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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- If Sam Hornish Jr. could do it over, he would be more selective in the way he made the jump from open-wheel racing to NASCAR six years ago. Now, Hornish understands the value of having the right ride. So he relishes his shot to win in the Nationwide series this year -- even if those chances arent coming every week. Hornish, the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner and a three-time series champion in Indy-style racing, is racing a part-time Nationwide schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2014. Hes splitting the No. 54 car with Sprint Cup series star Kyle Busch, so hell only get to race when Busch cant. His next opportunity is Saturdays race at Road America, a scenic 4-mile road course that winds through the tree-lined hills of central Wisconsin. "There were a lot of people that had negative comments about the fact that I was running a part-time schedule," Hornish said. "But you need to look at what the 54 has done over the past couple of years, what the strength of the JGR organization is. I feel like Id rather have seven shots at it with an opportunity to win every time, rather than (a full schedule) and knowing that if I come home 10th, everybody on the team is going to be happy." Hornish took the part-time ride at Gibbs this year after losing his Nationwide ride at Team Penske; despite his second-place finish to Austin Dillon in the Nationwide drivers championship standings in 2013, his sponsorship dried up and the team didnt have a place for him. In three Nationwide races this year -- two in the No. 54 car and one in the No. 20 car -- he has a victory at Iowa, a second-place finish last week at Michigan and a fifth-place finish at Talladega. And he likes his chances at Road America, where he has finished fifth each of the past two years. Its one of Hornishs favourite tracks, one he visited as a fan on family vacations and raced on in open-wheel cars early in his career. "I remember sitting down in Turn 5 as a kid watching the Indy car race," Hornish says. "Any time you can go back to a place that you have these happy childhood memories from, from a vacation or whatever it happened to be, thats always a good thing." A win at Road America would add to the already compelling case Hornish is making for another shot at the top-tier Sprint Cup series, where hes still fighting the stigma of the disappointing first impression he made from 2008 to 2010. Getting back to Cup remains his ultimate goal, but he wont necessarily take any opportunity that comes his way. "Im going to be a little more choosy about that at this point in time, because I know that I cant carry the car," Hornish said. "Nobody can. You can put even the best drivers in the Cup series in a car thats not capable of running in the top 15, and they might get a 12th out of it a day here and there. But thats not enough to keep yourself where you want to be or to move up to that next ride." For now, Hornish wants to make the most of the opportunities he has while appreciating the additional time he has at home with his wife and three kids -- a different kind of full-time schedule. "I went to being kind of a glorified limo driver or taxi driver, taking kids here and there," Hornish says. "But its awesome. 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New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. <a href="http://www.thetexansfootballpro.us/texans-nick-martin-super-bowl-jersey-authentic/">Nick Martin Jersey</a>. -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home.CHANDLER, Ariz. - Those bad guys from New England finally made it out West, and it didnt take long for them to begin circling the wagons.An angry Robert Kraft led the way on a rainy Monday night in the desert, reading from a defiant speech crafted at 35,000 feet on the way out. It came straight from the heart, the owner of the New England Patriots said, because someone other than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady had to stand up for truth, justice and the American way.Actually, someone just had to explain what happened to those deflated balls in the AFC championship final, but that wasnt going to happen. Not here and certainly not now, with the Super Bowl just days away and the Patriots desperate for a way to turn the controversy over deflated balls to their advantage.That, really, was what all this was about. If Belichick was struggling to rally his players around their collective wounded pride, their owner wasnt going to let any more time pass before taking his shot.Kraft was nothing but all in, declaring that his coach and players had way too much integrity to engage in any kind of shenanigans. To even suggest so, he said, was so offensive that someone really ought to be apologizing, and he wasnt just talking about Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman.If the (Ted) Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs, I would expect and hope the league would apologize to our entire team, and in particular to coach Belichick and Tom Brady, for what theyve had to endure this week, Kraft said.If his righteous anger was a bit overboard, Kraft certainly had his reasons for taking the podium at the team hotel before Belichick and Brady faced the assembled media for the first time since arriving a few hours earlier.Clearly, he was looking to take some heat off of Belichick and Brady, who by now have already claimed ignorance about the deflated balls in so many ways that even the media seems tired of asking the questions. But ask they do, because its Super Bowl week and even the slightest hint of controversy is like raw meat to the insatiable appetite of television and the Internet.So Kraft tried to turn it to an advantage by declaring his love for both Belichick and Brady, rallying the troops with the classic uss against them mentality that coaches love to use to motivate their teams.ddddddddddddTom, Bill and I have been together for 15 years. They are my guys, Kraft said. They are part of my family. Bill, Tom and I have had many difficult discussions over the years. Ive never known them to lie to me. Thats why Im confident in saying what I just said.It didnt take long for Belichick to get on the podium and pay his owner back. Dressed for success in coat and tie instead of the traditional hoodie, he said he was forever indebted to Kraft for working out a trade to get him from the New York Jets, had a great personal and professional relationship with the owner, and loved everything about the organization.Oh, and he wished Patriots fans well in the massive snowstorm hitting the New England area, saying they have the kind of toughness and teamwork to get through it just like the football team they cheer for would get through its own ordeals.As for those deflated balls? Well, the owner had already had his say, so there was nothing left to add.I appreciate the questions, but Ive covered everything that I can cover in the previous week and my attention is focused on the Seattle Seahawks, he said. Our job is to get ready to play this game Sunday and thats where its going to be from here on out.Brady followed in lockstep, proving if nothing else that the Patriots had a game plan for the media this week and are sticking to it. By then, the assembled media seemed exhausted and barely brought up the controversy in a passing reference to one of the greatest passers ever.Brady did manage to mention, though, how much he loves his owner, too.Ive been fortunate to play 15 years and its a privilege to play for this team, he said. Mr. Kraft, Jonathan (son of Robert Kraft), theyre family to me and Id love to go out and play my tail off and play as best as I possibly can and try to go win a Super Bowl for him.On Sunday, the Patriots just may do that, and with properly inflated balls, to boot.Then maybe the talk will not be about deflated balls or cheating coaches. Instead, it will be about how the guys who are supposed to be so bad can be so good.____Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg <a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '