have started, Maddon said. Heyward pinch-hit in the eighth and shattered his bat on a weak grounder back to the mound against lefty Jerry Blevins, stranding two runners. ... INF Tommy La Stella (straine

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kyle Busch is hardly the peoples choice.His championship run last year was overshadowed by Jeff Gordons farewell. His quest to repeat probably ranks behind Tony Stewarts retirement and Jimmie Johnsons shot at making history.Hes overlooked but far from overmatched. Busch might even be the man to beat in the NASCAR finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.I think winning the championship last year definitely impacted us, Busch said. It just gave us a greater sense of belief in ourselves and our team and confidence in being able to go out there and do it again. You know, theres no reason to think that what we accomplished last year is a one-time thing.We feel were just as good last year if not better and performed better throughout this Chase in order to get ourselves in the position were in. There are plenty of reasons as to why we can be beat and plenty of reasons as to why we can beat the rest of them.Buschs championship run last year was something befitting a Hollywood script. He missed the first 11 races of the season after breaking his leg and foot in a hard crash at Daytona International Speedway.He transitioned from comeback kid to championship contender after winning four of five races during a summer hot streak. With a new son, a supportive wife and a newfound maturity, Busch looked like a changed man.He won the finale at Homestead and gave Toyota its first Sprint Cup championship.Now, hes looking to make it two in a row. Standing in his way are Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Johnson, who can tie the NASCAR record held by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.I certainly think that its different from last year for sure, Busch said. Last year, I was just a part-time champion, so this year I hope to become a full-time champion.He wont get any help from Edwards.Team owner Joe Gibbs said Friday that Busch and Edwards will be on their own during practice and once the green flag drops.To be quite truthful, both of them want this in the worst way and theyre going to compete, Gibbs said. Theyre not sharing a lot of stuff. Its going to be up to them individually. ... We kind of felt like obviously theyre going to be kind of individually going for it. Theyll both kind of be on their own here.That was news to Busch and Edwards after qualifying Friday. The two were loose and light and said Gibbs, who earlier in the day said hes so nervous this weekend he accidentally walked into the womens bathroom, was mistaken on the sharing.Joe is not in our meetings. Dont listen to Joe. Were not sharing with him, Busch said. Everything right now is all the same, open notebook. Ive been looking at Carls stuff all day.Working with teammates has been a crucial piece of the success at JGR, and played into Buschs discouragement after last weeks race at Phoenix. Buschs teammate, Matt Kenseth, had the win in hand until a late caution sent the race to extra laps. Although Kenseth cleared traffic on the restart, Busch made contact with Alex Bowman that altered Bowmans racing line. Kenseths spotter told the driver he was clear, but he actually moved down on Bowman and crashed.Busch took much of the blame after the race. But after studying replays, Busch felt he had less to do with the wreck than he initially thought.I was definitely hard on myself, Busch said. If you look at what percentage of blame should be given to everybody, I think we all have a piece, but what exact percentage that is, Im not sure.As for Busch and Kenseth, theyve havent exactly made up.Weve exchanged texts back and forth, Busch said. Its as good as its going to be good right now with him still probably being rightfully upset with how it all went down last week. I mean, man, he was, what, 30, 35 seconds away from taking the white? Thats a pretty bummer situation.Busch surely would be bummed with anything short of another championship.But winning that first one was a career-defining moment.I feel like maybe on the racetrack you get an extra four inches instead of one inch from particular people, but it also depends on what lap its on, Busch said. When it comes down to the end of the race, its pretty much every man for himself all the time. But just having that accolade and being a part of the sport, having recognition from other champions come up to you with the likes of Darrell Waltrip or Dale Jarrett or Rusty Wallace, those guys that come put their arm around you and tell you, `Welcome to the club.He has a chance Sunday to join even more exclusive company.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.orgCheap Shoes China Wholesale .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Wholesale Shoes 2020 . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.wholesaleshoes.us.org/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Wholesale Shoes From China . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Wholesale Shoes Brands . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers.NEW YORK -- Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon thought his team played a pretty good ballgame. Starter John Lackey was not as forgiving.Getting beats one thing. When you feel like you kind of gave one away, let one go, thats a different kind of loss, Lackey said.Yoenis Cespedes socked a colossal home run , Jeurys Familia pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth inning and rookie replacement Brandon Nimmo keyed a three-run rally in the seventh that sent the New York Mets past the Cubs 4-3 on Thursday night in their first meeting since last years NL Championship Series.Chicago put runners on second and third with no outs against Familia, who got two strikeouts and a bases-loaded popup for his 27th save -- most in the majors. He screamed and pumped his arms repeatedly after Javier Baez popped up to end it.I think our last three at-bats were a little bit too anxious, said Kris Bryant, who fanned for the first out in the ninth. But hes supposed to do that. Thats why hes the closer on their team.Baezs throwing error at second base allowed Nimmo to score the go-ahead run, and the Mets overcame a 3-0 deficit to stop their four-game slide.New York, which swept Chicago last October to reach the World Series, had lost nine straight regular-season games to the Cubs dating to August 2014.We made one mistake on defense, but otherwise it was a pretty good game of baseball, Maddon said.Bryant hit a two-run homer for the major league-best Cubs. Baez added a solo shot off rookie Steven Matz before a scuffling Mets lineup finally pushed back in the opener of a four-game series between banged-up teams.Cespedes launched a solo drive in the sixth that soared into the third deck in left field, two or three rows deep.Travis dArnaud singled with one out in the seventh, chasing Lackey. Joel Peralta (0-1) walked slumping pinch-hitter Alejandro De Aza before Nimmo, starting for injured outfielder Curtis Granderson, singled on the ninth pitch of a gritty at-bat for his first career RBI.The walk to De Aza was the tough one, Maddon said. It was just one of those nights.The throw to third allowed Nimmo to reach second, and the Mets had two runners in scoring position. With the Cubs playing their infield in, Neil Walkker hit an RBI chopper toward the middle against reliever Pedro Strop.ddddddddddddFiguring he had no play at the plate, Baez threw to third in an attempt to get Nimmo. But the wide throw ticked off Bryants glove and rolled into foul territory, letting Nimmo cross the plate with a big smile on his face.KB was backpedaling to the base. It was tough for him to catch it, because he was moving the other way, Baez said. I went to third because I didnt think I had a chance at first, either.Erik Goeddel (1-0) struck out two in 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win.LONG BALLCespedes drive came off the bat at 110 mph and would have traveled 441 feet unimpeded, according to MLBs Statcast. ESPN Stats & Info had it at 466 feet. Either way, it was thought to be the first home run to reach the third deck at Citi Field, which opened in 2009. I really think that got the guys energized, Mets manager Terry Collins said.TRAINERS ROOMCubs RF Jason Heyward was rested against the left-hander with Chicago in the middle of playing 24 straight days. He has a little soreness on his left side but certainly could have started, Maddon said. Heyward pinch-hit in the eighth and shattered his bat on a weak grounder back to the mound against lefty Jerry Blevins, stranding two runners. ... INF Tommy La Stella (strained right hamstring) went 1 for 4 in his third rehab game for Triple-A Iowa and is getting close to coming off the DL. RHP Adam Warren started that game for Iowa against Round Rock and threw 73 pitches over five innings, his second Triple-A tuneup as he gets stretched out in the minors to make a spot start for Chicago next Tuesday or Wednesday at home against Cincinnati.UP NEXTCubs RHP Jason Hammel (7-4, 2.58 ERA) starts Friday night against RHP Jacob deGrom (3-4, 2.67), who won Game 3 of the NLCS last year at Wrigley Field. The 2015 All-Star is 0-4 in 10 starts since beating San Francisco on April 30. Chicago has lost Hammels last four outings after going 9-2 in his first 11. He is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the Mets, but all those losses came before 2013. ' ' '