07-14-2017, 03:24 AM
CONCORD, N.C. -- Clint Bowyer feels awful for costing Ryan Newman a win, though his apology for spinning at Richmond is not an admission of guilt. Ryan Newman also feels terrible. Only his sympathy is for Martin Truex Jr., the unwitting participant in a botched race-fixing attempt by Michael Waltrip Racing that has put two friends in an awkward position and spoiled the start of NASCARs championship race. "I feel bad for Martin, and I feel he didnt know anything about it and he had the carpet ripped out from underneath him," Newman told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "And I know exactly how that feels." Its been a roller-coaster for NASCAR since there were seven laps to go in Saturday nights race at Richmond. Newman was on his way to a victory that would have given him the final spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. Then Bowyer spun to bring out a caution, setting in motion a chain of events that cost Newman the win and the Chase berth, cost Jeff Gordon a Chase berth and put Truex and Joey Logano in the final two spots. There were way too many questions about the final moments of the race and NASCAR launched an investigation, determining Monday that MWR had manipulated the outcome of the race and levying unprecedented sanctions that put Newman in the Chase and bumped Truex out. MWR was also fined $300,000, general manager Ty Norris was suspended indefinitely, Bowyer, Truex and Brian Vickers were docked 50 points each, and their crew chiefs were placed on probation through the end of the year. Bowyer, previously scheduled to spend the day at ESPN, denied the spin was deliberate. In his first interview, he said he had apologized to Newman in a phone call for bringing out a caution while Newman was leading, but said it was racer protocol for costing Newman a win. Asked specifically if the apology was an admission of guilt, Bowyer said: "Lets not dig too much into this." The topic was covered again in a second appearance, and Bowyer denied deliberately spinning. "No," he said. "Anytime something happens on the race track, its unfortunate. If I had a crystal ball and could have told you everything lined up just perfectly the way it did, theres no way you could do all that math and know everything that happened." Bowyer also revealed he had poison oak all over his arm from cutting a tree down last week when asked about his team allegedly talking in code during the race. His crew chief had inquired about his arm right before he spun, at one point saying, "I bet its hot in there. Itch it." NASCAR said they could not prove Bowyers spin was intentional. Newman said he accepted Bowyers apology and the two will move on -- they have a previously scheduled hunting trip together next week. But while Bowyer discussed the spin in Monday nights phone call, Newman told AP Bowyer never said it was intentional. "I could tell by the sound of his voice, I really feel he was genuine with his remorse," Newman said. "He said it was a heat of the moment thing, and he told me the biggest thing was he was glad NASCAR did what they did and took the action they did to get me in the Chase. I believed him and that made me feel good about what he was saying. But, no, he did not say with the exact words that he spun on purpose." Still, Newman said he has no doubt that MWR manipulated the ending of the race through a series of different actions that only began with the Bowyer spin. NASCAR could only prove one action -- radio communication between Norris and Vickers in which a confused Vickers was told to pit as the field went green with three laps to go. The call was an effort to give Joey Logano position on the track to pass Jeff Gordon in the standings and knock Gordon out of the Chase so that Truex could gain the wild card. Newman had been leading at the time of Bowyers spin with seven laps to go, and the victory would have given him the wild-card berth. He lost the race and the final spot in the Chase. "That no doubt was the toughest thing in my career, having the carpet pulled out from underneath me," Newman said. "To have that manipulated, and after the race, I didnt put two-and-two together, I didnt immediately think it was on purpose. Obviously, Clint has a lot of remorse now." Newman, however, feels awful for good friend Truex, who has not spoken publicly since Saturdays race. When it was Truex who ended up advancing into the Chase, Newman said he found his friend after the race and told him, "Now go do something with it." Having now swapped places with his buddy because of unprecedented NASCAR sanctions to correct a bizarre race-fixing attempt, Newman said Truex has given him the same advice. "I know that its tough for him because of his team situation," Newman said. "I want to go out and do the best I can in the Chase and do the best I can for my team, but at the same time, Im disappointed my buddy isnt part of it and Im disappointed at what hes going through right now." Jarrad Davis Lions Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now. Michael Roberts Lions Jersey . LUCIE, Fla. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions...ck-jersey/ . The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012. Teez Tabor Womens Jersey . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. Kenny Golladay Womens Jersey .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103.Curtis Lazar will make his NHL debut tonight when the Ottawa Senators open the regular season in Nashville. The 19-year-old Lazar will be the only teenager on the Sens roster this evening, but hes certainly not the only one to play for the team at such a young age. Some teenagers -- like Martin Havlat and Wade Redden -- enjoyed immediate success as teenagers in Ottawa. And perhaps surprisingly to some, others like Marian Hossa, Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad actually struggled in their first NHL auditions as teenagers. With Lazar making his debut tonight, heres a look at how the previous teenagers fared with the Ottawa Senators: Alexandre Daigle Total games as teenager: 93 Nobody played more games as a teenager for the Ottawa Senators than Daigle, who ended up playing a total of 93 games as a teen. In his rookie season in 1993-94, Daigle started the campaign as an 18-year-old and actually got off to an amazing start by racking up 12 points in his first seven games in the NHL. Unfortunately for Daigle, that was his best stretch as a teenager and some would argue his best stretch - period - in the league. Wade Redden Total games as a teenager: 89 They say the toughest position to break into in the NHL as a teenager is as a defenseman, but Redden acclimated himself quite nicely in his first season in the league. As a 19-year-old, Redden appeared in all 82 regular season games, finishing with a respectable plus-1 rating on a team that had some players (like Daigle) as low as minus-33. Redden also appeared in all seven playoff games against the Sabres that season and even scored a goal in Game 7 at Buffalo - before the Sens ended up losing a heartbreaker in overtime. Stan Neckar Total games as a teenager: 80 Stan Neckars will go down in Sens history as the guy with the toughest name to pronounce -- making Alex Chiasson look like childs play. Neckar ended up playing the entire lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign as a 19-year-old, appearing in every single game on the 48-game schedule. And he ended up scoring his first NHL goal on April 10, 1995 against Penguins goalie Phillipe DeRouville in a piece of trivia that you will never use in your life. Radek Bonk Total games as a teenager: 77 A few months after the Sens made him the third overall choice in the 1994 NHL Draft, Bonk suited up for his first NHL game with the club. He ended up spending most of that lockout-shortened year with the Sens, appearing in 42 of the 48 games - but collecting just three goals and 11 points. Martin Havlat Total games as a teenager: 77 Havlat ended up playing the exact same number of games in the NHL as a teenager as Bonk, but he enjoyed a much greater deal of success. In the 2000-01 season, a 19-year-old Havlat provided a number of electrifying moments en route to a season in which he scored 19 goals and finished third in the Calder Trophy voting. Havlats rookie campaign was as impressive as any teenager the Sens have ever seen in their brief history. Erik Karlsson Total games as a teenager: 66 Some people forget this, but Karlsson was sent down to Binghamton of the AHL after playing his first nine games in the NHL. The Senators felt like he needed a little more seasoning, but Karlsson was back up with the big club about a month later and never looked back. He finished his rookie campaign with 26 points in 60 games, but saved his best for last - as he was arguably Ottawas best player in a first-round playoff loss to the Penguins. In that series, he collected six points in six games and saw the ice more than any other player on the team. Chris Phillips Total games as a teenager: 54 One year after he was made the first overall pick by the Senators in 1996, Phillips made his NHL debut as a 19-year-old on October 1, 1997 in Montreal. The most interesting talk around Phillips in his rookie season - and in his first couple of years in the league - is that maybe the club was thinking about using him as a forward rather than a defenceman. Mika Zibanejad Total games as a teenager: 45 Just a couple of months after the Sens made him the sixth overall pick at the NHL Draft, Zibanejad was in the Senators opening night lineup as an 18-year-old against the Red Wings. However, after his nine-game trial was up, the Senators felt like he wasnt ready to compete against men, as he collected only one assist and was playing around 12 minutes per night. He was returned to Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League and then helped clinch a gold medal for his home country at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He came back the following season after Jason Spezza suffered a serious injury at the start of the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13 and he looked a lot more comfortable as a 19-year-old. Jason Spezza Total games as a teenager: 36 Spezza was a polarizing figure from the moment he broke into the NHL, especially after Jacques Martin and Marshall Johnston made him the final cut from the main roster before the 2001-02 