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Calvin Johnson Lions Jersey .C. -- Juan Pablo Montoya is turning Indianapolis into his own triple play. Roger Penskes team announced Wednesday that the Colombian driver will add two NASCAR races -- Indianapolis and Michigan -- to his full-time IndyCar schedule. Montoya already is scheduled to compete in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10. One week later, he will attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Now hell return to Indy for the Brickyard 400 in July, too, and if he qualifies for each one, Montoya would be the first driver to start three feature races at Indy in the same season. "Three chances gives me a better chance of winning one of them now," said Montoya, who will drive the No. 12 Ford Fusion for Penskes team at Indy and Michigan. No driver has won even two of the biggest feature races at the track -- the 500, the Brickyard, the U.S. Grand Prix or the MotoGP race. Montoya wants to be the first to have it on his already unique resume. The 38-year-old was dominant in his 2000 Indy win, becoming the first rookie winner in 34 years. He completed another first Wednesday -- becoming the first driver to experience every racing configuration at the historic Brickyard. In addition to competing on the 2.5-mile oval in IndyCars and Cup cars, he also has competed on the original road course in Formula One, did a two-seater ride on the MotoGP course and was one of about two dozen drivers testing Indys new road course Wednesday. This years return to open-wheel cars could help him prepare for the June 15 and July 27 Cup races. He has competed in that series for the previous eight years. "I think running Michigan and here are two tracks where running open-wheel helps you, especially Michigan, which is a lot like an open-wheel car because you dont slow down much and use momentum and lot of high speed," Montoya said. "Coming here to the Brickyard, its one of those places where I feel like I got robbed a few times. To be able to come here and be able to close that deal will be really, really nice."" Montoya has two wins, 24 top-five finishes and nine pole awards in his Cup career. He has one top-10 finish in three IndyCar races this year. He will join Penskes full-time Cup drivers, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, both of whom have already visited Victory Lane in 2014. Ryan Blaney will drive the same No. 12 car for NASCAR races in Kansas and Talladega. SKF will sponsor all the races except Indianapolis. Until moving back this season, Montoya hadnt driven IndyCars since 2000 when he was competing with Chip Ganassis team, Penkses biggest rival. Montoya won seven races in CART and the 500 in his two open-wheel seasons with Ganassi. Their run together also included the 1999 CART championship. He then moved to Formula One, where he spent six seasons before abruptly quitting to return to the United States to compete in NASCAR. He reunited with Ganassi, but the results never came. His last win in NASCAR was in 2010, a year after he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and finished a career-best eighth in the standings. Montoya was in serious contention to win at least two Brickyard 400s, but both chances slipped away in the waning laps. Montoya led 116 laps in 2009 until a speeding penalty on his final pit stop cost him the win. He was also leading in 2010 with 20 laps to go before a late caution sent him to pit road, where he got four tires while everyone else took two. Stuck deep in traffic with little time to make up the ground, Montoya crashed and finished 32nd. Penskes team is willing to give him another chance. "It (the Brickyard) is one of the biggest races of the year and to go there with somebody that could have won the race a few of times already is something that were looking forward to," Team Penske President Tim Cindric said. "To just run the Brickyard would be a pretty big ask of our team and of Juan, without having spent much time in our cars or having been out in a Cup car for a while, so we felt like we needed to give him another shot at it prior to the Brickyard so he could get ready for us."
Kenny Golladay Lions Jersey .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday.
Barry Sanders Lions Jersey . Messis father, Jorge Horacio Messi, is apparently still under investigation for an alleged 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in unpaid taxes from Messis image rights from 2007-09. Messis public relations firm confirmed Spanish media reports that the state prosecutor has asked for Messi to be dropped from the investigation that began in June 2013.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After having his worst game in a Detroit Pistons uniform earlier in the week, free agent Josh Smith erased that memory with his best game Friday night. Smith had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the struggling Pistons, who snapped a four-game skid with a 97-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Pistons built a 10-point advantage after three quarters and their lead remained in double figures for much of the fourth as Detroit won its first road game of the season. Smith also contributed on the defensive end with five steals and four blocks. He was coming off a two-point game in a lopsided loss at Golden State on Tuesday, when the veteran forward made 1 of 6 shots in 19 minutes. Against the Kings, Smith had a fast start at the offensive end and stayed active throughout. He made 6 of 11 shots, hit two 3-pointers, and connected on 7 of 10 free throws. "Thats the way Josh plays. He scored, rebounded and had four blocks," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Thats the way we need Josh to play. He was spectacular tonight." Smith was active right away, getting five points, but more importantly, five assists in igniting the Pistons running game and building a 27-21 lead after one quarter. Detroit had started slow in its previous two games, especially in the loss to Golden State, which led by 19 points heading into the second quarter. "It was vital to our success to start the tempo early," Smith said. "We knew it would be a loud crowd out there and we wanted to set the tone early." Andre Drummond was also a major factor for Detroit. In a game-long battle with Kings centre DeMarcus Cousins, Drummond fared well, getting 15 points and tieing a career-high with 18 rebounds. Drummond, who teams with Greg Monroe to give Detroit a strong inside game, was active at both ends of the court. He made 7 of 13 shots and had eight offensive rebounds and two steals. Cousins had a strong game as well with 26 points and 13 rebounds. "DeMarcus Cousins is a heck of a player," Drummond said. "I knew what I was getting myself into tonight. Hes one of the best centres in the league, but I think I did a pretty good job against him." Isaiah Thomas had 18 points and seven assists and Greivis Vasquez had 13 points for the Kings, who have lost six of seven.
T.J. Hockenson Jersey. Sacramento entered the game averaging the fewest turnovers per game in the NBA, but committed 17 against an aggressive Detroit defence. "You cant win games if you consistently beat yourself," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "This is one of the few games this year that we turned the ball over at a high rate. The worst part about it was they seemed to score on every turnover we committed." Rodney Stuckey scored 16 points for Detroit, which concludes a four-game trip Sunday against the Lakers. Brandon Jennings had 11 points and nine assists, and Kyle Singler added 11 points. A jumper by Stuckey and a basket by Drummond gave the Pistons a 95-82 lead with 3:02 remaining. The Kings, who have a habit of rallying in the fourth quarter and making games close, were unable to put together a significant run in the fourth to the disappointment of a sellout crowd that stayed around until the final seconds. "We didnt focus on (the crowd) and we didnt talk about this being an ESPN game and all that was going on," Cheeks said. The Pistons went ahead by 14 points on a 3 by Smith early in the fourth quarter. Drummond and Smith had seven points apiece in the third quarter and the Pistons scored the final six points of the period to take an 80-70 lead into the fourth. The Pistons outscored the Kings 26-19 in the third. "We gave them too many second chances by giving the ball away and offensive rebounds," said Vasquez, who had eight turnovers. "Weve got to give them credit. They played better at the end and they got the win." NOTES: Inspired by Sacramentos only scheduled nationally televised TV game, a raucous sellout crowd at Sleep Train Arena set a Guinness world record for loudest noise at an indoor arena at 124.5 decibels. ... The Kings had a season-high seven turnovers in the first quarter and trailed 27-21. . Veteran Pistons guard Chauncey Billups missed the game due to a sore knee. He is day to day. Rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made his first start of the season in Billups place. ... Kings reserve forward Patrick Patterson left the game in the opening half with knee contusion and didnt return. . Malone got his first technical of the season in the second quarter for arguing a no-call against Cousins.
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