come an annual national-title contender "It was a from LAM's blog
Full disclosure: I just dont get all the uproar over the signage for the No. Cheap Jermaine Carter Jr. Jersey . 88 team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend.To those who yelled disrespect and said Indianapolis Motor Speedway was wrong to put a sign above the No. 88 garage stall that said Jeff Gordon, its important to remember the purpose.The purpose? To let people walking through the garage area and those with binoculars in the stands know whos in what garage.Believe it or not, there are people who might not have heard about Gordon replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr., and those signs are designed to inform the general public -- not the avid racing fan -- who is in the car.So it makes sense that the signage reflects who actually sits behind the wheel on that weekend.But that brings us to the psychological element of Earnhardt missing races because of concussion-like symptoms, including balance and nausea. Both the team and Earnhardt are doing their best to make us assume Earnhardt will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later. In a situation where we cant predict his return, both the team and driver cant show any bit of doubt.A NASCAR spokesman said Tuesday that NASCAR has given the team permission to continue having Earnhardts name across the windshield. And part of me wants to say: Whats the purpose of having the name on the windshield if it isnt the driver of the car? Why put the name of Earnhardt on the pit-road banner at Indy? Wont it just confuse the casual fan? But if the name of the actual driver is on the car, the avid fan will know its Earnhardts car.Why not something that says somewhere else, in tiny lettering, Substitute: Jeff Gordon?Earnhardt has to know everyone is behind him, right? Isnt this just overboard symbolism at the risk of fans being confused?I love my team [when it] fights for me, goes to bat for me, anytime they do it, Earnhardt said Monday on his The Dale Jr. Download podcast. That was pretty neat. It was real touching, to be honest. Gordon said Friday it was all about respect: Im honored to be driving Dales car. I really am. ... We made a conscious decision this is Dales car. Im here until he gets back and I hope thats soon. We want everything to be respectful of him.It still seems so inconsequential. To help me understand, I asked Ricky Craven, the NASCAR driver turned ESPN analyst, to explain it to me. He dealt with concussions in his career and raced for Hendrick Motorsports, the team for which Earnhardt drives.Theres an insecurity for drivers whenever they see someone else in their car, Craven said. That race car is sacred. Its almost like your home.You can invite somebody to your home, but you dont expect somebody to take control of it. That [signage] is very, very meaningful. It probably felt really, really good for Dale Jr. Those types of reminders are really valuable to a driver. ... It was a fabulous gesture.Earnhardt said on the Monday podcast that he will visit doctors soon and that hell have another update on his status next Monday. ?Based on Cravens experience with concussion symptoms, he doesnt envision Earnhardt coming back next week at Watkins Glen to try to compete on the road course.But there exists a bigger question mark than Earnhardts availability for The Glen. Until doctors tell him he can return, the nagging question remains: Will he be back anytime soon? Everyone around Earnhardt will avoid or publicly dismiss this question because acknowledging it could plant a seed of doubt in potential sponsors and the current crew.Keep sending [my team] good vibes -- because when we get back together, its going to be on, Earnhardt said on the podcast.Even though Earnhardt, 41, sounded somewhat resigned and frustrated on the podcast about missing Indianapolis, that soundbite portrayed confidence he will return to race again.At this age, he runs the risk of appearing vulnerable, and he needs to eliminate that doubt, Craven said. He needs to eliminate it for a number of reasons, but most of all for himself. He needs to come back with some authority.There likely will be more public displays of support for Earnhardt from his team as the week -- or weeks -- go on without him in the car. Craven said those displays carry great importance, and the crews actions will help Earnhardt through the sick feeling of being out of the car.Actions speak louder than words, Craven said. Crew members could say it. But what they did was a great display. Cheap Kendrick Norton Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Cheap Donte Jackson Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. http://www.pantherscheapjerseys.com/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said.The NCAA stripped Oregon of a scholarship in each of the next two seasons and placed the program on probation for three years, opting against stiffer penalties like a bowl ban despite issuing a show-cause order against former coach Chip Kelly, who apologized to the school, its fans and it players. The NCAAs Division I Committee on Infractions released a report on Wednesday that said Kelly failed to monitor the program for its improper involvement with Willie Lyles and his Houston-based recruiting service. Kelly was hit with an 18-month show-cause order, a sanction that likely will have limited impact now that hes coaching the Philadelphia Eagles. The program he left behind faces three years of scholarship reductions, starting last year and extending through 2014-15. It also faces reductions in paid visits and evaluation days, but avoided some of the harsher penalties handed down to other programs in recent years. "Now that the NCAA has concluded their investigation and penalized the University of Oregon and its football program, I want to apologize to the University of Oregon, all of its current and former players and their fans," Kelly said in a statement. "I accept my share of responsibility for the actions that led to the penalties. As I have I stated before, the NCAA investigation and subsequent ruling had no impact on my decision to leave Oregon for Philadelphia. I have also maintained throughout that I had every intention to co-operate with the NCAAs investigation, which I did." The NCAA had been looking into Oregons program for more than two years after learning Oregon had paid $25,000 to Lyles and his recruiting service, Complete Scouting Services. The NCAAs infractions committee found that Lyles provided cash and free lodging to a prospect, and engaged in impermissible calls and off-campus contact with prospects, their families and high school coaches. It also said the football program exceeded coaching limits by allowing staff members to engage in recruiting activity. Through self-imposed sanctions, Oregon lost one new scholarship in 2012-13 and its total number of scholarships was reduced by one from the maximum of 85. It also will lose a new scholarship in 2013-14 and have the total reduced by one each year through the 2014-15 academic year. The NCAA cut Oregons official paid visits from 56 to 37 for the next three academic years, reduced its spring and fall evaluation days for each of the next three seasons and banned the program from using recruiting services during the probation period. Oregon must also disassociate itself from Lyles and his recruiting service. The show-cause order for Kelly will require schools to go before the infractions committee should they wish to hire him, which seems unlikely since the coach just left for the NFL. Former Oregon assistant director of operations Josh Gibson was given a one-year show-cause order after the NCAA said he was aware of Lyles involvement in recruiting and routinely told him to tell recruits to contact football coaches. Discount Panthers Jersesys. "Listen, no one wants to be in this position so I dont think anybodys happy," Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. "Again, were pleased to be at the end of the process and were ready to move forward. Weve learned a lot, some mistakes were made and we corrected some of those along the way and we still have some more things to implement. But were pleased that its finished." The NCAA had been looking into Oregons recruiting practices since questions arose over a 2010 payment to Lyles. He had a connection with Lache Seastrunk, a star prep running back from Texas who committed to Oregon in 2010, a month before the payment. When Oregon later released the recruiting package it said Lyles had prepared for the school, the material was largely outdated. While use of services to identify potential recruits is allowed under NCAA rules, questions were raised about Lyles relationship with Seastrunk and other athletes from Texas, and whether he steered any prospects to the Ducks, which would be a violation. Seastrunk redshirted for the Ducks his freshman year before transferring to Baylor prior to the 2011 season. The NCAA said Kelly was unaware of Lyles involvement in recruiting, but the committee noted it is the head coachs responsibility to know the rules and ensure staff and coaches comply with them. "Ive not met an institution that wants to go through the infractions and enforcement process," infractions committee member Greg Sankey said. "This was a multi-year effort that certainly existed and there are penalties that impacted the program. The committee made its decisions based on information given to it, not on other speculation and evaluations." Under Kelly, the Ducks appeared in four straight BCS bowl games -- including a bid for the national championship against Auburn in 2011. Oregon finished 12-1 last season, capped by a victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. He was replaced by offensive co-ordinator Mark Helfrich, who will make his debut as head coach on Aug. 31. Oregon was previously penalized by the NCAA in 2004 for a major violation involving the improper recruitment of a junior college player by an assistant coach. The university was put on probation for two years and the unidentified assistant coach was suspended without pay for a week and restricted from some recruiting activities. The Ducks remained eligible for post-season play and did not lose any scholarships because of that violation, which occurred in 2003. The latest recruiting violations are another hit to Oregons image, but are unlikely to have an impact on the field for a program thats become an annual national-title contender "It was a lengthy process," Mullens said. "Weve been at this for two and a half years and as we said, theres been some negative recruiting around it. Obviously, the length of the process and the process itself had some punitive measures to it. In the end, I dont think the facts tarnish anything." Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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