Twice the CFLs top lineman (2008 and 2009),

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SPARTA, Ky. -- The questions during NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying Friday were how many drivers would raise Kentucky Speedways record and by how much. Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided the answer of the eight that broke it, clocking 183.636 mph to wrest the mark from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and the pole for Saturday nights race. Earnhardts speed was nearly 2 mph faster than Johnsons 181.818 mph last June, which he needed to keep Johnson from keeping the record. Minutes before, Johnson had a lap at 183.144 mph to hold off Ryan Newman (182.254). Earnhardt set the standard in the No. 88 Chevy soon after and survived several furious attempts to unseat him before coming away with his 12th career pole and first at Kentucky. Carl Edwards (183.306 mph) eventually grabbed the outside front in the No. 99 Ford. Johnson settled for third with Kyle Busch (182.593) fourth in a Toyota. Marcos Ambrose (182.587) qualified fifth in a Ford and will start alongside Denny Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota ran 182.340 mph. The final two over 182 mph were Newman and defending race winner and Cup champion Brad Keselowski (182.192). "I thought we had a good car in practice," Earnhardt said, "and we got some cloud cover. That gave us an opportunity to run a good lap." Drivers felt as if a track record was possible with NASCARs new Gen 6 car, even on Kentuckys bumpy surface. Anticipation grew even more with cooler-than-expected temperatures and intermittent clouds, and several drivers gave chase to Johnsons mark early in the session. Johnson, the series points leader, promptly raised the bar higher with a speed that seemed to put the pole and the record out of reach even with two-thirds of qualifying remaining. Newman gave chase and briefly had the second spot before settling for a solid berth in the field. "I feel good," said Johnson, who checked his No. 48 Chevy for damage after hitting one of the trucks bumps and going airborne. "I felt (turns) one and two went really well. (Turns) three and four, I thought maybe I could have been a little faster through there." Earnhardt, sixth after the final practice, soon grabbed his up-front view and the record as all the elements fell into place for his first pole since September at Richmond. "The cloud cover at least gave us a bit of speed," said Earnhardt, who joked that getting a haircut between practice and qualifying might have made him more aerodynamic as well. "Of course, cooler track temps gives the car more grip and we definitely had the better situation of anyone in practice with that scenario. "There were some clouds in the qualifying session, but not quite the extent that we had. I did think the lap was really good." . Philippe Desrosiers stopped 42 shots through overtime and three more in the shootout to pick up his third shutout of the season for Rimouski (31-15-7). Zachary Fucale made 28 saves for Halifax (34-17-3) in the loss. . Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseyselite.com/. The post-season, Pierce said repeatedly, is no time to panic. And the Heat, apparently, are nothing to fear. . Ricciardos exclusion from the results tarnished what had been a day of celebration for local fans, who were jubilant that the Red Bull driver had apparently become the first Australian to finish on the podium at his home race. However just before midnight, stewards ruled that Ricciardos car had "exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow" and that the team refused an instruction from the races technical delegate Charlie Whiting to change the fuel-flow sensor before the race and a further request during the race to reduce the fuel flow. . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series.MONTREAL - A longtime respected voice in the Montreal Alouettes dressing room, Scott Flory will now put his leadership talents to work on behalf of all CFL players. The nine-time CFL all-star offensive lineman announced his retirement Wednesday after playing 15 seasons and winning three Grey Cups in Montreal. The move was largely expected after Flory became the new president of the CFL Players Association in late March. The Regina native suffered a season-ending biceps tear July 12 in a game against the Calgary Stampeders, though he was determined to return this season if he had not won his leadership bid. "It was a decision I made when I chose to run that I told myself that if I did win that I was going to retire," Flory said at an Olympic Stadium press conference. "It was a way for me to segue out of football from the playing side of it but still stay involved with the game and being around the guys and trying to represent them. "I was committed to coming back. I was training, I was doing everything, and I believe in this club and the direction that theyre going so I wanted to be a part of it." Flory felt that he could not do justice to either job by continuing to play while heading up the players union. "I didnt want to shortchange the players or the Alouettes by trying to do both jobs at the same time," Flory said. "Over my 15-year career I committed myself wholly to being the best football player I could be and I want to do the same in my new role as president of the players association." The 37-year-old is currently participating in talks with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement, though he declined to comment on any of those issues Wednesday. "Ive been a player rep since 2002 and sometimes there needs to be a guy who is the voice of the guys, and not everybody has the ability or the strength or the desire to talk to coaches or to deal with a lot of things that players have to deal with," Flory said. "It was something I likked and I cared about and I wanted to serve the guys .dddddddddddd.. and I was elected, and Im thankful for that. But over my time in Montreal I was always a part of the players association and I believe in the players and trying to represent them the best I can." Twice the CFLs top lineman (2008 and 2009), the six-foot-four, 296-pound Flory helped Montreal to Grey Cup victories in 2002, 2009 and 2010. "When people talk about how I was able to play for so long it was because of people like Scott that took pride in protecting the quarterback," said former Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who retired in January as pro footballs all-time passing leader with 79,816 yards. "They didnt get a lot of press, a lot of accolades, but in that locker-room when I could walk away from a game with not getting hit you could see a big smile on their face and they took a lot of pride in that, so they were able to do that for many, many years and that allowed me to play for a lot of years." Montreal selected Flory in the third round, 15th overall, in the 1998 CFL draft out of the University of Saskatchewan. He attended training camp before returning to the Huskies, helping them win the Vanier Cup that season. Alouettes tackle Josh Bourke acknowledged that losing both Calvillo and Flory to retirement will leave a leadership void in Montreal that needs to be filled. "It just means that were going to be missing two great leaders on our team, two great men," Bourke said. "Ive played a lot of football with Scott. Ive played a lot of games with him, pretty much every start Ive made in this league hes been on the field with me so Ive learned a lot the last seven years from him, how to be a man, most importantly, but how to be a great teammate, how to prepare, how to be a professional. "Guys like myself and other guys coming up the ranks, were the ones that have to kind of take over now but its going to be hard because hes been such a great leader for so long." ' ' '