an and forward Ryan Callahan were scratched for Tampa Bay. ... Lightning assistant coach Todd Richards, the Columbus head coach from 2012-15, returned to Nationwide Arena for the first time since he was fired seven games into the 2015 season. He is the winningest coach in franchise history (127-112-21

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kevin Harvick doesnt just want to run well this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway because running well could go a long way toward advancing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.With tires that will be the same compounds as the ones Cup drivers will have in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the season finale, Harvick views this race as a good predictor of who could run strong at Homestead, a race many believe a driver needs to win in order to win the title. ?While Homestead is similar to Texas as a 1.5-mile track, Homestead has a variable banking that lends itself to drivers choosing different grooves to pass. At Texas a driver spends more time avoiding bumps.Weve worked hard on this race just for the fact that we ran so poorly here in the spring and qualified poorly, said Harvick, who started 22nd and finished 10th in April at Texas. We felt like this is an important race because its on the same tire as Homestead. Its a very similar surface as Homestead.Theres a lot to be learned from Chicago [to start the Chase] to here to Homestead.So watch whoever runs well Sunday in the AAA 500 and remember that for 14 days later when four drivers among the 40 starters will have a shot for the title.Harvick leads the list of what to watch for at Texas, and it doesnt have anything to do with tires:Harvick in the ClutchHarvick needs another clutch performance after a 20th-place finish at Martinsville has him sixth in the series standings, 16 points behind the current cutoff with races at Texas and Phoenix left in the semifinal round.The four winless remaining Chase drivers lowest in points after Phoenix will be eliminated from convention, leaving four drivers to vie for the title.It wasnt much of a surprise when Harvick was solid in qualifying as he will start third Sunday. For whatever reason, the team led by crew chief Rodney Childers appears motivated after sour outings and has delivered clutch victories in must-win moments.We dont really care what we did last week, were coming in to this week and every other week we expect to come to the race track and have a chance to win, Harvick said.Its not about points. Its not about what happened last week. Its about how do we win this week? Thats really the mentality of the team that Rodney had instilled in it from the very first day. It is good motivation.While Harvick has won six of the last eight races at Phoenix -- the site of the finale in the round -- he does not have a winning Cup resume at Texas. He had back-to-back second-place finishes before a third a year ago and then a 10th in April. He was 28th in final practice Saturday.His last win came three races ago at Kansas, a place where he had three runnerup finishes after a victory there in 2013.Kansas -- we finished second like five times and that one finally paid us back, Harvick said. That stuff has a funny way of working itself full circle. We had a car capable of winning the last fall race here and I had to hold it in gear for 100 laps or 100 miles, whatever it was.It is just one of those places that we run well, we just hadnt made it all happen.Busch back in the packKyle Busch didnt have the best of days Friday as he smacked the wall on the first lap of practice. Then in qualifying, a water leak ended his effort after just one round.The two events were related.It is a byproduct of pounding the fence before we even completed a lap in practice, Busch crew chief Adam Stevens said. In our hurry to change the motor and all the drivetrain afterwards, apparently we didnt get the lower radiator hose completely clamped on the water neck out of the block and proceeded to dump all the water out of it on pit road after our first run.Were going to start 24th and get after them from there.Busch didnt have to change engines, but teams often do when bringing out a backup car so they can have a non-race-ready engine in the backup car that can run a few laps in a practice session. If they didnt, then teams would? have race-ready engines sitting in the backup cars in the haulers and more than likely not being put to use on a weekend.If there is any consolation for Busch, it appears his backup car has good speed. He ran third in the final practice.All these cars are built probably within five downforce numbers of one another, Busch said. Theyre very similar and I wouldnt be worried for us that were at a disadvantage.Johnson has no pressureJimmie Johnson will start 19th and whether he runs any better than that or not he probably wont worry too much after Sundays race.His organization already has focused on Homestead after his win at Martinsville. The team didnt change which car it would bring to Texas but it was busy during the week preparing cars to take to the wind tunnel to get ready for Homestead.We have the car we raced at Darlington and then a new car that we built that are both going back to the wind tunnel and let the wind tunnel [decide] which one goes [ to Homestead as a primary], Johnson said. Its given us a little time to complete a second car and then make a decision between those two.After the team debrief Tuesday