pain.Still, Newcastle have to recruit extremely well in

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Martin Truex Jr. showed up at Talladega Superspeedway determined to be at the front of the field and in control of his chances in NASCARs playoffs.A pole-winning run Saturday put him at the top of the field for the critical elimination race.Truex turned a lap of 193.423 mph to earn the top starting spot Sunday. The run came after NASCAR confiscated a bolt from his Toyota, but Truex said he was not worried about ramifications to his Furniture Row Racing team.The jack bolt issue is really not a big issue, Truex said. They just took the left front, so its not a big issue. It was a parts manufacturing issue, no big deal at all.Winner of two races in the first round of the Chase, Truex is winless in round two but above the cutoff point. Four drivers will be cut from the field on Sunday.All we have to do is make it through to the next one, he said. Weve got some good tracks coming up for us and (Sunday) is going to be a tough race. A lot is going to happen, but we just have to hope for the best and do the best job we can do.I feel good about my car and its got a lot of speed in it, obviously.The inspection issue with Truex provided a little early drama on qualifying day, as there was some speculation the team could face a penalty. NASCAR typically issues penalties in the middle of the week, and a point deduction could in theory knock Truex out of the Chase.However, NASCAR vice president of competition Scott Miller said a points penalty is unlikely, and that Truex had no competitive advantage. The bolt taken could have been considered a safety issue, though.I would say it would be unlikely but it has to go through our process, he said. We dont typically do that on a weekend. Because it is the playoffs, everyone has a heightened sense of everything. This is no different than things we have done all year, and we will treat this one like we do all year long.Miller was unsure if NASCAR would accelerate its review process to determine if a penalty will be issued before the race.We dont have any precedent for doing that, Miller said. We will be circling up and trying to figure out the best way to proceed from this moment forward until (Sundays) race.Brad Keselowski, in nearly a must-win situation on Sunday, qualified second. He won the knockout race in 2014 to stave off elimination, and said his best starting position at Talladega bodes well for him.I feel like qualifying well is certainly a very strong omen for Talladega and Daytona, he said. I think all of the races Ive won here, weve had good starts and the races that we havent won or been super-competitive we usually dont have any speed in qualifying, so its certainly a confidence-builder.Its not a guarantee by any means, but a confidence-builder that you carry into this weekend and carry into (the) race.Keselowski won at Talladega in May and at Daytona in July.Matt Kenseth qualified third and was followed by Chase Elliott, who is also in a must-win situation on Sunday.Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were fifth and sixth and Roush-Fenway Racing put three of its cars into the final round of qualifying as Trevor Bayne was 11th.Rounding out the top 12 were Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Reed Sorenson was 12th. It was a huge drop-off for Sorenson, who was the fastest car in the first round of qualifying.Hamlin is also facing a must-win situation, and said he prefers that to points racing all day at Talladega.Im actually trying to lead every lap, he said. Thats all I can do is try to go out there and lead every single lap possible and put ourselves in position at the end. Definitely want to be in the lead if we get down to a shootout and try to defend from there, so weve got our work cut out for us, but its nothing we havent done before.Before the first round runs, NASCAR made the Joe Gibbs Racing teams of Hamlin, Kenseth and Kyle Busch adjust the top of their left-rear quarter panels. The teams were required to go back through inspection and Miller said the body of the cars had been manipulated.It doesnt have to be big to be an infraction, he said. It just has to be fair for everybody and thats what we strive to do.Truex, runner-up to Hamlin in the Daytona 500, is one of the many drivers who doesnt plan to fade to the back of the field on Sunday in an effort to avoid potential accidents. Hes said all weekend he feels more in control of his race if hes near the front, and the pole position puts him right where he wants to be.The strategy is to stay there, but the problem is that its pretty hard to do, he said. Its definitely the place to be to start the race. This is obviously a big race with a lot on the line. China Shoes Wholesale . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. China Shoes To USA . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. https://www.chinashoes.us/ . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). China Shoes . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. China Shoes Cheap . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. ESPN NRL expert Brett Kimmorley analyses another weekend of rugby league action, and explains what he discovered in round 17 of the NRL in his latest edition of Set of Six.Mitchell Pearce?might have his life back in orderI dont think Ive seen a better performance from a player whos missed so much football. I thought Mitchell Pearce was absolutely brilliant against Canterbury on Thursday night, and he clearly wanted to repay the faith shown by the Roosters.I think it showed he has his life back in order and his focus is on footy again. There have been a few things that have affected Mitchell Pearce and derailed his career, and hes copped a fair bit of criticism along the way, but theres no doubting he is a talented football player.Storm build a game plan better than any other teamThe Storms demolition of the Broncos on Friday night, and the manner in which they targeted Brisbanes deficiencies, were enormous. They isolated Anthony Milford for the first few tries, and then when Kodi Nikorima moved onto the wing they had Suliasi Vunivalu, whos a lot taller, oppose him in the air.Melbourne Storm are genuine premiership contenders. They just pull apart a side with a weakness, and execute their plans better than anyone else in the competition. I thought this was a great exhibition of professional preparation and the ability to perfect their performance.As for Brisbane, I have question marks over Ben Hunt because hed be mentally scarred after the grand final last year.I dont think Brisbane will miss the eight but theyre not the confident footy side they were at the start of the year.The brilliance of Shaun JohnsonWe generally get it around Origin time, when the Warriors are stealing points, but the fact that Shaun Johnson was playing five-eighth at the start of the year took some responsibility away from him; and he didnt look interested in playing football. Hes now back playing at No. 7, and hes getting first ball whenever he requires it.Thats the key: hes back at 7, controlling the game, getting first ball; hes the king of the show, and on the back of that hes produced great form over the past month.The sheer brilliance of him gives me reason to think the Warriors have turned the corner, and they are so exciting to watch.James Tedesco must be Blues fullback for Origin IIIJame Tedesco is unbelievable, and Wests Tigers would struggle to score so many tries without him. Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses create opportunities, and Elijah Taylor has been good for them, but the sheer pace of Tedesco in unbelievable.He reminds me of Ben Barba in 2012 and Jarryd Hayne in his 2009 Dally M run, where one single player can ssingle-handedly impact the result of a football game.dddddddddddd Its amazing what he can do with a lot thrown in front of him. I think ?Hes so good because from fullback because he gets the ball in space with the defence a little bit disorganised.Im all for them picking the best football players for Origin so to me that means Matt Moylans on the bench or at five-eighth. Its a no-brainer: Moylans good but New South Wales have a better chance of winning Origin III with Tedesco at fullback than with Moylan at fullback.?The Blues will waste Tedescos talents if they put him on the wing for Origin; I dont think hes ever played there before.Newcastle showing signs that theyre on the right pathThe Knights have been able to recruit some players over the past number of weeks like Mitch Barnett and Brendan Elliot, and their first half against Canberra was pretty clinical; they have some great young kids coming through like Jack Cogger.Its going to be a long road as they are rebuilding, but there are signs that some things are on the up. I look at what Greater Western Sydney have done in the AFL as an example; they were getting flogged but they knew they had the best young kids they were developing for two or three years down the track. Those kids are now 50-game AFL players and the GWS are one of the top four sides in the competition.Youve got to wear some pain.Still, Newcastle have to recruit extremely well in key positions, as GWS did. The Giants bought Heath Shaw from Collingwood and Steve Johnson from Geelong, who were thought to be past their best but werent; theyve got experience and an ability to lift younger players.Sharks break club record with 12th consecutive winI was part of one of the Sharks sides that held the club record for 11 consecutive wins and Im really rapt this football club has broken the mark. Theyve been through a horrible time over the past number of years.Theyre playing a great brand of football, and theyre exciting to watch, but theyre more than the stars. They were 18-0 down on Saturday night against Parramatta, they had no ball, but they still scored points. I think theyve got the best roster of any side assembled this year.Theyve had a few distractions and a couple of other things going on -- theyve had players out through injury and the disruption of Origin -- but they play a good brand of football and theyve beaten the top four sides in the competition; theyre also able to play ugly and win. They enjoy themselves, have a bit of fun and get the job done. ' ' '