Todd Graham. The Sun Devils began this s | Forum

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Carl Edwards left Phoenix International Raceway nearly a year ago drenching wet and in bewilderment. Custom Oakland Raiders Jersey .He so badly wanted to get the race restarted when the rain fell in the desert, but NASCAR had no choice after the rare deluge. The race was over and Edwards wound up eliminated from Chase contention.His championship hopes ruined by a storm, he would have waited all night just for that chance to earn the five spots he needed to prove he deserved to make it to Homestead with a shot at the title.But he wont head to Phoenix next week with the memory of anger or disappointment that rain came at an inopportune time.Instead, he will go to Arizona with the memory of another rainstorm -- the one on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Leading with 41 laps left in the scheduled 334-lap AAA 500, Edwards celebrated when NASCAR determined it would take at least two hours to dry the track and therefore called the race official. (It took more than five hours for the track to dry from rain that forced the race to go green six hours late.)Once Edwards knew he was the winner, he broke into a huge smile, and the team roared with cheers.This rain was a lot more welcome than that rain [at Phoenix], Edwards said. That was very frustrating. But thats the way this sport goes. Its close.We have amazing competitors. They make it tough.With the win, Edwards advanced to be among the four drivers eligible for the championship in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He will join Jimmie Johnson and two other drivers --?Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have a 1-point lead on Matt Kenseth and two points on Denny Hamlin. Phoenix powerhouse Kevin Harvick likely needs a drop-the-mic moment with a win while sitting 18 points behind. Kurt Busch at 34 points back is in the worst shape of the bunch for a shot to win the title.Anything short of a championship will be a disappointment, Edwards said. Weve got a championship-caliber team, parts, people and pit crew. We need to be able to go do it.Ironically, a crash at Martinsville a week earlier put Edwards in a virtual must-win situation at Texas or Phoenix. The benefit of that crash? Edwards knew he had to stay out when the rains started to fall at Texas and not give up the lead to another driver hoping to steal the win. He needed to roll the dice and hope that the rain would be hard enough to end the race. The easy choice ended up as the right choice.When things go bad, sometimes it makes it really simple, Edwards said. As soon as we had that trouble at Martinsville, the first thing we all said was, Hey, weve got to go win Texas. Thats what we have to do.You always wonder in this sport if you can step it up or do something better -- and I feel like everyone did this weekend. We actually were able to do that. Now we get the opportunity to go do the same thing at Homestead.Edwards entered Texas with confidence. He had led 124 laps back in the spring, but a pit road miscue in which Edwards had to pit under green for a loose lug nut resulted in a seventh-place finish. His pit crew came through, however, when it mattered most at Texas, putting him in the lead on Sunday with a fast pit stop on Lap 258. He never relinquished the lead.So maybe in this year when curses end in sports, Edwards will feel less cursed, especially by rain or pit crew flubs.I guess its vindication of some sort, crew chief Dave Rogers said. You always play the game as hard as you can. The past is the past. Its not really a reflection of tomorrow. We didnt think of any of that.They didnt have time to think about it. They were just too busy trying to execute so they wouldnt face a must-win situation in an elimination race next week in Phoenix.We didnt just win because of the rain, Edwards said. We were in position we could win either way. That was a real testament ... to having a great race car.Edwards has had great race cars and not gone home with the trophy. He needs one more great race car for Homestead. He has 28 career wins, but he seeks his first Cup title with the memory stuck in his mind of the 2011 championship and finishing second to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker after Stewart and Edwards finished 1-2 in the finale at Homestead.One of the first things my dad told me about racing is he said, There is a thousand ways to lose a race, Edwards said. None of those thousand things can happen. You have to have everything go well.Those disappointments, like Martinsville [last week] or Phoenix last year or 2011 and that battle -- thats just part of the sport. Thats what makes victories and days like this and championships so special. You have to do everything right. Donald Penn Raiders Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Art Shell Raiders Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. http:///...y-Howie-Long-Jersey/ . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach.STANFORD, Calif. -- Tyler Gaffney ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns, Anthony Wilkerson added 68 yards and another score, and No. 5 Stanford started strong in a 42-28 victory over No. 23 Arizona State on Saturday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams. The defending conference champions controlled every facet of the game to turn the only matchup between ranked opponents this week into a 29-0 halftime lead. The Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) scored in the air and on the ground, forced two turnovers, blocked two punts, tallied 10 tackles for loss and recorded three sacks. Taylor Kelly threw for 367 yards, including three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and Jaelen Strong caught 12 passes for 168 yards and a score in an otherwise disappointing showing for the Sun Devils (2-1, 0-1). Arizona State beat Big Ten champion Wisconsin in a controversial finish last week in the desert. Stanford showed more diversity on both sides of the ball than it had in solid, but not overwhelming, victories against San Jose State and Army. The Cardinals funky formations and disguised defences had the Sun Devils dazed and dizzy, again displaying the disparity between the past four league champions -- Stanford and Oregon -- and everybody else. Kevin Hogan completed 11 of 17 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns to Ty Montgomery to lift Stanford to its 11th straight victory. Montgomery, held without a touchdown last season after being slowed by a nagging knee injury, finished with four catches for 62 yards. He has at least one touchdown in every game. Cardinal contributions came from all over. Josh Mauro, making his first career start in place of injured defensive end Henry Anderson, backed off his pass rush and stuck his left hand out to corral Kellys pass for an interception. The play extended Stanfords streak of forcing a turnover to 27 games -- the longest in the country -- and set up Montgomerys 17-yard touchdown catch. Gaffney ran for a short TD after Devon Cajustes diving, 34-yard reception. Al Davis Raiders Jersey. Wilkerson scampered 13 yards for another score, and Montgomery sliced up the middle for an easy 30-yard touchdown. The Cardinal capped off the one-sided start when Blake Lueders blocked his man into the punter. The ball deflected into the end zone and was kicked out for a safety to give Stanford a 29-0 halftime lead. Ben Gardner blocked a surprise punt by Kelly, and Gaffney followed with a 16-yard TD run to give Stanford a 39-7 lead late in the third quarter. The worst news of the game for Stanford came when officials ejected safety Ed Reynolds for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Kelly in the fourth quarter. Under the new targeting rule, Reynolds could miss the first half of the next game at Washington State unless the conference overturns the call. Kelly threw touchdown passes to Chris Coyle (45 yards), Strong (7 yards) and Marion Grice (6 yards) in the fourth quarter to make the game look closer than it was. Kelly completed 30 of 55 passes and threw an interception in a desperation heave to the end zone on the final play. The late rally put a charge into Cardinal coach David Shaw, who put Hogan and the offensive starters back in the game. But Arizona State wasted its best chances to seize momentum earlier. Grices 2-yard TD run finished off a 1:42 drive to open the second half. Then Robert Nelson intercepted a pass from Hogan to give the Sun Devils the ball at Stanfords 34, but the Sun Devils turned it over when Grice dropped a pass on fourth down. The loss was another humbling setback for an Arizona State program trying to take the next step under second-year coach Todd Graham. The Sun Devils began this season by blowing out Football Championship Subdivision opponent Sacramento State and then scored one of the programs biggest victories in recent years last Saturday night in a 32-30 victory over then-No. 20 Wisconsin that ended with Pac-12 officials getting publicly reprimanded. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '