BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It had been 13 years since Jeff Gordons last victory at Michigan -- which came during the same season as his most recent championship on NASCARs top series. One of those droughts is finally over. Can the 43-year-old driver end the other as well? "Certainly things are going well -- theres no doubt about that," Gordon said. "Im as shocked as anybody else." Gordon raced to his third Sprint Cup victory of the year, holding off Kevin Harvick on Sunday for his first win at Michigan International Speedway since 2001. Gordon broke the track qualifying record Friday when he took the pole at 206.558 mph. He followed that up with his third Cup victory at MIS -- and took over the points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. After a series of cautions, Gordon came off the final restart well and led with 16 laps remaining. He fought off a challenge from Joey Logano and maintained a comfortable margin over Harvick, winning the 400-mile race by 1.412 seconds in his No. 24 Chevrolet. "Joey, as we rolled up to some of the restarts -- not that last one, but some of the other ones -- as guys were starting to sort of anticipate it, he was slowing down, and when he slowed down, everybody got bottled up, and then hed take off," Gordon said. "That last one, I thought he had a good start, but I had a good one, too." Harvick was second, followed by Logano, Paul Menard and Earnhardt. Gordon completed a sweep at MIS for Hendrick. Jimmie Johnson won the June race on the two-mile oval. "I think all of our teams are running well, but this is a big, big win," owner Rick Hendrick said. "Its great to see Jeff so happy. Hes like a little kid again, so I think its going to be really, really important for the momentum hes carrying right now into the Chase." Logano was second to Gordon in qualifying. He led 86 laps and Gordon was in front for 68. "We can win a championship. I really feel we can do that. Thats the message I want to put out there," Logano said. "Weve got to find a little bit more speed to keep up with one car today -- 24 car was the best, only because he was good on the long run. We werent as good on the long run. There were eight cautions, including a fairly early one when Danica Patricks car spun and Justin Allgaier crashed into her. Nine cars were caught up in that incident, including Matt Kenseths No. 20 Toyota. Kenseth never really recovered, finishing 38th. Brad Keselowski rubbed against the wall with about 32 laps remaining and finished eighth, remaining winless at this track in his home state. Johnson overcame some problems of his own to finish ninth, his first top-10 showing in six races. Jeff Burton was 37th after replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car. Stewart skipped his second straight Cup race after he struck and killed a driver at a dirt-track race in New York last weekend. Hendrick and Stewart-Haas Racing are alliance teams. Hendrick said he hasnt talked to Stewart, but hes been in touch with Eddie Jarvis, Stewarts longtime business manager. "I think theyre making the best of the situation that theyre in," Hendrick said. "Tonys got a lot of good folks around him." Gordon won for the 91st time on the Cup circuit, and this is his first three-win season since 2011. He took over the lead in the standings by three points over Earnhardt. Gordon also won this season at Kansas and Indianapolis. "As a driver, especially somebody thats been getting beat up over the years about restarts, its pretty nice to have the last two wins come down to restarts." Assuming they attempt to qualify for the final three races of the regular-season, the 12 drivers with victories this season have all wrapped up spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kenseth remains the top driver without a victory in the standings, but he dropped to fifth place. If the regular season ended now, the last four drivers in the Chase would be Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle. Bowyer and Biffle both moved ahead of rookie Kyle Larson, whose car caught fire against the wall just before the halfway point. Larson ended up 43rd. Bowyer finished sixth but sounded concerned about his situation. "Were behind, theres no question. We just did what we needed to do today," he said. "Right now, everything has to be perfect to get a decent finish and today everything was perfect. This is a tricky part of the season. Everybody is pushing hard."
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. Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training.
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. Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz.
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.com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Michael Frazier II got one directive from his Florida teammates against South Carolina -- whenever he saw daylight on the court, let the ball fly. The result was a school-record 11 3-pointers -- the most ever in a Southeastern Conference game -- and career-high 37 points as Frazier helped the top-ranked Gators move a game away from a perfect SEC regular season with a 72-46 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night. "They told me if I got a crack to let it go," Frazier said. That was the easy part for Frazier, the sophomore who frequently found himself open and made the Gamecocks pay. "Somehow, some way we didnt express to our players that Michael Frazier can shoot the basketball," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. The Gators (28-2, 17-0 SEC) are a game away from going undefeated in the SEC, something no team not named Kentucky has accomplished since Alabamas 14-0 run in 1956. Florida coach Billy Donovan shrugged that off, preaching his players will take the same approach to Saturdays Senior Day meetings with the Wildcats as they have each game all season. "I still think theres things in front of this team," he said. "We cant get wrapped up in the moment." Fraziers performance topped the 1986 mark of Floridas Joe Lawrence, who had nine against California. It was also the most ever in a league contest, although Rotnei Clarke hit 13 in 2010 and Alex Dillard made 12 in 1994 but both Arkansas players did it against non-conference opponents. Frazier didnt feel anything special in warm-ups, but knew he was onto something with his five 3-pointers in the first half. In the second half, it was Frazier who broke things open with four 3s during a 23-5 run after the Gamecocks (11-19, 4-13) had cut a double-digit lead to 39-35. "We were just really amazed at how open he was getting and how he kept knocking them down," Florida centre Patric Young said. No other Gator reached double digits in points. Mindaugus Kacinas had 12 points to lead South Carolina, which was coming off a win over Kentucky. Frazier blew past his old career best off 21 points set earlier this season against Texas A&M.dddddddddddd He was 11 of 18 from 3-point range while the rest of the Gators were 0 of 13. The Gators built an 11-point lead early in the second half but Brenton Williams had a four-point play and followed with a 3-pointer to get the Gamecocks within 39-35 with 13:05 left. But Frazier connected on a 3, Young had a three-point play and the rout was on. Frazier added four more 3-pointers over the next 6 minutes to stretch the lead to 62-39 with 4:42 left. As time wound down, South Carolina students chanted "Georgia Southern," reminding the Gators of their football loss to the FCS school last fall. Florida came in having clinched the SEC regular-season title last week when second-place Kentucky was beaten twice, including a surprise 72-67 loss here to the Gamecocks last Saturday. The Gators steadily moved through in pushing to the unbeaten conference season, a run that started in January with a 74-58 win over South Carolina. Florida, though, has not dominated on the road the way it has at home in recent weeks, winning its past four road games by an average of six points. This one proved just as tight for the top-ranked team in the first half. Frazier started off hot with two of his five first-half 3-pointers to give the Gators a 7-0 lead. Floridas defence forced three turnovers in the first 5 minutes. But the Gamecocks, still fresh from the court-storming celebration three days ago, took Floridas punch and came out swinging themselves with a 12-2 run to move in front and stayed with the nations top team the rest of the half. There were four ties and five lead changes over the final 10 minutes and it was Frazier who broke the last tie with his last 3 of the period to send the Gators to the break ahead 28-26. Frazier had 15 points in the period as the rest of Floridas big guns misfired in the opening half. Leading scorer Casey Prather was held to one free throw while Scottie Wilbekin was just 1-of-5 shooting for two points. Young finished with nine points and Prather had seven. Wilbekin did not score in the second half. ' ' '
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