Fragen und Probleme zum neuen Forum » first part of its season 8-2, the

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards became the early favorite to win NASCARs championship with a strong showing in the final practice before Sundays title-deciding finale.Edwards was the fastest championship contender in the category that is the best indicator for race readiness. On pure speed, his Toyota was second fastest overall in Saturdays practice. Edwards was fifth on the chart for best 10 consecutive lap averages, and thats typically the clue as to who has a strong car.I couldnt have asked for a better practice than that, Edwards said. We didnt have any problems.Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and teammate Kyle Busch will race Sunday for the Chase championship. The highest finisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway wins the title.Edwards last raced for a championship in 2011, when he lost the title on a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart. Now a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, hes in the championship finale for the first time in the three years of this elimination format. One of the most structured and regimented drivers in the series, hes handling the stress of a hectic championship week like a pro.Hes been loose and funny, despite total chaos. His motorhome broke down on the way to Miami, the loaner was a dud, and when he finally got some accommodations, he had none of his personal belongings. Edwards had to make an emergency trip to a Macys to buy clothes to wear to a Miami Beach dinner party.Yet hes managed to focus on Sunday and give thought to what might transpire.Anything can happen in this race. You kind of visualize it being straight forward, but theres a lot of fast cars that arent one of us four guys racing for a championship, so I think its going to be a really good battle, he said.Indeed, those outside the championship four are a pretty stout group of potential winners. Martin Truex Jr., the strongest driver in the first round of the Chase before he was eliminated in the second round, was fastest on speed.Kevin Harvick had the best 10 consecutive lap average. He was eliminated from the finale last week and isnt racing for the title for the first time in three seasons.Also in the mix is Stewart, who is retiring Sunday from NASCAR competition. He has a decent car for his last Cup race in a Chevrolet, a brand he has long represented but will take his Stewart-Haas Racing organization to Ford next year.Johnson, seeking a record-tying seventh championship, was ninth in the final practice. He hit a hose that fell off another car, dismissing it as just a little scratch.Driving much better, great speed, short run speed, long run speed, he said. We made some good improvements there at the end of that.Busch was 13th and Logano, trying to become the first Ford driver to win a title since 2004, was 21st and didnt sound thrilled with his car.Were OK. We need to work on our stuff a little bit, he said. I know weve been on both sides of the fence, and we havent been the fastest yet, so well keep working on it. Swell Flaske Blå Marmor . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Swell Flaske Hvit Marmor . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/swell-traveler-norge.html . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Swell Flaske Norge . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Swell Flaske Butikk . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. NEW YORK -- Baylor and South Florida put up points at record paces this week.The Lady Bears beat Winthrop 140-32 on Thursday in the biggest rout in Division I history. The 108-point margin of victory surpassed the 102 set by Grambling when it beat Jarvis Christian College 139-37 in 1986.We could have beaten a lot of teams today, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. We were just clicking on all cylinders. As I tell them during the game, Im not looking at the score. I am looking at your defense, I am looking at turnovers, I am looking at your execution of things. I was made aware after the game of all the records. Youre happy for players who break records, and when you get a chance for them to stay in another minute to get another basket, you do it because its not always going to be that way.That rout came only a day after South Florida scored 129 points in a victory over St. Francis. The 129 points were the most scored this season. That lasted for less than a day. Jose Fernandezs squad had seven players in double figures in the 129-80 victory and made 48 field goals. They shot 66 percent from the field.Other things that happened this week:POLL MUSINGS: With most teams on break for exams, it was a relatively light week. No. 6 South Carolina won the only matchup between ranked teams, beating ninth-ranked UCLA 66-57. No. 10 Stanford lost at Tennessee.SHORTHANDED UMASS: UMass coach Tory Verdi has his team at .500 after 12 games this season. An impressive feat for the first-year coach, who has had only six healthy players for much of the season because of injuries and transfers. Despite having to play his small squad big minutes, the Minutewomen (6-6) are finding ways to win. The latest victory Sunday saw the team rally from a 23-point deficit against Holy Cross.It was something Ive never experienced before, Verdi said of the small roster. I had to take a step back, customize our practices. I had to be creative. We just had to focus on little tthings.dddddddddddd.Verdi took over the program after spending the last four seasons at Eastern Michigan. UMass has seven scholarship players, with only six that are healthy enough to play right now.Freshman Hailey Leidel is the nations second-leading rookie scorer behind UNC Greensboros Nadine Soliman. Verdi also has to rely on junior Maggie Mulligan, who is near the top in the country in double-doubles.Our best basketball is ahead of us, Verdi said. Its the cards were dealt with and has put us in a position later on the season to be more successful. Our freshmen had to step up and step on the floor right away and play big minutes for us. Weve been through the ringer if you will as of right now.ROAR LIONS ROAR: Columbia finished off the first part of its season 8-2, the first time the Lions have won eight of their first 10 games in program history. Columbia has a six-game winning streak for the first time since 1986-87 -- the schools inaugural Division I season.As an alum, Im very happy and very proud of all that we have accomplished so far, said first-year head coach Megan Griffith, who played for the Lions in the mid 2000s. However, there is still a lot of basketball to be played and we have a lot of things to work on.Columbia is led by junior Camille Zimmerman, who became the 11th player in school history to score 1,000 points when she reached that milestone in a win over LIU last Monday. The Lions are on break now for exams and the holidays.HOLDING THE FORT: Colorado State won its program-record 22nd consecutive game at home on Sunday night, beating Seattle 66-62 to best the mark set in 1998-99. The Rams current streak is the fourth-longest in the country, and theyve won 37 of their last 38 games at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ' ' '