Die Macht » 2009. Voters in 2013 rejected a $217 m

Dont blame Jimmie Johnson if he feels confident about his chances advancing from the semifinal Round of 8 to one of the four drivers eligible for the championship at Homestead. He has earned any swagger he takes into this weekend at Martinsville.Johnson has 18 career victories at the three tracks in the semifinal round -- eight at Martinsville, six at Texas and four at Phoenix. His average finish at those tracks: 7.5, 8.3 and 7.8. Any conversation about Johnson winning his seventh Cup championship can start in earnest now as he should have that chance in less than four weeks.While Kevin Harvick does have eight career wins at Phoenix and Denny Hamlin has five at Martinsville, neither driver can boast of such a record across the three tracks. Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch are the only drivers other than Johnson who have won a Cup race at each track in the round.Winning will be big because a driver with one bad race likely wont advance on points when field is cut from eight to four; only one spot is guaranteed by points if the three races are won by three Chase drivers.Heres the outlook for the drivers, listed by their current NASCAR seeding, going into the semifinal round:1. Joey LoganoTeam Penske No. 22 FordSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,089 (third)Why he will advance: His six Chase wins in the last three seasons is tied with Harvick for the most since the elimination-style format started in 2014. He carries the momentum from the win at Talladega. Oh, and he hasnt made anyone mad in the Chase this year.Why he wont: These three tracks do not rank among his top eight Sprint Cup tracks and the only one where he has a win is Texas. While third at Texas earlier this year, he was 11th at Martinsville and 18th at Phoenix.2. Jimmie JohnsonHendrick Motorsports No. 48 ChevroletSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,100 (first)Why he will advance: Didnt you read the introduction? Hes won 18 times at the three tracks in this round. The only reason hes never had a chance at Homestead in this format is because he never made it to this round.Why he wont: Only twice this year has he had three-race stretches of top-10 finishes -- once early in the year and then with a four-race stretch in the Chase prior to Talladega. If the Toyotas have another level to bring to the track the way Johnson went from pre-August to now, then hes in trouble.3. Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas Racing No. 4 ChevroletSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,082 (sixth)Why he will advance: His four wins this year ties him with Kyle Busch for the most among the remaining drivers in the Chase. One of those wins came at Phoenix, where he has won five of the last six races, and he did it in spectacular fashion by beating Edwards by inches. He has eight career wins at Phoenix and one at Martinsville.Why he wont: Inconsistency could end up biting this team in the semifinal round. In the Chase, he has three top-10 finishes and three finishes of 20th or worse. He cant rely on just winning in the clutch every round -- the odds say hes due for a round where he wont win.4. Matt KensethJoe Gibbs Racing No. 20 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,088 (fourth)Why he will advance: He led 116 laps at the last intermediate track and 105 laps at the last flat 1-mile track. That bodes well for the races at Texas and Phoenix. Of all the Toyotas, he finished the last round with the most points.Why he wont:?Logano will take him out this year to repay for last year. Just kidding. The biggest question for Kenseth is whether he can win in the clutch in a three-race stretch at tracks where he has just a combined three wins and didnt record a top-5 this year.5. Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs Racing No. 19 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,082 (seventh)Why he will advance: Some of his best non-winning races this year came in races at tracks in the semifinal rounds. He led 65 laps on his way to finishing second at Phoenix and 124 laps on his way to finishing seventh at Texas. Edwards and crew chief Dave Rogers have considerable Chase experience, and dont discount that when things get tough. Plus, what are the odds of a rainstorm keeping him from advancing as it did last year at Phoenix?Why he wont: He has recorded just one top-5 finish in his last 14 races. That inconsistency wont get it done in this round.6. Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing No. 11 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,078 (eighth)Why he will advance: He has won five times at Martinsville, including in March 2015, so he has a chance of a win or a great finish to open the round and build his confidence. After barely getting out of the quarterfinal round -- he needed a tiebreaker to advance --Hamlin and his rejuvenated team have an energized outlook.Why he wont: Hamlin isnt exactly Mr. November as he seems to be the victim of mechanical gremlins or misfortune every year. He might have a false sense of confidence even at Martinsville -- he hasnt won the October race at Martinsville since 2009.7. Kurt BuschStewart-Haas Racing No. 41 ChevroletSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,099 (second)Why he will advance: He has been the epitome of consistently doing what it takes to advance. He hasnt finished worse than 15th in the Chase, and hes going to three tracks where he finished no worse than 13th earlier this year. Plus hes a Cubs fan and theres something in the air called destiny.Why he wont: He has been the epitome of consistently doing what it takes to advance. In this round, a driver has to do more. Hes going to three tracks where he finished no better than sixth earlier this year. Plus hes a Cubs fan and theres something in the air called being cursed.8. Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs Racing No. 18 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,084 (fifth)Why he will advance: He won at Martinsville and Texas earlier this year and led 461 laps in the races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. While he hasnt won a race since the Brickyard, he had a second, third, fifth and sixth in the four races leading into Talladega. Busch and Johnson appear as close to a lock to advance more than anyone else in this round.Why he wont: Parts and pieces can break. Tires can blow. The team can beat itself. Green Air Max 2018 .