HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Nearly five years after an intense battle on the racetrack for the Sprint Cup championship, Carl Edwards found himself in the middle of a different kind of firestorm.The afternoon show on Boston sports talk radio station WEEI was broadcasting live from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A day earlier, the hosts of the show started plugging their trip to the racetrack. The hosts, including a former major league baseball player and former NFL player, debated whether NASCAR drivers are athletes.They had some harsh words, with former NFL tight end Christian Fauria saying Carl Edwards is not an athlete.Right off the bat with Edwards on the air, the hosts came clean about what they said the day before about Edwards, who got to hear some of the comments. Fauria, one of the hosts, also said a day earlier that Joe Gibbs was the worst football coach he ever played for in his 13-year NFL career. Fauria and the other hosts laughed about that comment as well in welcoming Edwards to the show.Edwards, nearly on cue, smoothly joined the brofest: My god ... and this is the best Boston has?And then he rationalized with them: No. 1, you dont have to be an athlete to drive a race car. ... I might argue that guys in both of your sports are probably not the best athletes. Edwards explained that he believes his fitness level helps him on the hot, taxing days -- that it allows him to relax and focus instead of feeling worn out.Its hand-eye coordination, you have to be somewhat brave. There are a lot of risks, Edwards said. You have to be pretty technical. ... Its a semantic thing.Heres the deal: You want to get in my car and give it a shot? Its a skill set. Lets say Im the best athlete in the world, the decathlete gold medalist, I cant go line up in an NFL game and do it.Afterward, as he walked back to his hauler to get ready for qualifying, Edwards said he enjoyed the segment.It was great, Edwards said. At the end of the day, its cool for those guys to come to the track. Theyre not race savvy and ... to be able to talk to a new crowd and have those guys ask those questions and talk like that and bust right through the door, I think thats cool.In other words, Edwards appreciated the opportunity to promote his sport and perform at his best in a public setting.Now four months later, he gets to do that on the track. Just like that radio show, he appreciates the opportunity he has to add a Sprint Cup trophy to his mantel and participate in what could be an epic finish to the season.Hes had championship opportunities in the past, ones that ended in epic disappointment. He finished tied for second in points behind Tony Stewart in 2005. He was second behind Jimmie Johnson in 2008. And then in 2011, he finished tied with Stewart, losing the title on a tiebreaker as Stewart had five wins in the Chase. The final Stewart victory came with Edwards on his tail at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Edwards is one of the four drivers with an even shot at the title Sunday at Homestead. Whoever finishes best among Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano will be crowned the champion.Its an opportunity to go do that again, to go be a part of that weekend with everything on the line -- thats as good as it gets, Edwards said. When that race was over in 2011, I wanted to line it up again and do it again. Obviously I wanted the outcome to be different.I really enjoyed that competition, leading up to it, the whole week, qualifying, it was great.The 37-year-old Edwards ranks fifth among drivers with the most wins (28) who have not won a title. He is one of three drivers who have finished second multiple times in the standings without winning a championship.That could feel demoralizing, but its not too shabby for a driver who once passed out business cards looking for a ride before he got his start on a part-time basis in a truck in 2002.He can remember those days and what they taught him. Hes no Busch, who drove for Roush Fenway Racing at age 16. Hes no Johnson, who had some backing from Chevrolet to break into NASCAR and then joined Hendrick Motorsports at a time when it was one of the top teams in the sport. Hes no Logano, who signed a major NASCAR deal before he turned 18.Edwards crew chief, Dave Rogers, also knows what its like to struggle. His initial Cup crew chief job, with Jason Leffler in 2005, ended in 12 races, and he wound up in the Xfinity Series before working his way back atop a pit box in Cup.We have two things in common, Edwards said about him and Rogers. We have experience. We understand how to do the job.Because of everything weve done, were really grateful for the opportunity. We really value this chance to go win a championship. Thats cool. Its pure racing.Rogers, crew chief for Denny Hamlin last year and for Kyle Busch from late in the 2009 season through 2014, has never had a chance to win a title at Homestead.Weve both been in situations where weve come up short, and we know what its like to lose, Rogers said. Now we want to go down there and try to figure out how to win it. ... I know Carl was disappointed last year that he fell short.The 11 [team of Hamlin] was disappointed last year that we fell short. But now were teamed up together, our first year together, were going down there with the option to win it, and were just excited about it.If Edwards learned any lessons from his past championship runs, especially from 2011, hes not detailing them.I learned a lot [in 2011], he said. Not going into specifics about my mindset, Im really grateful for that