season as an 18-year-old. The following year, however, Spezza made his NHL debut as a 19-year-old in Boston on Occtober 24, 2002.dddddddddddd After appearing in 33 games - and being shuttled between Ottawa and Binghamton - Spezza saved his best work for the playoffs. Called upon to help his team get out of a 3-1 series deficit against the Devils in the Eastern Conference Final, a 19-year-old Spezza delivered with a goal and an assist to help stave off elimination. Mike Fisher Total games as a teenager: 32 Fisher surprised a lot of people by making the Sens team as a 19-year-old to start the 1999-2000 season after he had a very impressive training camp. Fisher was playing about 13 minutes a night, but had his season cut short when he suffered a major knee injury against the Bruins at the end of December. Marian Hossa Total games as a teenager: 25 Just like Karlsson and Zibanejad, Hossa was actually somewhat unimpressive in his first stint in the NHL as a teenager. He was only 18 at the time, but after just seven games (with only one assist) the Sens opted to send him to Portland of the WHL. Hossa had an impressive season with the Winterhawks before suffering a major knee injury during the Memorial Cup. Several months of rehab ensued, but Hossa returned to the NHL in December of 1998 as a 19-year-old and never looked back. Pavol Demitra Total games as a teenager: 12 Demitra will always be known as the one that got away for the Sens organization. In his first game in the NHL on October 9, 1993, an 18-year-old Demitra scored his first-ever goal against the St. Louis Blues. But Demitra spent most of that season playing for the Sens AHL affiliate in PEI and he didnt register another goal in 11 other NHL games that season. A couple of years later the Sens dealt him to the Blues for Christer Olsson in one of the most regrettable moves for the franchise. Radek Hamr Total games as a teenager: 11 Its strange that the first Radek to play for the Sens was actually a Hamr and not a Bonk. But 18-year-old Radek Hamr appeared in four games as an 18-year-old for the Sens in 1992-93 and another seven the following season. He never registered a point and carried a minus-14 rating - which made him fit right in with the expansion-era Senators. Alexei Yashin Total games as a teenager: 11 In his rookie season in 1993-94, Yashin played 11 games before his 20th birthday. He actually picked up 15 points in his 11 games as a teenager - the best stretch for anyone on this list. And in his final game as a teenager on November 3, 1993 against Edmonton, Yashin posted a hat trick with two assists for the only five-point game for any teen in Sens franchise history. Nick Foligno Total games as a teenager: 10 Before turning 20 on Halloween in 2007, Foligno spent the first 10 games of the season playing as a 19-year-old. He collected only one goal - the first of his NHL career against Montreal - as a teenager. He ended up spending about half of that season with the Senators and the other half in Binghamton in the AHL. Robin Lehner Total games as a teenager: 8 Teenaged goalies are a pretty rare commodity, but Lehner actually appeared in eight games as a 19-year-old during the Senators abysmal 2010-11 campaign. His NHL debut was actually in relief on October 16, 2010 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Lehner was just supposed to serve as the back-up to Brian Elliott, but when he had a problem with his skate, Lehner was forced into the nets for 4:42 of action in which he made his first three saves in the NHL. Cody Ceci Total games as a teenager: 5 Ceci was a surprise call-up to the Sens in early December last season, just a couple of weeks before his 20th birthday. He ended up playing five games as a 19-year-old, including one of the most memorable games of last season. Ceci scored his first-ever NHL goal in overtime of his third career game, giving the Sens a win over the St. Louis Blues. Andrej Meszaros Total games as a teenager: 4 Meszaros had a terrific rookie season in the NHL in 2005-06, ending the season with 39 points and a plus-39 rating after appearing in all 82 games. And in the first four games that season, Meszaros was still technically a 19-year-old -- and he picked up three assists in those games as a teenager. Mark Stone Total games as a teenager: 1 Stones NHL debut was probably the most memorable for any of the teens on this list. He was thrust into the pressure of the NHL playoffs in 2012 in the Senators series against the Rangers. In Game 5, Stone appeared in his first NHL game and picked up an assist on the eventual game-winning goal from Jason Spezza. Oddly enough, Stone would be benched for Games 6 and 7 in that series in favour of Jakob Silfverberg. Jared Cowen Total games as a teenager: 1 Shortly after his Spokane Chiefs were eliminated from the WHL playoffs in the first round, Cowen joined the Senators in time to appear in their next-to-last game of the regular season in Tampa Bay. Cowen had just 11 shifts in the game, playing a total of only 6:46. And oddly enough, Cowen actually wore jersey No. 48 in that game - before switching to his familiar No. 2 for the start of the next season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '