HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Long after the checkered flag fell at Phoenix last weekend, where Kevin Harvicks win earned him his first real shot at a NASCAR championship, he found a surprise visitor waiting in his motorhome. Sitting on the couch was three-time champion Tony Stewart,te playing the role of both friend and team owner. He explained to Harvick what to expect this week as he headed into Sundays season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Harvick is probably the favourite in a four-driver field to win the Sprint Cup title. He was the last person sitting in my motorhome and he said, Alright, heres how your week is going to go and here is what you are going to do and heres how you are going to do it, Harvick said. Hes been an owner, hes been a friend and hes been somebody Ive been able to lean on over these last nine weeks. Its not much different than 2012, when Stewart helped Harvick navigate the biggest decision of his career. Harvick was in a rut at Richard Childress Racing, the organization that had signed him in 1999 to a Nationwide deal and put together a long-term plan that would move him to NASCARs top series in 2002. But Dale Earnhardts death in the 2001 season-opening Daytona 500 forced Childress to move Harvick up immediately, and he found himself driving Earnhardts car as a 25-year-old under an enormous spotlight. Although he won early, the ups-and-downs in performance at RCR were frustrating and Harvick found the organization could never quite get him close enough to the championship. Hed spent a dozen years with Childress, had one more season on his contract, and had to decide whether to dig in his heels with the only team he knew or to start over elsewhere. Stewart promised Harvick if he moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, hed help him win a championship. He was ready for a change, Stewart shrugged. The bond is deep between Harvick and Stewart. Last week in victory lane, Stewart appeared to be crying when he greeted Harvick, who later revealed it was the first time hed ever seen Tony even a little bit emotional. Part of it was the excitement of seeing Harvick one step closer to his goal, part of it was the relief during a difficult season for Stewart. Its the worst on the track in Stewarts 16-year career, and hes struggled personally since his sprint car struck and killed driver Kevin Ward Jr. on Aug. 9. Obviously hes been through a lot this year, and if we can be that one shining moment that makes his day better, that would be, for me — I just want to see my friend smile, Harvick said. Harvick has thrived from the moment he first drove one of crew chief Rodney Childers cars. The No. 4 Chevrolet was among the fastest on the track in a series-wide December test and Harvick and Childers have not slowed down since. The chemistry was instant and helped the duo feel comfortable in stepping into a leadership role at SHR; it also kept them from faltering when Stewart was away from the team following Wards death. Harvick, who will race Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and former SHR driver Ryan Newman in the finale, has four wins this season. Two of them — at Charlotte and Phoenix — earned him automatic berths in the next round of the Chase. He has a career-high eight poles, and his 2,083 laps led are easily the most in the series. Theres not a team in the garage that doesnt believe that Harvicks win total would be at least doubled if not for late-race setbacks. When it became clear that his pit crew wasnt strong enough to guarantee an error-free, 10-race Chase, Stewart gave Harvick the crew that had helped Stewart to the 2011 championship. Every part of the last 11 months has validated the decision Harvick and his wife, DeLana, made two years ago. I am as happy as Ive ever been, Harvick said. In 2012, we made some pretty big decisions to race in 2014, and you just never know how those things are going to pan out. I am as proud of the situation and the life decisions that DeLana and I made to get to this point. To see them be as successful as they have been, its been pretty rewarding. The same goes for Stewart, who marvels at the first season Harvick has put together at SHR and the determination that team has shown through three rounds of the new elimination-format Chase. You know how hard it is to get here, especially with the intensity weve seen in the Chase this year, Stewart said. And here we are with a shot to win this championship. To be a part of this opportunity with him, to do it with a good friend, is really special because this is something I really want for him. Melvin Gordon Jersey .The Canadiens will visit the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on New Years Day 2016, taking hockeys oldest rivalry outside.It was special in 2010 just to be there with the history behind Fenway Park and all that, Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said. Tyrell Williams Jersey . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins. http://www.chargersauthenticshop.com/Chargers-Michael-Schofield-Draft-Jersey/. The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Dan Fouts Jersey . "Its amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isnt necessarily recognized as one of the main sports," Puig said. "Im just happy Im able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too. Travis Benjamin Jersey .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 20th consecutive win across all competitions by cruising to a 4-1 victory at Almeria on Friday.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins finally flexed their offensive muscles. And they needed every bit of scoring they could muster. Malkin had a hat trick and the Penguins almost blew a four-goal lead before holding off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Monday night to clinch their first-round playoff series in six games. "Its more important that we win the game and (end) the series," Malkin said of the 10th time hes scored three times in a game in his career. "Going into the second round now, you feel so much better when you have confidence. I hope in the next round I can score more." Pittsburgh awaits the winner of the New York-Philadelphia series, with the Rangers leading 3-2 going into Tuesday nights Game 6. Its a good thing for the Penguins that Malkin -- scoreless in his past nine playoff games including the first five in the series -- finally found the net. The Blue Jackets, closer to making tee times than thinking about a Game 7, scored three times in a 4:52 span in the third period to turn up the pressure on the Penguins, an overwhelming favourite before the series got under way. "Were a proud group in here," forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "We didnt want to get embarrassed on home ice. If it was going to be our last game of the season, we didnt want to have any quit. We didnt have any quit in this locker room all season. We just kept pushing and pushing." Brandon Sutter also scored before leaving with an injury and Matt Niskanen had two assists as the Penguins became the first team in the series to score first and win -- but barely. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves and made a couple of big stops after the game turned into a squeaker. "It was a good test," he said of the wild last few minutes. Coach Dan Bylsma said the toe-to-toe matchup heralded a new level of contentious play between the teams. "Weve got a rivalry going here with the Jackets," he said. "They gave us everything we could handle and it was a nice series for them. That was an extremely tough first-round opponent." Fedor Tyutin, Artem Anisimov and Nick Foligno scored for Columbuus, Folignos redirect of a Tyutin shot cut the gap to a goal with 4:47 left.dddddddddddd A crowd of 19,189 stood and roared the rest of the way as the Blue Jackets piled up scoring chances. The Penguins were hard pressed to fight off the aggressive Blue Jackets after goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who also had 24 saves, was pulled for an extra attacker with under 2 minutes left. Matt Calvert was wide with a potential tying shot with 3:30 left. Dubinskys shot with 35 seconds left was deflected by Fleury. Columbus had overcome a 3-0 deficit at home in Game 4, scoring on a Fleury gaffe in the final seconds of regulation before Foligno won it in the overtime. "After we got the third goal, anything could happen," coach Todd Richards said. "We had done it the last time we played in the building. My thought was it was going to happen." Up until the last few minutes, it was Malkins game. He hadnt scored in the first 332:52 of the series, then scored three times in a span of 26:11. "I could see it coming in the morning skate," teammate James Neal said. "His shot was going into the back of the net." The Blue Jackets, one of the NHLs youngest teams, looked hopeless until Tyutins shot from the right dot ended Fleurys shutout streak at 97:26 -- since the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first period of Game 5. But then Anisimov scored from the left point with 6:06 remaining to make it 4-2 and Foligno redirected a Tyutin shot to cut the lead to 4-3. "That was a big win," said Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who went goal-less in the series. "Obviously we didnt want to make it as close as we did. But we found a way to win." Notes: The Penguins improved to 8-4 in Game 6s when up 3-2 in the playoffs. ... Columbus was without veteran forward (and Pittsburgh native) R.J. Umberger (shoulder). ... For the second game in a row, the Penguins didnt have D Brooks Orpik, sidelined with an undisclosed injury. ... Sutter was limping as he went to the dressing room in the second period. He did not return. Joe Vitale went knee-to-knee with a Blue Jacket early in the third and was in pain as he left the ice. Cheap Hawks Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Pacers Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys ' ' '