on Martinsville and a little talk about Texas, the Hendrick organization started looking ahead to Homestead. So if Johnson doesnt turn into much of a factor, there could be a reason.We did our Tuesday debrief and we couldnt get through the Martinsville debrief and the Texas prep quick enough because we were all there to talk about Homestead, Johnson said. We stayed long and talked about Homestead and that led to more conversations [that] night.Instead of obsessing over Texas and Phoenix -- were definitely giving it time and attention -- but the obsession is about Homestead.Rain? Drying could take hoursRemember how the 2015 race at Phoenix that determined the finalists was cut short by 93 laps because of rain?Well theres a chance the round could be impacted by rain once again. The forecast for Sunday shows the chance of rain increasing throughout the afternoon.Its a good thing the race will start shortly after 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and Texas has lights. The bad news: It took NASCAR more than three hours to dry the track Friday morning for truck practice. If the track does get some rain, NASCAR will have to ask fans to wait a few hours for the race to resume.It more than likely will make every effort to do just that - especially with Chase spots on the line. Hamidou Diallo Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Alize Johnson Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticnba.com/rodions-kurucs-jersey/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Kostas Antetokounmpo Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Vincent Edwards 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. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky might be getting a little weary after starting all but two of Columbus first 21 games. His teammates made sure he didnt have to do a lot of heavy lifting Tuesday night.Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots and the Blue Jackets played brilliant defense in smothering the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 5-1 victory.Josh Anderson scored a goal and assisted on two others, and Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (12-5-4), who beat Tampa Bay (13-10-1) for the second time in five days. William Karlsson, Alexander Wennberg and Sam Gagner also scored.Columbus kept the puck in Tampa Bays end and tested backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 33 shots as his team lost its third straight. Valtteri Filppula scored for the Lightning with less than 3 minutes left to spoil Bobrovskys shutout bid.Bobrovsky, who struggled with groin injuries last season, is healthy and showing no signs of wear. He said it helps when the skaters play such tight defense in front of him.The guys were unbelievable, he said. They make huge blocked shots, and perfect timing when I cant see. We help each other. Its fun to be here.The Blue Jackets are 8-1-1 in their last 10 home games.Karlsson started it for Columbus , taking a pass from Anderson on a 3-on-1 rush and burying a shot from the left circle 5:30 into the first period. It was his fourth goal of the season, and Ryan Murray also picked up an assist.After a steal by the Blue Jackets, Seth Jones pinpoint pass set up a goal by Wennberg at 3:40 of the second period. He slammed it past a knot of players in front, and Vasilevskiys pads.Every line was stepping up and Bob made some great saves, and it was just a good 60 minutes, Wennberg said.The Lightning put the puck in the net about 2 minutes later, but after a replay review the goal was waved off because officials ruled Ondrej Palat innterfered with Bobrovsky by pushing a Columbus player into him.ddddddddddddAnderson scored his seventh goal of the season 16 minutes into the second after Hartnell put a pass on his stick from behind the net. Hartnell scored his fifth on a rush after taking a slick pass from Anderson 1:57 into the third.Gagner capped it with his eighth goal when he skated around the net and pushed the puck past Vasilevskiy 12:38 into the third.Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said his team isnt pressuring the puck enough.It all comes down to defending, he said. Right now were not defending with the passion we need to. Weve got to start in our own end.Game notes Vasilevskiy, the Lightnings backup goalie, lost for the first time in his last five starts. ... Before the game, a moment of silence was observed for the victims of Mondays attack on the Ohio State University campus, along with recognition of Ohio State police officer Alan Horujko, who ended the attack by killing the suspect. ... D Dalton Prout and D Scott Harrington were scratched by Columbus. D Anton Stralman and forward Ryan Callahan were scratched for Tampa Bay. ... Lightning assistant coach Todd Richards, the Columbus head coach from 2012-15, returned to Nationwide Arena for the first time since he was fired seven games into the 2015 season. He is the winningest coach in franchise history (127-112-21) and the first to win a playoff game in Columbus (2014). ... The Blue Jackets traded defenseman Cody Goloubef to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Ryan Stanton, who was assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.UP NEXTLightning: Travel to St. Louis to play the Blues on Thursday night.Blue Jackets: Play the Avalanche in Colorado on Thursday.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacy Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '