime reason England couldnt upset India. His footwork was precise and his concentration was such that he was often ready for the bowler while he was still walking back to his mark. While there was the odd whip against the turn, it was his ability to keep the good balls out and remain unbeaten that determined Indias eventual position of safety.There seems to be a growing tendency to think that playing defensively is a sign of weakness.Michael Atherton played one of the greatest innings in the history of the game to save a Test for England away from home. Facing spin on a final-day track in India is no more cumbersome than having to make peace with becoming target practice for a frothing Allan Donald armed with the Wanderers bounce for nearly 11 hours. AB de Villiers, this generations most versatile batsman, felt confident about his game only after he perfected the block. The longest innings anyone has ever played in Tests was to draw a game from a hopeless situation, Hanif Mohammed, the man who was responsible for it, was called the Little Master.Their exploits and many more suggest the dead bat isnt a nuisance in cricket. Its the essence of it. ' ' '