ury in the second quarter . Pittsburghs last loss in its hom | Forum

JOLIET, Ill. Kevin Durant Kd 8 . -- Penske Racing swept the front row in qualifying for the first race of the Chase, with Joey Logano winning the pole hours after NASCAR placed his team on probation for allegedly cutting a deal with another organization to help him make the championship field. Logano turned a lap at 189.414 mph around Chicagoland Speedway on Friday to bump teammate and defending NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski. Keselowski did not qualify for the Chase but Logano did make it in at Richmond, where he was aided by at least three other drivers last Saturday night. It all came out in two separate investigations into the closing laps and carried over into Chicago, where NASCAR summoned Penske Racing and Front Row Motorsports in for a Friday morning meeting to discuss an alleged deal made for David Gilliland to give Logano pivotal track position to make the Chase. The Penske team denied wrongdoing -- radio transmissions couldnt prove they had any involvement in Front Rows bargaining -- but NASCAR spent most of the day reviewing the incident. After booting Martin Truex Jr. from the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field earlier in the week for Ryan Newman because of Michael Waltrip Racings manipulations at Richmond, there was a chance Logano could be kicked out, too. Instead, NASCAR took the unprecedented step of adding Jeff Gordon as a 13th driver to the field and placed Penske and Front Row on probation through the end of the year. Logano, who beat Jimmie Johnsons 2005 track record of 188.146 mph, said he never thought hed be kicked out of the Chase despite the vitriol he was seeing on social media. "There wasnt any worry in my mind that we werent going to be in the Chase. I felt like we deserved to be here," Logano said. "I realize there are a lot of people on Twitter that are really mean. Ive read enough of it, and I thought, Wow, this Joey Logano guys a real jerk. Then I realized, You know, maybe Im not. "Hopefully this helps prove them all wrong, that we deserve to be here, because this team has got what it takes and weve proven that all year long. I guess we have to do that for 10 more races and prove them wrong a little bit more." The Chase begins Sunday at Chicagoland, where NASCAR will have a 13-driver championship field for the first time since the title-deciding format began in 2004. Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified third, made light of the controversy. "The question I asked when coming in here is maybe qualifying third I could make the Chase, too," he said. Chase driver Kasey Kahne was fourth and followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Next was Gordon, who had an emotional week watching the fallout from Richmond unfold. He thought he missed the Chase on performance, then learned the spin with seven laps to go by Clint Bowyer was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the outcome for Truexs benefit. Things just got worse from there as Gordon learned of another plot by MWRs drivers to help Logano push Gordon out of the Chase, and then of the Penske and Front Row potential bargaining. He came to Chicago aware NASCAR was still reviewing the situation but not hopeful it would change his situation. He learned hed been added to the field watching NASCAR chairman Brian France make the announcement on television before qualifying. "It was hard to not hear rumblings about what may occur, what may not occur. We just tried not to get our hopes up," he said. "Ill admit, its been a rough week. It was a lot of ups and downs of emotions for this entire team. Im very thankful to be in, and I know its under the most unbelievable circumstances Ive ever been a part of in my racing career, and I wish that all of this hadnt happened. Now here we are as a 13th car and in, now we just try to take that opportunity and make the most of it." Chase drivers made up the next four spots as Greg Biffle was seventh and followed by Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and points leader Matt Kenseth. Bowyer was the lowest qualifying Chase driver at 24th. Adidas Supercolor Pink . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Nike Air Max Ireland Sale . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. http:///...-women-s-s41839.html . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.PITTSBURGH -- The Tennessee Titans began the season with an embarrassing step back. It merely set the stage for a significant leap forward. Chris Johnson eschewed his usual flash for 70 clock-chewing yards, new defensive assistant Gregg Williams wasted little time working some of his old magic, and the Titans smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-9 on Sunday. Jackie Battle ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals. Tennessees revamped defence did the rest. "Yes, we were a little sloppy at spots, yes we wish we scored more points," Tennessee coach Mike Munchak said. "And well fix some of those things. But we did what we had to do to win the football game." Pittsburgh managed just 195 total yards and lost Pro Bowl centre Maurkice Pouncey, likely out of the year with torn ligaments in his right knee. Linebacker Larry Foote is also done after rupturing his right biceps. "Weve got a lot of work to do," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Nobody cares about our problems. Theyre glad weve got them. We need to understand that. We need to stick together and persevere." Pouncey is the linchpin of a retooled offensive line; Foote is the wise sage for one of the NFLs best linebacking groups. "Anytime you lose guys that are key contributors to your game, its frustrating, but thats the business were in," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said. "Someones got to step up." Better hurry. The Steelers hadnt lost a home opener in a decade and figured to have little trouble against the Titans, who gave up more points than any team in the NFL last season and brought in Williams as an assistant. A year removed from his role in the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints that to a league suspension, the former defensive co-ordinators impact was immediate. While Munchak stressed co-ordinator Jerry Gray is in charge of the play calling, theres little doubt Williams presence has keyed an attitude shift in a unit that took the brunt of the blame for a 6-10 season. Aggressive from the opening snap, Tennessee forced two turnovers, limited the Steelers to 32 yards rushing and didnt allow a touchdown until garbage time. "Were working much more together now," defensive tackle Jurrell Casey said. "Nobodys pointing fingers at anybody else and nobodys being selfish. We have to work as a unit, and thats what we did today." The Steelers came in with 10 straight victories in home openers, the longest streak in the league. They went winless in the preseason, but stressed they were fine. Doesnt look like it. Following a bumpy off-seasoon in which Mike Wallace, James Harrison and Casey Hampton departed, Pittsburgh insisted it was not rebuilding. http:///...ray-men-s-shoes.html. Maybe, but the refurbishing project is going to take some time. Running back Isaac Redman fumbled twice, including once deep in Tennessee territory. The defence limited big plays, but failed to generate a turnover or a momentum-swinging sack. The Titans didnt dominate. They didnt have to. Content to work between the tackles with Johnson and Battle, Tennessee controlled the clock. The Titans held the ball for over 34 minutes and asked quarterback Jake Locker to do little more than avoid mistakes. Locker completed 11 of 20 passes for 125 yards, but led Tennessee on a lengthy scoring drive early in the fourth quarter that gave the Titans a 13-2 lead and sent most of the crowd streaming toward the exit. The Titans needed 42 carries to run for 112 yards, but what their runs lacked in pop they made up for in persistence. "I think coming in we were going to run it, we felt we had to," Munchak said. "We had to get a lot of touches. Its like a boxing match. Its a lot of (little) runs, but we felt we were wearing them out by doing that." The subdued ending hardly seemed possible after one of the more memorable opening weekend flubs by Tennessee kick returner Darius Reynaud. Shaun Suishams squib kick was fielded at the Tennessee 1. Reynaud shuffled into the end zone and dropped to a knee. Officials originally called the play a touchback, but referee Jerome Boger signalled a safety after ruling the ball never actually crossed the goal line. "I know I was in the end zone," Reynaud said. "I did not know where the ball was. Thats something I need to work on." Pittsburghs euphoria lasted all of eight plays. The Steelers were driving following the free kick when guard David DeCastro fell on Pounceys right knee. Pouncey laid on the ground for several minutes before being taken off on a golf cart. Kelvin Beachum stepped in for Pouncey, but the drive ended when Redman -- the de facto starter with rookie LeVeon Bell sidelined by a sprained right foot -- fumbled into the end zone. The unusual 2-0 lead held up for until safety Alterraun Verner intercepted Ben Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh 49 and the Titans reeled off a 12-play drive. Battle finished it by plowing 3 yards with 46 seconds left in the half. NOTES: Roethlisberger became the 35th quarterback over 30,000 career yards passing. Hes now at 30,035 yards in 10 seasons . Tennessee RB Shonn Greene left with a knee injury in the second quarter . Pittsburghs last loss in its home opener came in 2002 against Oakland. 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