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Cheap Air Max 2018 . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. http://www.cheapairmaxsaleonline.com/ . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Air Max 2018 Outlet .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Blue Air Max 2018 . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. SOCCERMANCHESTER, England -- Sam Allardyce lost his job as England manager after one match and just 67 days in charge, paying the price for damaging comments to undercover reporters that were deemed inappropriate by the English Football Association.British newspaper The Daily Telegraph published video of Allardyce appearing to offer advice on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice and also to negotiate a 400,000-pound ($519,000) public-speaking contract while talking to reporters posing as businessmen.The FA acted swiftly, holding emergency talks with Allardyce in London before announcing the end of his short-lived tenure by mutual consent.In light of the media allegations that weve seen, FA chief executive Martin Glenn said, weve concluded -- and Sams agreed -- that his behavior has been inappropriate and frankly not what is expected of an England manager.PRO FOOTBALLRENO, Nev. -- Three people whose votes could determine whether a nearly $2 billion stadium is built to lure the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas were appointed to vacant seats in the Nevada Legislature.The three northern Nevada residents, including a former Stanford football player, will join other state lawmakers for a special session the governor is expected to convene next month to consider raising hotel room taxes in the Las Vegas area to help finance a 65,000-seat, domed stadium that could be home to the NFL team.The current informal proposal on the table would tax only hotel guests in Las Vegas and Clark County, with no direct impact on Washoe County, Reno or Sparks. But critics fear that in the event of revenue shortfalls, the burden could fall to all Clark County taxpayers or, potentially, taxpayers statewideSANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has become a key figure in a growing protest against racial inequality, had a harsh assessment of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump a day after the first presidential debate.To me, it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates, Kaepernick said. Both are proven liars and it almost seems like theyre trying to debate whos less racist. And at this point, talking with one of my friends, it was, you have to pick the lesser of two evils, but in the end, its still evil.Kaepernick also responded to a statement Trump made during an August radio interview in which he said Kaepernicks anthem protest wasnt a good thing and that the athlete might want to find a country that works better for him.Kaepernick said it was a very ignorant statement, that if you dont agree with whats going on here and that if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all that you should leave the country.HOUSTON -- A person familiar with J.J. Watts condition says he has re-injured his back and the Houston Texans expect him to be out until at least December, and possibly the entire season.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasnt confirmed the injury.Watt missed training camp and Houstons ffour preseason games after surgery in July to repair a herniated disk in his back.dddddddddddd He returned started each of the teams three regular-season games and got hurt again Thursday against the Patriots.Its unclear if the injury will require surgery.Watt, who has won Defensive Player of the Year for the past two seasons, didnt practice on Monday, but coach Bill OBrien said then he was just getting a day off.NFL.com first reported the news.COLLEGE FOOTBALLDURHAM, N.C. -- A North Carolina football player facing charges of sexual battery and assault on a female student says the two had consensual sex but that he did not rape or drug her.In his first public comments, Allen Artis said he isnt a rapist and is eager to get the case behind him. One of his attorneys, Kerry Sutton, also said Artis has passed a polygraph test about the February incident.Everything was completely consensual that happened that night, said a very composed Artis, who was sitting on a couch in his attorneys home flanked by his mother Stephanie Artis and an aunt Avis Artis. Thats the truth.The junior reserve linebacker, indefinitely suspended from the team, turned himself earlier this month on the misdemeanor charges. His next court date is set for Thursday.BASEBALLHOUSTON -- Initial funding has been approved for a $105 million redevelopment of the Houston Astrodome that would include raising the two bottom floors to accommodate about 1,400 parking spaces.Harris County commissioners voted to spend $10.5 million on the projects initial design.Plans call for the bottom floors of the county-owned Astrodome to be raised for parking so that it can be used for festivals, conferences and commercial uses across more than 550,000 square feet of air-conditioned space.Parking revenue, hotel occupancy taxes and county general funds are expected to cover the cost of the redevelopment.The Astrodome opened in 1965 but has been vacant for 17 years, falling into disrepair and declared unfit for occupancy in 2009. Voters in 2013 rejected a $217 million bond for renovations.TOKYO -- A Japanese court convicted the brother of Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish of gambling on baseball games, handing him a suspended prison sentence.The Osaka District Court found Sho Darvish guilty of taking hundreds of bets on Major League Baseball and on professional baseball games in Japan last year.The court said the 27-year-old younger brother of Yu Darvish was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, but it was suspended for five years. The court said the defendants gambling was limited to his group of friends and was not linked to organized crime, according to local media reports.The younger Darvish took bets of 10,000 yen ($100) on Japanese and American professional baseball games, accepting wagers totaling about 110 million yen ($1.1 million) through the LINE social networking application, Kyodo News reported. ' ' '