NASCAR's "regular season" ended Sunday, and the 12-man field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set. The 10-race postseason begins with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sunday, Sept. 14, 2 pm/ET, ABC).
The dozen drivers in contention for the 2008 title are: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. The Chasers will present a special "Top 12" on Late Show With David Letterman on Tuesday (Sept. 9, 11:35 pm/ET, CBS).
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Sydney FC, an Australian soccer team partially owned by Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia, defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in an exhibition in Sydney earlier today. David Beckham's presence helped attract 80,295 fans — including LaPaglia — to Telstra Stadium. Beckham scored one of his trademark bending free kicks, but it wasn't enough, as Sydney won, 5-3. According to Sydney FC's website, "a series of three Beckham [corner kicks] in four minutes looked like the Christmas illuminations as flashes went off repeatedly in the nearby crowd...."ESPN Classic will air the NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards live on Friday from the (very un-NASCAR-like) Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan (Nov. 30, 9 pm/ET). David Spade and Kelly Clarkson will perform and driver Jimmie Johnson will be honored for his second straight Nextel Cup title. The show will replay at midnight/ET on ESPN2....The New England Patriots' nail-biting 31-28 win over the Philadelphia Eagles gave NBC's Sunday Night Football ...
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By winning the last four NASCAR Nextel Cup races, Jimmie Johnson has placed his fortunes squarely in his own hands. All he needs to do Sunday is finish 18th or better at the season-ending race at Homestead, Florida (Nov. 18, 3:45 pm/ET, ABC), and he gets to drink in a Nextel Cup title for the second year in a row. If he finishes 19th and leads just one lap during the race, it also won’t matter what Jeff Gordon, second in the Cup standings, does.Which is not to belittle what Gordon has already done. A top-10 finish at Homestead would be Gordon’s 30th — out of 36 races — for the season, a mark of consistency unseen since Dale Jarrett scored 29 top 10s (out of 34 races) in 1999.Gordon and Johnson’s tug-of-war through the Chase for the Nextel Cup has been remarkable, the first time since the Chase began in 2004 that the main title contenders were teammates and buddies. "We’re good friends and get along great as teammates, but we’ve always been trying t...
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New to Interviews & Features:• NASCAR preview: Can Jimmie Johnson keep the pedal to the metal in the postseason?• Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin shares a look at the new season, and more.• Our introduction to the new cast of Dancing with the Stars continues with a look at Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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Any fans still wallowing in shock over Dale Earnhardt Jr. missing the cut for the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup had best get over it. NASCAR's postseason gets under way this Sunday with the Sylvania 300 (1 pm/ET, ABC), in Loudon, New Hampshire, and it looks to be the most jarringly competitive last 10 races since the Chase format began in 2004. The field of 12 (an increase this year from the customary 10) is rife with former winners, led by defending champ Jimmie Johnson, who's entering the Chase with great momentum.Johnson won the last two races of the "regular" season — not to mention notching top-five finishes in five of the last six contests. Still, he must contend with fellow ex-titleholders Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth. Stewart, who won his second Cup trophy in 2005 but missed the Chase cut last season,
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