Allgemein » putting him on injured reserve. Harv

LAS VEGAS -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he probably didnt have enough fuel to finish. Being in Vegas, he decided to gamble anyway. And when Earnhardts tank went bust on the final lap, Brad Keselowski was right there to clean up. Keselowski surged ahead when Earnhardt ran out of fuel, claiming a dramatic victory Sunday in the NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Earnhardts Chevy sputtered and slowed out of the second turn, and Keselowski roared past him on the backstretch in his Penske Ford for the first weekend sweep in his career. Keselowski followed up Saturdays Nationwide Series victory with his first Las Vegas Cup win, doing it in exhilarating fashion against the friend and mentor who gave him his first big break in racing. "Thats what you live for as a driver, at least I do," Keselowski said. "Those moments where youre side by side, and you lay it all out on the racetrack and bring back the car with the tires smoking, engine smoking, and youre worn out inside because you gave it all you had. It was one of those races there at the end." Keselowski knew all about the fuel shortage faced by Earnhardt and Carl Edwards, who both made their final pit stops about 10 laps before him. So Keselowski decided to force the issue, getting around Edwards and pushing for the lead so Earnhardt would be forced to abandon his conservative, fuel-saving lines. "I felt like we could run him down," Keselowski said about the driver who put him in his first Nationwide ride. "He was going to have to burn fuel to keep me behind him. At that point, it was just a matter of whether a yellow (flag) came out or not, because it was just a ticking time bomb. It worked in our favour today." Earnhardt finished second and didnt regret it, secure in his overall position thanks to the new rules in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which puts increased emphasis on wins. Still, Earnhardt and his Hendrick Motorsports ride were just a few ounces of fuel shy of earning their second victory in three races to start the season. When Earnhardt sat down for his post-race news conference in front of two cans of his sponsors energy drink, he picked up one can wistfully: "Thats all we needed, just 16 ounces." The Daytona 500 champion was disappointed, but not discouraged after his spectacular start to the NASCAR season. He also finished second last week at Phoenix. "We werent supposed to make it," Earnhardt said. "We were trying to save as much as we can and make it work, but we knew we were short. We wouldnt have finished second if we didnt have that strategy." Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, virtually assured himself of a spot in the Chase after missing it entirely last season. "Its just such a reliever for everyone on the team to get that win in early, and be able to enjoy the races and opportunities that we have instead of being stressed out about them," Keselowski said. "You know, I think if anything it actually lends itself to better racing." Earnhardt also praised NASCARs new Chase setup, which allowed him to take a fuel gamble in Vegas after winning already this season. Additional wins are worth bonus points in the Chase, while a second-place finish doesnt help his position much -- hence the motivation to go for broke on an empty tank. "I think the new format is definitely is showing it has tons of positives," Earnhardt said. "Its better as far as entertainment for our sport. It gives us freedom, and its nice to have that freedom to do the things that we did today, even though we knew our odds werent good. We really shouldnt have made it, and we didnt, but we got to try because of the new system." With his wife due to give birth at any minute, Paul Menard finished third in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy in front of Keselowskis teammate, pole-sitter Joey Logano. Edwards was fifth in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford, and Earnhardt teammate Jimmie Johnson came in sixth. The Las Vegas race is the first of 11 on 1.5-mile tracks, and NASCAR spent much of the off-season working on ways to improve the racing on these tracks with a new aerodynamics package and other improvements. The changes resulted in 23 drivers breaking the track speed record during qualifying, but the racing wasnt particularly thrilling until that final lap. Keselowski and Earnhardt are the only two drivers to finish in the top five in each of the seasons first three races, and they dueled down the stretch after Earnhardt passed him for the lead on a restart with 42 laps to go. Earnhardt had gone to the pits on the 211th lap and attempted to stick it out. Keselowski was in fine form after his third-place finish in Phoenix last week without crew chief Paul Wolfe, who had returned home for his childs birth. Keselowski also finished third at Daytona. Keselowski is the second driver to win both Vegas races in the same weekend, joining Jeff Burton in 2000. Pittsburgh Pirates Pro Shop . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose. Pittsburgh Pirates Store . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. Pirates Jerseys China . The Sochi organizing committee said in Fridays statement that the torch relay reached the North Pole on Oct. 19. Russian Polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, who led the mission, lit a special bowl at the North Pole sign. Pittsburgh Pirates Gear . Freddie Roach said if the Rios fight "does not go well, we will seriously talk about his retirement," but that Pacquiao was training as well as ever for the Nov.RENTON, Wash. -- Pete Carroll told Percy Harvin that the Seattle Seahawks were considering placing him on injured reserve to open up a roster spot ahead of the post-season. Harvins response: "Coach Im ready to play ball." That conversation less than two weeks ago was the start of a return that took another significant step on Thursday when Carroll announced Harvin would play on Saturday against New Orleans in an NFC divisional playoff game. "Were excited about him going and excited for him. Its been a long, long haul for a guy thats such a great competitor and it means so much," Carroll said. "For him to have the opportunity to join us now is really exciting, I know, for him and us, too." There will be no limitations on how Seattle can use its biggest off-season acquisition, brought to Seattle in a trade with Minnesota. Harvin ended up a spectator for most of the 2013 regular season, but now could make his biggest impact in the playoffs as a wide receiver and kick returner. It could be a big boost to Seattles offence, which slumped late in the season. "Im just glad to be out there helping my team win right now. The playoffs, thats what we all dream about, to have home-field advantage, to have all the things the team has put in place. It would be hard for me to try to not be out there," Harvin said. "Everything worked out for the best and Im looking forward to being out there and helping this team win." Harvin missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season following hip surgery in early August. He returned in Week 11 against Minnesota and caught one pass and had a 58-yard kickoff return. Harvin was then sidelined again by what Carroll called "soreness." But Harvins problems went beyond just soreness.dddddddddddd He had fluid buildup and swelling in his hip following that game against the Vikings, a 41-20 Seattle victory. "I kind of knew during the game. Something quite didnt feel right," Harvin said. "But it was expected. It was expected but we didnt know to that extreme. It came and that was a setback that we had. We had two, three of them but they are in the past." The turning point for Harvin came on Dec. 30 when Carroll essentially gave an ultimatum, saying the team was considering putting him on injured reserve. Harvin was impressive enough during a 15-minute workout with quarterback Russell Wilson that Carroll delayed making a roster decision. Harvin took part in practice both days last week while Seattle was on its bye and was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week. "Im just looking to fit in anywhere I can. This offence has done its share and wouldnt be in this position that it is right now," Harvin said. "This team is already set. The foundation is set. Im just looking to jump on the bus and enjoy the ride." The Seahawks also expect rookie tight end Luke Willson to be able to play less than two weeks after he was taken off the field on a cart after injuring his left ankle against St. Louis in the regular season finale. Willson was initially feared to have a fracture, but was later diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain. He was a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday. "They checked him out right off the bat and looked like he had a broken leg, and they checked him out again later that night and he didnt," Carroll said. "So all I can tell you is it was remarkable whatever happened in there." ' ' '