Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/16357
Thursday, September 16, 2010 – Daily News – 3B Busch, Hamlin downplay feud NASCAR Spring Cup NEW YORK (AP) — The first sign of a linger- ing discord between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch came after their 1-2 finish at Richmond, when Busch made sure to point out how clean he raced his teammate with the win on the line. A second verbal volley was lobbed during an episode of Busch’s ESPN weeklong reality special, when he made mention of how difficult it is to have a discussion with Hamlin. Fans for sure noticed the back-to-back jabs, and speculation mounted that Joe Gibbs Racing’s two championship contenders were at odds. Turns out, it’s much ado about nothing. ‘‘I was just making a point,’’ Busch said Wednesday during NASCAR’s annual visit to New York to promote the upcoming Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. ‘‘There was an opportunity for me to get in there and get dirty, knock him out of the way, but I thought better of it. We all want momentum going into the Chase, not another something to be fight- ing about.’’ The relationship between the two JGR stars will be critical to manage over the next 10 weeks. The teams rely on each other for information and advice during at-track debriefs, and Busch’s crew gleaned an important tip from Hamlin’s crew right before Saturday night’s race at Richmond that con- tributed to the 1-2 finish. Managing and maintaining that information flow will be the best shot either JGR driver has at dethroning four-time defending NASCAR champi- on Jimmie Johnson. But there’s no denying the relationship has had its swings, most notably earlier this season after a wreck between the two in the All-Star race and Busch vented over his radio ‘‘I swear to God, I am going to kill (him).’’ It led to an immediate post-race closed-door meeting with owner Joe Gibbs, and the issue seemed to be settled. Then Hamlin fanned the flames a week later in one of the more entertaining press conferences in years. ‘‘Each year I think Kyle’s going to grow up and he just doesn’t,’’ Hamlin said that day. ‘‘Until he puts it all together, that’s when he’ll become a champion, and right now he just doesn’t have him- self all together.’’ Gibbs helicoptered into the track to be present MCT file photo Denny Hamlin leads Kyle Busch during a race earlier this season. for qualifying later that day, and the teammates have been fairly quiet off the track since. During a visit Wednesday to The Associated Press headquarters, Hamlin said there’s no issues between the two. ‘‘I think Kyle just has different ways of express- ing the way he feels about things,’’ Hamlin said. ‘‘We have personalities that can be difficult to get through to at times, and a lot of it is just you are afraid to go up to your teammate or another driver and talk about (racing issues). Me and Kyle have never really had that talk, but I feel like except for the All-Star race, our on-track relation- ship has been good. Never been any altercations, never really raced each other that hard. And I think what he was doing was just trying to prove a point and show that he’s a clean teammate.’’ Busch and Hamlin have been two of the best dri- vers all season. Hamlin heads into the Chase opener Sunday at New Hampshire as the top-seed. Busch, a three- time winner this season, is 30 points behind Ham- lin. Racing for the win Saturday night at Hamlin’s home track, Busch could have moved his teammate in an effort to win the race and grab the final 10 bonus points. But he stayed in line, settled for second, and talked about it after the race. Would that change with the championship on the line? ‘‘If it does, it’s going to be no-holds barred,’’ he said. ‘‘If it comes down to me having to win the race in order to win the championship or if he wins the race he wins the championship, it’s going to be whatever happens.’’ In the same breath, though, Busch revealed a clear understanding of the big picture. ‘‘If it comes down to where he wins the race and I finish second, it’s going to be an awfully disap- pointing night for (my) team, but yet a very excit- ing one for (his).’’ Both are quick to credit each other for where they are right now, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out over the next 10 weeks. The com- munication has never been better, and Busch cred- its Hamlin for helping him improve his short track program. Where it goes with a title on the line, and how the information flow continues, remains to be seen. ‘‘You would certainly hope the information would continue to be traded back and forth,’’ Busch said. ‘‘I always give as much help as I can honestly give and I don’t hold anything back. For me to help Denny be where he’s at now, it’s been good and I think it’s good for JGR as a whole. But there may be times when he beats me in a race, I’ll just have to go back and beat him in the next one.’’ Heisman Trust: No 2005 winner after Bush forfeit NEW YORK (AP) — And the Heisman Tro- phy winner for 2005 is — no one. Rather than replace Reggie Bush, who returned his trophy after a scandal erupted, the officials who administer the award decided it would remain vacant for that year. There was some ini- tial talk that the trophy might go to former Texas quarterback Vince Young, who fin- ished a distant second to Bush in the voting. However, Heisman Trust President William Dockery told The Asso- ciated Press in a tele- phone interview Wednesday that the eight trustees never decided to take the tro- phy away from Bush nor did they receive any advance notice of Bush’s decision. ‘‘We’re certainly not upset Reggie resolved the issue,’’ he said. The Heisman board held its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, but Dockery said there were no plans to make a final decision about Bush and the 2005 Heisman at that time. Turns out they didn’t have to. Before the meeting MLB West Division Texas A’s American League WL Pct GB 82 63 .566 — 72 73 .497 10 Angels 71 74 .490 11 Seattle 55 91 .377 27.5 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 88 57 .607 — New York 88 58 .603 .5 Boston 82 64 .562 6.5 Toronto 73 73 .500 15.5 Baltimore 58 88 .397 30.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 87 58 .600 — Chicago 79 66 .545 8 Detroit 72 74 .493 15.5 Kansas City 60 85 .414 27 Cleveland 59 86 .407 28 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results Kansas City 6, Oakland 3 Baltimore 3, Toronto 1 Boston 5, Seattle 1 Los Angeles 7, Cleveland 0 Minnesota 9, Chicago 3 Tampa Bay 4, New York 3 Texas 11, Detroit 7 Today’s games Los Angeles (E.Santana 16-9) at Cleveland (Carmona 12-14), 4:05 p.m. Minnesota (Pavano 16-11) at Chicago (Buehrle 12-10), 5:10 p.m., MLBN Tuesday’s late result Boston 9, Seattle 6 started, Bush announced he would make the unprecedented move of forfeiting the Heisman he won while starring at running back for Southern California. In June, after a four- year investigation, the NCAA ruled Bush was ineligible for the 2005 season for receiving improper benefits. Players are required to be in good standing with the NCAA to be eligible for college foot- ball’s highest honor. Even before Dockery said there would be no winner or revote for 2005, Young said he didn’t want the Heisman anyway. ‘‘I would not want to have it, and don’t want the trophy. Like I said, 2005, Reggie Bush is the Heisman Trophy winner. Why would I want it?’’ he told reporters after Ten- nessee Titans practice in Nashville. Dockery said Bush, now with the New Orleans Saints, met with some of the trustees in New York several weeks ago. ‘‘Reggie requested a meeting,’’ MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 82 63 .566 — GIANTS 81 64 .559 1 Colorado 80 66 .548 2.5 Dodgers 72 73 .497 10 Arizona 58 88 .397 24.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 86 61 .585 — Atlanta 83 64 .565 3 Florida 73 72 .503 12 New York 73 73 .500 12.5 Washington 62 84 .425 23.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 83 63 .568 — St. Louis 74 70 .514 8 Houston 70 76 .479 13 Milwaukee 67 78 .462 15.5 Chicago 65 81 .445 18 Pittsburgh 48 97 .331 34.5 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results Los Angeles at San Francisco, late Chicago 7, St. Louis 3 Cincinnati 7, Arizona 5 Colorado 9, San Diego 6 Milwaukee 8, Houston 6, 10 innings New York 8, Pittsburgh 7 Philadelphia 10, Florida 5 Washington 4, Atlanta 2 Today’s games L.A. Dodgers (Lilly 8-10) at S.F. (J.Sanchez 10-8),7:15 p.m.,MNT-21 Arizona (R.Lopez 5-14) at Cincinnati (Volquez 3-2), 9:35 a.m. Pittsburgh (Morton 1-11) at New York (Pelfrey 14-9), 4:10 p.m. San Diego (Stauffer 4-3) at St. Louis (Westbrook 1-3), 5:15 p.m. Tuesday’s late result Los Angeles 1, San Francisco 0 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 14 5 5 47 36 18 Salt Lake 12 4 8 44 37 16 FC Dallas 10 2 11 41 29 17 QUAKES 10 7 6 36 25 23 Colorado 9 7 7 34 29 24 Seattle 9 9 6 33 26 29 Chivas USA 7 12 4 25 25 29 Houston 6 12 5 23 28 38 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 13 6 5 44 33 23 New York 12 8 4 40 30 25 Toronto FC 7 10 7 28 22 27 Kansas City 7 9 6 27 22 24 Chicago 6 8 8 26 28 30 Philadelphia 6 12 6 24 27 39 New England 7 13 3 24 24 38 D.C. 5 16 3 18 16 37 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. ————————————————— Wednesday’s result San Jose 1, Philadelphia 0 Today’s game New York at FC Dallas, 6 p.m. said. He didn’t disclose what was discussed, but did say Bush was given no indication the trust might strip him of the award because a deci- sion had not been made. ‘‘There wasn’t heavy discussion about it,’’ Dockery said. ‘‘We were waiting for the NCAA decision and potential appeals. There was no lean from the members as far as I can tell.’’ USC was hit with heavy sanctions by the NCAA this summer after it determined Bush and his family had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from two fledgling California-based mar- keting agents. The allegations were first reported by Yahoo! Sports in September 2006, months after Bush had already been draft- ed No. 2 overall by the Saints. The NCAA and Pac- 10 began investigating him and the USC foot- ball program soon after- ward; Bush denied any wrongdoing. Dockery In the statement he released through the GOLDEN Championship Chico 1, Maui 0 Game 1:Chico 5, Maui 2 Wednesday: late Friday: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. Saturday: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. Sunday: at Maui, 9:05 p.m. Saints on Tuesday, Bush mentions ‘‘mistakes that I made’’ with no elabo- ration. Still, Dockery is happy to put the matter to rest. ‘‘Enough is enough,’’ he said. ‘‘Reggie admit- ted he made a mistake. He’s acted on it by giv- ing up the award.’’