Plaudersofa! » after a 2-1 loss in Minnesota Thursd

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- With tears in eyes and three fingers in the air, Richard Childress hardly had words to describe his latest NASCAR championship. His grandson, Austin Dillon, won the Nationwide Series title in the famed No. 3 and by three points. "Hard to believe," Childress said. "I couldnt be more proud of Austin. He drives with his heart every lap. What can you say? Hes just a great competitor, a great grandson. Im proud, really proud of him. He ran good and hard tonight." Sprint Cup regular Brad Keselowski won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, moving up 10 spots in the closing few laps to give an otherwise typical race a wild and wacky finish. But the night belonged to Dillon, who overcame a sluggish start and a scrape against the wall to finish 12th. It was good enough to hold off Sam Hornish Jr. by three points. Hornish crossed the line eighth. "It was ugly," said Dillon, who won the Truck Series title in 2011. "Probably the worst car we had all year. But we fought. My guys kept me positive in the car." Hornish looked as if he would overcome an eight-point deficit in the standings for much of the 200-lap race, but a lengthy caution late posed problems. NASCAR slowed the race for 12 laps -- tied for the longest caution of the year -- and it turned out to be a setback for Hornish. He dropped from third to ninth on the final restart with five laps to go, ending his chances at getting a title in what was his final race for Penske Racing. "I felt very sorry for Sam," Penske said. "And I have to say Ive never seen a race that was so important give away 15 or 16 laps before you have five laps to go. To me, that is very disappointing from the standpoint of the fans and (us) as competitors. When I think about it, it could have gone either way." NASCAR defended its decision to keep the race under caution. "When youre in situations like that, the most important thing is getting the track race ready," said Robin Pemberton, NASCARs vice-president of competition. "You know, you can look at, you can use your hindsight every chance that you want to, but in this particular time, we did the best we could to do, and it was more important to get the track ready." Keselowski got new tires during the final caution and used them to weave his way through traffic. He went from 11th to first in a two-lap span after the restart. And once he was out front, no one was catching him. Certainly not Dillon and Hornish, who were stuck on old tires because they had used their allotment. "I dont even remember what happened," Keselowski said. "We were going to win the race or I was going to bring back the steering wheel. With five laps to go, thats the only attitude that can win the race. Sometimes you make it through, sometimes you dont. Today we did. A lot of aggressive moves. "It almost felt like a video game passing 10 or 12 cars in two or three laps. Thats what youve got to be able to do to win at this level." Keselowski finished the season with seven victories, all in the last 10 of his 16 series starts. Rookie Kyle Larson finished second, followed Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne. Hornish and Dillon had nothing for the leaders down the stretch. Having worn tires made passing difficult, if not impossible, in the final few laps. It didnt help Hornish that Kyle Busch spun his tires on the restart. "Couldnt get far enough ahead of those guys who had taken four tires," Hornish said. "Thats how it worked out for us tonight. We gave away points throughout the season, between the driver making mistakes, from everybody on this team making the car better. We win as a team, we lose as a team. Just needed a little bit more." Keselowskis victory wasnt the only thing to celebrate for Penske Racing. The team won the owners title for Roger Penske -- edging Joe Gibbs Racing by a point -- and landed Ford the manufacturers championship. Joey Logano finished sixth in the title-winning No. 22 car. "We had four goals coming in here: win the manufacturer championship for Ford, help Sam win the driver title, win the owners title and then win the race. We got three out of the four," Keselowski said. "Sam did a great job, even though he didnt get the fourth one done. He did an awesome job, and Im really proud of his effort." But the biggest celebration was saved for Dillon, whose fondest memory as a kid was seeing late NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt win the 1998 Daytona 500. Dillon knew all he had to do was stay close to Hornish. "I knew if I could see him and see where he was, then I wasnt going to give up all the way to end," Dillon said. "He was a great competitor. Sam, he brought his stuff tonight. We were able to pass one at the end, and it was a hell of a race." Authentic New Orleans Saint Jerseys . And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy. Cheap New Orleans Saint Jerseys Online . The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday. http://www.cheapsaints.com/. 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. Stitched New Orleans Saint Jerseys . CSKA received the heavier punishment of playing its next European home game behind closed doors, after its supporters displayed racist and far-right symbols in the Czech Republic during a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen on Dec. Wholesale New Orleans Saint Jerseys . They started shooting the puck. Joe Pavelski had a hat trick to move into a tie for second in the NHL in goals and the Sharks beat Philadelphia 7-3 Thursday night in the first game for both teams following the Olympic break. WINNIPEG -- Carl Hagelins first career hat trick rescued a three-game road swing for the New York Rangers and threw a little more dirt on the Winnipeg Jets playoff chances Friday night. "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. They went into the second tied 2-2 but Hagelins second goal of the game with just eight seconds left was enough to win it. His final one in the third was just icing. It was frustrating for the Jets, who outshot the Rangers 32-23 yet watched their sixth game without a win go into the books. "The third period we came out and kind of threw everything we had at them," said Winnipeg centre Bryan Little, whose assist on Winnipegs second goal kept him in the scoring lead for the Jets with an NHL career-high 54 points. "But we couldnt find a way. Our mistakes kind of made us pay tonight." "They did a good job coming at us hard, very aggressive, but at the same time we played such an aggressive style you might give up some scoring chances that are really grade-A scoring chances," agreed Hagelin. The Jets caught a small break when the Dallas Stars only increased their lead in the final wild-card spot in the West by one point, after losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Calgary Flames. But the Jets are also one point behind Vancouver and four behind the Phoenix Coyotes as they try to climb into that final wild-card spot. Hagelins three goals raised his total this year to an NHL career-high 16. Chris Kreider also scored for New York (36-28-4), who had lost their two previous road games in Carolina and Minnesota. "You cant come on a road trip and go back empty handed, those are two big points," said Martin St. Louis, who came out of the penalty box to snatch the puck and set up New Yorks go-ahead goal at the end of the second period. "Being able to come out of the box and get one was I think big (for) the momentum of our team." Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd scored for the Jets (30-29-9), who havent won a game since Mar. 1. "I dont think guys in here are giving up," said Ladd, who played his 600th NHL game Friday night. "I dont know. I want to think were trying as hard as we can to get this going in the right direction." The Jetss also lost starting netminder Ondrej Pavelec, who didnt answer the bell for the second period and was replaced by Al Montoya.dddddddddddd Coach Paul Maurice wouldnt comment on the nature of the lower-body injury that sent him to the dressing room but said hed say more Sunday after its evaluated. The Jets also lost fourth-line forward Chris Thorburn to injury Friday night. The Jets have tried to remain positive and not look back at their losses but Little admitted that isnt easy. "Its getting harder right now," Little said. "Were really fighting to win and theyre not coming easy by any means. . . . Coming into the rink tomorrow is going to be tough because tonight was a painful one. "I wish we could go out and redo the whole game right now." The Rangers were playing back-to-back after a 2-1 loss in Minnesota Thursday, but came out fast and scored on just their third shot of the game. Hagelin deflected his first past Pavelec at 1:15. The goal had barely been announced when Byfuglien evened things up at 2:33 as he batted Blake Wheelers rebound past Lundqvist. Less than a minute later, Ladd put the Jets up 2-1, when he found the upper corner of the New York net with a wrister from the faceoff circle on Lundqvists stick side at 3:26. Winnipeg was cycling the puck in the Rangers zone until Kreider broke away and scored at 11:28 with Winnipeg defenceman Zach Bogosian on his heels. With eight seconds left in what had been a scoreless second period, St. Louis came out of the box, fed Hagelin from behind the net and he flipped in a backhander. "Thats a tough goal," said Maurice. "I think clearly the 3-2 goal changed how we moved the puck and how we moved some things around." At the same time, he said the games the Jets are losing are a lot like the games the Jets won after he took over. The only difference now -- chances arent turning into goals. "Its a frustrating run, theres no question," Maurice said. The Winnipeg coach also said the Jets know theyre facing one of the toughest stretches in their schedule with games against some of the top teams in the NHL. Hagelin put in his third at 8:50 of the third period off a pass from Brad Richards on a two-man rush that beat Montoya through the five hole. Notes: This was the second meeting this year between the Rangers and Jets. Winnipeg won the first 5-2 at Madison Square Garden Dec. 2. 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