els in a four-player trade on Aug. 1, has allowed eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in his first two starts for Minnesota, both losses. | Forum

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . -- The celebration was a bit messy. That tends to happen when history is made.?As Jimmie Johnsons Chevy blew burnout smoke along the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch and his crew hugged it out behind him, the ticket buyers bum-rushed the gates. Race fans funneled through an opening in the catch fence that lines the grandstand and poured over the shoulder-high wall that separates pit road from the racing surface. By the time track workers had set up the stairs to aid their climb, it was too late. They were on the track by the hundreds. And only a few of them wore Jimmie Johnson gear. That did not matter.?I thought people were supposed to not like Jimmie, right? observed Johnsons employer, Rick Hendrick. I said on Friday that I felt like a guy like him wouldnt be appreciated until his career was done.The just-crowned 12-time champion car owner looked over the still-growing crowd being showered in confetti.But it looks like they are doing a pretty good job of appreciating him right now, doesnt it? Hendrick said.? ?Johnson, the 41-year-old Californian, outran the field on a wild final restart, holding off two of his four fellow championship competitors, as well as Kyle Larson, the noncontender who had dominated the 400-mile event. With the win, Johnson became only the seventh driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to reach 80 wins. That was merely his second-most impressive record of the night -- a distant second.?Johnsons seventh Cup title places him alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to share the most coveted line of the stock car racing record book. His march to that accomplishment has not been easy.He grew up on the low end of the income scale in Southern California, where he became a desert rat, an off-road truck racer. His personality and work ethic endeared him to the builder of those trucks, Chevrolet, and it pushed him into stock cars.He moved east and slept on other racers couches while working to find his NASCAR footing. When Jeff Gordon was wowed by Johnsons fearless style while driving second-tier Busch Series (think Triple-A baseball) equipment, he impossibly tabbed the kid to drive for the team he was cofounding with Hendrick.No one -- especially not Johnson -- foresaw the near-immediate success that followed.?Yet, somewhere along the way, Johnsons story became twisted, from the blue-collar truth into a silver spoon myth. Some of that was rooted in his ride. Hendrick Motorsports is the New York Yankees of NASCAR. More money, more resources ... so, no way the driver could actually be great, right??Petty heard the same complaints in the 1960s and 1970s as he blew past the records set by NASCARs pioneers, including his father, three-time champion Lee Petty. But by the time he won his seventh Cup in 1979, he was the sports most beloved figure.?Earnhardt dealt with even more vicious criticism, directed at his steel-toed driving style and a perception that he was handed multiple advantages by Chevy and even NASCAR. It is conveniently forgotten to history now, but when The Intimidator clinched his seventh Cup at Rockingham, North Carolina, in 1994, the crowd reacted with as many boos as cheers.How dare that scofflaw tie The King!But eventually, even the naysayers embraced Earnhardts greatness.?I think you end up getting what you deserve, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained, having just left a stage celebration that included his teammates, Gordon and Johnson, as well as a conga line of visits from Tony Stewart, who had just finished his final Cup race, and Kyle Busch, a former Hendrick teammate and one of the fellow title contenders Johnson had to hold off at the end.I think people are coming around, Earnhardt said. Hes always had a great understanding with his people, his fans. Now others are realizing how great he is.?I can tell you this, Earnhardt continued. I have no doubt that you can take Jimmie, my dad and Richard Petty and they would have won championships races whenever and wherever they raced. If Jimmie had raced against Dad, Dad wouldnt have won seven championships; and if Dad had raced against Jimmie, he wouldnt have won seven championships.Again, I think people are coming around. I hope so.?? ?????? ?Thats why Hendrick said what he did on Friday -- that Johnson would be appreciated only through the rearview mirror of time. But the crowd that climbed and shoved its way into his celebration on Sunday night never uttered as much as one boo. Instead, there was thunderous applause, from the grandstand in front of him to the skyboxes behind him.?There was no shortage of questions about how this title was earned. The caution flag that set up the madness -- a pair of late restarts and a red flag -- created plenty of online outrage.Austin Petty, grandson of Richard, tweeted that NASCAR was doing all it could to help Johnson win. (Petty later took the tweet down.) On any other night during Johnsons career, that would have been the prevailing sentiment. Come Monday morning, when sports talk call-in shows crank up, it might be again.?But thats not what the Homestead crowd was running with on Sunday evening. They were running with their smartphone camera apps open, eager to capture the moment.Before the race, when they put the four of us [Cup contenders] in the truck to do a lap around the track, usually I get flipped off, like a lot, Johnson recalled of traditional parade laps. I mean, I get flipped everywhere, every state, no matter where we are. So today, I looked up and they had their hands up, and I realized they werent holding up one finger. They were holding up seven -- so