Mitgliedsanträge » o learn from. Im thankful for

SONOMA, Calif. -- In a yearlong celebration of Roger Penskes 50th season in racing, Simon Pagenaud brought yet another championship to trophy to one of the most storied organizations in motorsports.The Frenchman won his first career IndyCar title in his sophomore season driving for Penske, and did it in dominating fashion by winning the season finale Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.Pagenaud only needed a smooth race to put a wrap on this breakthrough season.Instead, he picked up his fifth win of the year and led a strong Penske finish to the final podium. The Penske team went 1-2-3 in the final series standings, the first team to do so since another Penske trio pulled off the sweep in 1994.That was a strong run and I take my hat off to the entire team, Penske said.A 14th IndyCar title -- and 29th in various forms of motorsports -- was guaranteed at the start of the race because only Pagenaud and teammate Will Power were mathematically eligible to win the title.Pagenaud entered the weekend 43 points ahead of Power, but earned an additional point for winning the pole. Then he led the most laps and won a race that was worth double points in the standings.What Im thinking about right now is, its been a long career, Pagenaud said. You start, seven years old. You go through a lot. I remember my first race in France in a go-kart. It was raining. I had my visor open because I had the wrong helmet.I still have that picture at home. The ground I covered since is quite incredible. I just feel so blessed to being a human that has been able to live his dream and get to this. I basically accomplished all the dreams I had.Pagenauds performance was a moot point, though: Power had mechanical issues 38 laps into the race that sealed the outcome.Obviously I saw Will slowing down, which I wanted this fight to go all the way, Pagenaud said. It was a bit of a relief, I have to say. I feel sorry for his luck.Probably needing to win to unseat Pagenaud, Power instead finished 20th. Pagenauds final margin was 127 points, the largest points win since Alex Zanardi defeated teammate Jimmy Vasser by 119 points in 1998.It was pretty realistic considering it was (worth) double points, Power said. Its just how it flows, when its your year, its your year, and Simon has done a phenomenal job to lead a 1-2-3 finish.Power finished second in the standings, Helio Castroneves was third and Chevrolet won its fifth consecutive manufacturer title since its return to IndyCar in 2012.Throughout the entire season, he was not only an amazing driver but a champion, Castroneves said of teammate Pagenaud. Really honored to be working with a guy like that. The whole team was a dream to work with and today was the proof of that.Its the fourth time Power has finished second in the standings, but it was easy to swallow because he won his only title in 2014. And, he missed the season opening race this year when IndyCar ruled him out with concussion-like symptoms -- it was an inner ear infection -- so climbing back into title contention was somewhat of a victory.If I hadnt won a championship, I guess it would be a pretty bad day, Power said. But finishing second, considering how I started the year, getting four wins, its a good year.A year after losing the title in the final race -- Juan Pablo Montoya led the standings wire-to-wire, but a Scott Dixon win in the finale cost Penske the championship on a tie-breaker -- the Penske organization cruised to the top of the series. The combination of Pagenaud, Power and Montoya won 10 of the 16 races.Across all motorsports, Penske this year also achieved its 500th pole, its 100th victory in NASCARs top Sprint Cup Series, and now an additional championship. The Penske team still has another shot: Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano both had top-five finishes Sunday in the opening race of NASCARs playoffs.GOODBYE TARGET: Scott Dixon didnt give sponsor Target the send-off it had hoped after 27 years in IndyCar.Dixon started the day tied for third in the standings and trying to keep his streak of finishing third or better in the standings every year since 2007.But he had radio issues, had to change his helmet during a caution, and finished 17th. It dropped him to sixth in the final standings. Its the lowest Dixon has finished since 2005.MONTOYA MOVING ON?: If Sunday was the final race for Montoya driving for Penske, he closed out his tenure on a strong note.Montoya finished third at Sonoma to bookend the year with podium finishes. He won the season-opener at St. Pete, but had a significant drop-off the rest of the way.Although Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 for Penske last year, the team owner is unsure if hell bring the Colombian back next year. Penske hopes to make a decision within 60 days on if hell field a fourth car, and who will drive it, and Montoya doesnt believe the door is closed yet on a return.ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Alexander Rossi finished fifth on Sunday to lock up top rookie honors for the IndyCar season.Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 for a huge bright spot on a season he otherwise believes failed to live up to expectations. Rossi had just one podium all year.Hes yet to announce his 2017 plans, and his name began to surface Sunday as a possible Penske driver next year.Wouldnt that be nice, Rossi said after the race.Aaron Lynch Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Link Lyman Jersey . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. http://www.custombearsjersey.com/custom-walter-payton-jersey-large-2116t.html . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Stan Jones Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Eddie Goldman Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1.Marcus Stroman is having the worst statistical season of his brief career. Coming off an injury-abbreviated 2015 in which he went 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA and helped the Toronto Blue Jays into the playoffs, Stroman was pegged as one of this years most exciting, young starting pitchers. Instead, the 25-year-old Duke graduate has one of the highest ERAs and WHIPs among major league starters. He knows its impossible to hide from his failures -- and the whispers that his work is deserving of a trip to the minors. I will never second-guess myself, he says. I always trust Ill be able to endure tough times because I never get lazy. Im relentless. While Stromans struggles have created much doubt among online commenters, the New York native has heard it before. Here, he opens up about his haters, his teammates, his comeback from a devastating knee injury last season and his father, Earl -- the man who prepared him for moments like this.I read it all.I see everything anyone says about me. I read the blogs. I read the tweets. Thats fuel. Thats motivation. I see people say I should be sent to [Triple-A] Buffalo, that I should be in the bullpen, that I shouldnt be in the majors. Those are the same people who said I shouldnt have played college baseball at Duke. Theyre the ones who said Im 5-foot-8 and that I was too short to be a starting pitcher. Now Im struggling, and Im hearing it all again.Fine. I like to have those doubters in my life.I went through it last year when I tore my ACL. I was in the doctors office. The trainer was with me. The doctor felt around my knee. He just shook his head and said, Its torn. I was crushed. I sat there for a couple of minutes and collected myself. I knew my mindset. I was coming back. I called my mom. I called my dad. I called my best friend. They were devastated. I hung up, collected myself again. I called my mom again. I said: Call Duke, Im going back to school.When I got there, I told the doctors in North Carolina that I wanted to be back by playoff time. There were no promises, but we were going to attack. It was relentless: Wake up at 8 a.m., foam-roll, stretch, breakfast. Id go to my first workout. Hour-and-a-half to two hours. Pool work. Ball stuff. Strengthening the knee. Everything was intense. Id go back to the apartment, go to class for two hours. Id do another two-hour workout with my other trainer. Crush it. After that, it was back to the house, eat dinner and go to night class. Six days a week. And then Id get up and do it again.That attitude comes from my dad. Hes a police detective. Hes about my height, real stocky. My parents divorced when I was in the fifth grade, but he moved just a mile away. My dad knew I was going to be undersized. He preached to me that I had to play with a chip on my shoulder. I had to have confidence in myself when other people might not. That became my way of thinking: always to turn a negative into a positive. Work as hard as possible. Most importantly, enjoy it all. Like Drake said: If Im not having fun with it, Im done with it. Its true.My dad saw the talent in me, but he knew if I was going to make it, I needed to have the drive. I wasnt going to get by on physical stature. We didnt get along well in the early years because he was so hard on me. He wanted me to be great. I wasnt the kid outside playing with friends. I was working out. I was in the gym. I was practicing. I was 6 years old, 7, 8, 9, 10. I was at the track, running with parachutes, running hills. Id be out there when high school varsity teams were practicing. If I wasnt doing that, then I was on the field throwing, taking ground balls, taking swings, shooting baskets, throwing the football. Then I was at home doing work. When I was done, Id do more work. My