ht, said Faulk, who was the Hurricanes sole representative in the All-Star Game

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- An accomplished veteran in open-wheel racing, Alex Tagliani probably could find a full-time ride in the IndyCar series if he wanted it badly enough. So whats he doing driving stock cars? Having the time of his life, apparently. "You need to throw some challenges into your life, into your career," Tagliani said. "If not, it gets boring. For me, when I drive a stock car, it doesnt come natural. It takes a lot of control. So when I get out of the car, I feel like I want more. Maybe thats what keeps the spark in you to be in love with what you do." Tagliani, a 40-year-old native of Montreal who made his name in Indy-style racing -- he won the pole position for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 -- is driving two road courses for Team Penske in the NASCAR Nationwide series this season. He dominated much of a rain-soaked race at Road America last weekend, only to run out of gas near the end; he refuelled and made a mad charge to a second-place finish in a green-white-checker overtime. Hell drive again for Penske at Mid-Ohio in August. Beyond that, Tagliani is racing in the relative obscurity of the Canadian Tire series, NASCARs humble attempt to establish a foothold for stock car racing north of the border. Hes also doing some sports car racing. He did drive in the Indianapolis 500 in May, finishing 13th, but he has very little desire to pursue a full-time IndyCar ride at this point in his career. Backing away from IndyCar has largely freed him from the money-fueled politics that frustrated him. "The Indianapolis 500 is a huge event," Tagliani said. "But running an Indy car for a full season, theres a price to pay, and I was not willing to continue to pay that price this year." When Tagliani says theres a price to pay, hes being literal; unlike other sports, where teams draft and sign the best players they can, talent is only one factor in determining who gets hired by a particular team in auto racing. All teams expect a driver to be a good spokesman they can sell to a corporate sponsor -- but some teams take it one step further, actually expecting the driver to come to the table with sponsorship deals already in hand. "Youre actually funding, or helping, a team to survive, and youre helping their business, but theyre not helping you back," Tagliani said. "Youre helping them with your energy and your money and your work, and they use that, and theres always the grass is greener somewhere else, right? Youre never able to build something for the long term. To the point where it frustrates you, and I didnt want to drive frustrated. I just wanted to enjoy driving, you know? "And thats where I am now. Every step you make in your career has some consequences, and Im still glad I did them because I ended up in a Penske car. I cant ask for more." The move to the Canadian Tire series was actually a plus to his main sponsor, the Canadian division of drug manufacturing giant Pfizer. The company wants to promote its EpiPen allergy treatment -- a natural fit for Tagliani, who has a nut allergy -- in Canada. "They wanted a Canadian presence," Tagliani said. "So at some point, you can push and push and push, but theyre going to say you either race more in Canada and you give us a Canadian program, or we cut the money out. So I kind of revamped my program, and made sure it was beneficial to me." Now Tagliani doesnt plan on slowing down anytime soon. "Ill replicate this 2014 season again for the next five," Tagliani said. "Because Im having a lot of fun, Im able to do IndyCar at the speedway, that I like. Im able to please my sponsor in Canada and also race the 22 car for Team Penske and run prototypes when Im free. What else could a driver ask for?" Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys .C. - Blair Jones scored the eventual winner in the third period as the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Oil Barons 3-2 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. http://www.cheapwinnipegjetsjerseys.com/ . They know how difficult it is to beat the San Antonio Spurs. George scored 28 points and Indiana defeated San Antonio 111-100 on Saturday night, snapping an 11-game skid against the Spurs. Cheap Jets Jerseys China .com) - James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation, and the Houston Rockets scored eight of their 13 points in overtime at the foul line to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Friday night. Cheap Jets Jerseys Authentic . PETERSBURG, Fla.DALLAS -- Jamie Benn brought his golden touch to the ice for the Dallas Stars. The Canadian Olympian had a goal and two assists to lead Dallas to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves for Dallas (28-21-10), which moved back into eighth place, the final playoff spot, in the Western Conference. Tyler Seguin, Brenden Dillon and Cody Eakin also scored for the Stars. Dallas scored two of its goals short-handed in regaining the momentum it had with a 6-1-2 record in the nine games before its 19-day Olympic break. While most of Dallas players hadnt been in a game for 2 1/2 weeks, Benn took on penalty-killing duties for Canada in the Olympics. "The more you penalty kill, the more comfortable you are with it," he said. "Ive got quite a bit of penalty-killing time lately and a lot more tonight, so I feel comfortable out there. I thought our group did a great job on the kill tonight and keep building off that." Benn looked completely at home on the penalty kill late in the second period he took the puck away in the Dallas end, skated the length of the ice, faked Hurricanes goalie Anton Khudobin to his left and put the puck behind the goalie to his right. "Every once in a while, (Benn) comes out with some magic and great skating," Kari Lehtonen said. "He makes highlight-reel goals and great passes." Seguin scored 3:18 into the game, and Dillon gave Dallas a 2-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 6:13 of the first. Benn, who scored two game-winning goals for Canadas gold medal-winning team, assisted on both. "Any time Jamie Benn is going up the ice, youve got to expect a goal," Dillon said. "He just keeps proving every game and every day that hes one of the best players in the world. I think after the Olympics everybody knows that. He just keeps getting better and better." On Dillons goal, the Stars penalty killers skated in two-on-two, but one of the Hurricanes had broken his stick. Benn dropped a pass at the top of the slot to Dillon, who shot into the left side of the net. Carolina coach Kirk Muller rued the Hurricanes poor start. "We werent happy with our first period tonight," he said. "When you give a team like that the opportunity and advantage its hard to come back." The Hurricanes had allowed only two shhort-handed goals, fourth-fewest in the league, in their first 58 games.dddddddddddd "We really very seldom get scored on on the power play," Muller said. "Its a couple of mistakes early on that cost us." Lehtonen played for bronze medal-winning Finland in the Olympics. Valeri Nichushkin, whose backhand pass set up Seguins goal, played for Russia. "I thought (Lehtonen) gave us some real big saves, timely saves," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He kept them off the board for the first 40, and in the third he made a few more quality saves." Benn, the Stars captain, said all of his teammates appeared ready. "A little rusty I guess, maybe a little tired sometimes, but I thought our team came out great," he said. "They took care of their bodies over the three weeks and were ready to go tonight." Eric Staal scored for Carolina at 2:42 of the third period. Eakin had an empty-net goal in the final minute. Dallas had finished the first period with an 11-10 advantage in shots on goal, and had an 11-8 advantage in shots in the middle frame. "In the third, we started playing a little bit better, but it was too late," Hurricanes centre Elias Lindholm said. "I dont think we were ready to go from the beginning." Carolina, which had returned to the ice Tuesday against Buffalo, took the first eight shots of the third period, including Staals 16th goal. Andrej Sekera recorded his 100th career assist on the goal. The Stars have 66 points, one more than ninth-place Vancouver. Carolina has lost five of its last seven games. NOTES: Dillons six goals this season include two of the Stars seven short-handed scores. . The Hurricanes had allowed two short-handed goals in their first 58 games. . Carolina forward Alexander Semin, a Russian Olympian, left Thursdays game because of a lower-body injury. Muller said, "Its tough because hes been our hottest forward in the last 15-20 games." . Seguin has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his last nine games. . Benns gold medal and Lehtonens bronze from the Olympics were on display. Fans could have their pictures taken beside the medals. . Carolina was 0 for 5 with a man advantage. The Hurricanes havent scored in their last 22 power plays (six games) on the road. . The Stars have allowed only 13 goals in their last 10 games. ' ' '