maybe, with what we were trying to do, no matter what hat they were wearing, we had their support today.?Earlier in the day, around the team transporter of Richard Pettys famous No. 43 team, there was a lot of talk about history and what it might mean should Johnson match their boss famous mark.The crew chief for all of Pettys titles, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman, embraced the idea. (Its likely easier for him to take because he actually has eight titles, winning another with Terry Labonte.) Standing alongside Inman was his nephew, racer-turned-NBC analyst Kyle Petty.The Kings son got visual with his explanation of it all, using a Sharpie to sketch out various peaks to show the eras of his father, Earnhardt and Johnson, with connectors of the others -- the one-, two-, three- and four-time champs.Its like looking at a mountain range, Kyle Petty said. Theres plenty to look at, but the tallest peaks are pretty obvious arent they? It makes it impossible not to notice those guys.??? ?On Sunday night, amid the crushing throng on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch, they were certainly noticing and perhaps -- finally -- appreciating Jimmie Johnsons ascension to one of those all-time pinnacles.?Honestly, Im a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan, and Ive always hated Jimmie Johnsons ass, said Bill Lindon of Ocala, Florida, one of those fans who had pushed his way to the edge of the temporary stage NASCAR rolled out atop the start-finish line. But this is a chance to see something thats only happened twice before.I can still think hes great even if I still hate his ass, right? Custom Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Dwight Powell Mavericks Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/luka-doncic-mavericks-jersey/ . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Doziers milestone home run led to his first career curtain call and a satisfying win for the Minnesota Twins.Dozier hit his 25th homer of the season and the 100th of his career, leading Tyler Duffey and the Twins over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Saturday night and ending a four-game losing streak.After slumping badly to start the season, Dozier has been one of the top hitters in the majors for almost two months. Hes hit 17 homers since June 25, most in the majors over that span, and hes even baffled a Hall of Fame hitter with his surge.Im not sure what it feels like to be in the groove that hes in, said Twins manager Paul Molitor, who got 3,319 hits in big league career.I know back there in May he talked about having a couple days where he worked on some things, some things started to click, and its been an extended period now where hes been one of the better offensive players in the league, he said.Dozier doubled to lead off the first inning and scored on the first of Robbie Grossmans three hits. In the sixth inning he followed Eddie Rosarios two-run shot with a towering drive deep into the second deck in left.Teammate Eduardo Escobar pushed Dozier out of the dugout to acknowledge the crowd after he circled the bases.Just dont ask him to explain his turnaround.If I had a clear-cut answer Id tell you, Dozier said. You make adjustments, you start seeing the ball, you stay behind the ball . everything feels very comfortable.For the second time this season, the Twins homered three times off Royals starter Dillon Gee (4-6), who gave up five earned runs on 11 hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.The first five innings ... we were battling pretty good and the curveball was good, Gee said. We were able to battle our way through five, and in the sixth it just fell apart.Duffey (8-8) won for the third time in three starts this month. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven iinnings, striking out six. Steve Nash Jersey. His outing was especially timely given the recent troubles of Minnesotas starting staff. In the previous three games, Twins starters lasted a combined 10 innings.The more that the short outings get compounded, the more that it taxes your team collectively, Molitor said. You need a little relief. Long starts are right up there with off days.Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless eighth and Brandon Kintzler allowed an unearned run in the ninth but held on for his 11th save in 12 chances.Cheslor Cuthbert hit his 10th home run of the season in the third inning to tie it at 1. But Grossman hit a leadoff home run in the fifth to put the Twins on top for good.CUTHBERT CRUSHINGCuthbert took over third base for the injured Mike Moustakas in late May, and the rookie has been on a tear since the All-Star break. After going 1 for 4 on Saturday hes hitting .336 since July 15. He also had four straight multihit games earlier this week and hasnt gone hitless in consecutive games since June 15-16.BULLPEN SHUFFLEThe Twins switched lefties in their bullpen on Saturday, calling up Ryan ORourke from Triple-A Rochester and designating Andrew Albers for assignment. ORourke had a 4.91 ERA in eight appearances with the Twins earlier this season. Albers made one appearance for the Twins this season, giving up five runs in six innings of relief in the second game of a doubleheader against Houston on Thursday.UP NEXTLHP Hector Santiago will try to earn his first victory for the Twins on Sunday. Santiago (10-6), acquired from the Angels in a four-player trade on Aug. 1, has allowed eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in his first two starts for Minnesota, both losses. Hell face RHP Edinson Volquez (8-10), who is 0-2 with three no-decisions since July 9. ' ' ' concern, I just think we have to find a way to make the shots. Weve got to shoot more and get in the gym and shoot even more, get even more extra shots up. But well see what happens. I think our confidence is there. ' ' '