experience. Yeah, I wanted to win just as bad as I want to win every year. But that experience -- I wouldnt trade it for anything else.Edwards wouldnt, however, say that he had to lose a championship in order to win one.You dont have to, he said. We happened to. One way to look at it is in 2005, we had a chance and I was like, Oh we will win it next year. In 2008, I was like, That one hurt a little bit.In 2011, I was like, I want to go again right now. [It means] I will be really appreciative of the championship. It will mean a lot to me because of those battles.Edwards and Johnson are the two drivers among the four who have not competed in the elimination-style Chase championship event. In each of the last two years, Edwards has been knocked out in the semifinal round.He has the best average finish of any of the finalists at Homestead as he tries to join an elite group of drivers -- Busch, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Bobby Labonte -- who have won titles in both the Cup and the Xfinity Series.Really, this whole thing for me is simple: We have a shot to win the championship and weve got the team to do it, Edwards said. Im excited for the opportunity. The last two years ... you go to Homestead and youre like, Damn it, I know if we just were in that group we could have a shot at this.So now we get the chance. Thats as good as it gets. Its like passing out those business cards saying, Somebody just let me drive the car, please. Now we get to be a part of it. Its cool. Cheap Air Max Shoes From China Nike Air Max Womens Shoes Sale .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.cheapairmaxshoesonline.com/ . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Nike Air Max Mens Shoes Sale . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Discount Nike Air Max Shoes .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. India coach Anil Kumble has given his wholehearted backing for Cheteshwar Pujara to have an uninterrupted run in the Indian middle order, admitting that it is not good that a sword is always hanging on his head. Pujara lost his spot in the playing XI for the third Test in St. Lucia during Indias recent tour of the West Indies, Kumbles first series in-charge, after making 16 and 46 in his previous two innings. His replacement Rohit Sharma made 9 and 41 in that match, and both he and Pujara were included for the final Test in Trinidad, where only 22 overs were possible and India didnt get to bat.With modern cricket, everybody looks at the strike rate rather than what that particular player brings to that table, Kumble told ESPNcricinfo. Pujara is a very important cog in our wheel and when he plays at No. 3, he is a very important player. Yes, there are times when he misses out and Rohit comes in. Thats when we probably feel we need someone lower down to accelerate. Thats why in one of the Tests in West Indies, he missed out. The one good thing about this team is that all 17 who were in the squad were all available to play and all of them show that intent. If they are playing, they are fine. When they are left out, yes, they are disappointed, but at the same time, they contribute in whatever way they can. Pujara, yes, the sword is always hanging on his head, which is not good. I certainly believe he is a very important player for us and he will play at No. 3, and for us to be successful, he is important to us in the short term and long term as well.Pujara and Rohit have had to swap places in recent times as India have preferred to employ a five-bowler strategy in Test cricket, leaving room for one less batsman in the XI. Since taking over from MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli has robustly advocated the tactic. Kumble, too, is on-board with the strategy, though he said it wasnt set in stone.It is not mandatory that you look to play five bowlers.dddddddddddd It depends on the opposition, the surface and what the team requires, Kumble said. If we believe that four bowlers are enough to pick up 20 wickets and you need that additional batsman in the team, then we are open for that. It is not that the five-bowler theory is written in stone and we will approach every game like that. With four bowlers, you can win a Test match. Every team that you play has four bowlers and the fifth bowler you play is the all-rounder who fills in 10-15 overs for the other bowlers to come back again and pick the wickets. The approach will certainly be to win every game that you play.In line with the tactic to play with five frontline bowlers, India made an intriguing decision in the West Indies, asking R Ashwin to bat at No. 6. The move was instantly rewarded - Ashwin made a hundred in the first Test at Antigua and following it up with another one in the third in St.Lucia. Kumble explained that the move was made in order to ease the pressure on wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was struggling to come to terms with batting in the top six. Saha himself scored a hundred in the series and finished with 205 runs at an average of 51.25Obviously, Ashwin has shown in the past what hes capable of as a batsman, Kumble said. Saha was batting at six and we felt that the pressure that he was getting under wasnt ideal for him. Someone like Ashwin can take that pressure off and then Saha can bat freely, and Ashwin has shown what hes capable of. Hes scored two hundreds and made his mark at No. 6 whenever we played five bowlers.India are scheduled to begin a lengthy home season where they will play 13 Tests, beginning with a three-Test series against New Zealand from September 22. ' ' '