dad wanted me to be ahead. Hed give me the newspaper and make me read articles and help me with reading comprehension. Id read the articles, and hed question me. My dad was preparing me mentally, in every way. Ive got a tattoo on my wrist now. It says, Daddys Gift.That work helped when Ive faced adversity. Ill never have to go through anything harder than when I was rehabbing that knee. I came back in five-and-a-half months from a completely torn ACL on my landing leg. Think about that. We werent going at it at a normal nine- to 12-month pace. In five-and-a-half months, I made it back to a biig league game.dddddddddddd Sept. 12. Its not like I was just rehabbing, either. I was overloading on classes. I got my degree from Duke. All the pieces fell perfectly. Now that I look back, it couldnt have gone better. Nothing went wrong for me that entire summer.Now Im struggling.This game can consume you. It can eat at you. Ive learned that. Im going through it. Coming off a bad game, Im frustrated because of the work I put in. But the wheels are already turning as to what I can do better in my next outing. Im at the field from 2 to 11 every single day. Im training. Im working on my delivery, working on my mechanics, on my pitches. I get in the video room and see where my delivery was. I make small adjustments to get back on top of my sinkerball. Im always thinking, always trying to better my game. Dawg, theres no one thats going to work harder than me.Its impossible to escape the criticism. I go through those tweets. I have to deal with it. When youre struggling, everythings under a magnifying glass. Im not going to overthink and make the rest of my life unhappy. People doubt me and say I shouldnt be in the position where I am. I hear the noise.What drives me is seeing what Clayton Kershaw is doing, what Jake Arrieta is doing. I want to be there. I want to be the best in the game. I want to be a perennial All-Star. I want to take my team to the World Series. I want to be the staple, the ace you can count on every fifth game to get a win. The guy who you can count on to take you to the playoffs every year. I dont play this game to be mediocre. I dont coast. Im not average. Average isnt gratifying. I never want to get comfortable. Mediocrity scares me. You dont train as hard as you can to be fine with OK results. I dont play this game just to play.Baseball excites me. I want to fully reach my potential, and I dont think Im close to that yet. Im a starter. Ive shown I can be a dominant starter. My value is as a starter. I believe in that. I want to go six, seven, eight, nine innings. I was in the pen in 2014, struggled, and was sent down. People said the same things theyre saying now: He cant pitch. Hes too short. His fastballs too flat. I went down two weeks and came up, found a sinker somewhere in there. Im still learning. Im still growing in this process. Im aware of that. Im going to struggle at times, but those struggles wont last.Yes, I could end up in Buffalo. Do I think I belong in Buffalo? Not at all. If the Blue Jays think I need to be there, thats their decision. Im in a good place mentally and physically. Things are going to turn around. Im not the only believer. Everyone in my clubhouse believes that. Coaches believe that. Teammates believe that.There are these little key notes I get from the guys, little points. Im on the perfect team. I have unbelievable talks with Buehrle, LaTroy Hawkins, Estrada, Bautista, Donaldson, Tulo, Martin. I have the best group of guys to learn from. Im thankful for that. Jose Bautista took me under his wing from the second I got to the majors. Hes my mentor. Ive learned so much from him. Hes a guy whos been there for me. He saw when I was going through this rough patch. People in the clubhouse have faith in me every time Im on the mound. These are All-Stars telling me this. Theyve been there for me through the good and even more through the bad. They know how driven I am. They say, Stro, this is temporary. I have to be able to deal with this if I want to be elite. Theres been a low point for every player. Theres been a challenge theyve had to get through. My teammates are throwing confidence on me and letting me know Im still the guy. Im faltering a little bit, but theyre still going to rock with me.At the end of the day, Im lucky. My life is amazing. Thats why I can deal with this. Ive had success in the majors. Ive gone nine innings. Ive gone eight. Ive pitched in the playoffs. I know its there. Its just disconnected for a bit. But this little disconnection is going to create a stronger individual. Im a confident, hard-working visionary with big dreams for my friends, family and myself. Baseball is my passion. I know mentally, physically, emotionally, Im stronger than most. I can get through anything. ' ' '