owing a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebound

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- IndyCar racing returned to Watkins Glen International on Friday after a six-year hiatus, and New Yorks Thunder Road didnt disappoint as the teams practiced in earnest for the first time.Its great to be back, great to be going around here, Helio Castroneves said. This is the DNA of open-wheel racing, and the history behind this place. It suits perfectly the series.Most of the teams were permitted to test earlier for this weekends race, which replaced a street event in Boston that was canceled. WGI was repaved after last season, and it created a smooth-as-silk surface with gobs of grip that opened a lot of eyes in Fridays two practices on a sunny day.In morning practice around the 3.37-mile, 11-turn layout, all 22 drivers eclipsed Ryan Briscoes track record of 1 minute, 28.1322 seconds at 137.657 mph set in 2009 in a Honda V-8. Scott Dixon, a three-time winner at The Glen, topped the charts in the No. 9 Target Chevrolet in both sessions: he turned a fast lap of 1:23.8921 seconds at 144.614 mph in the morning session and 1:22.8740 at 146.391 mph in the two-hour afternoon session to edge Castroneves and Will Power of Team Penske.Theres no other track where you commit like here, said Power, second in the standings, 28 points behind teammate Simon Pagenaud with two races left in the season. Its so different. Theres no comparison. Its so much faster.Pagenauds first extended time on the track in his career ended on a sour note. He was 11th fastest in the afternoon but crashed into a tire barrier in the waning moments.Watkins Glen was the birthplace of road racing in America after World War II. A 6.6-mile course using mostly paved roads with a short dirt and gravel stretch served as the layout for the first race at Watkins Glen in 1948.In 1961, Formula One came to The Glen and the race became a fall tradition, remaining through 1980. Financial difficulties helped lead to The Glens departure from the Formula One calendar after Alan Jones won the 1980 race. The last open-wheel race of that era was the Watkins Glen 200, a CART event in 1981 -- Mario Andretti started on the pole and Rick Mears won the race.For the next two years, the track was not well maintained. Then, in 1983, Corning Enterprises, a subsidiary of Corning Glass, partnered with International Speedway Corporation to buy the track and rename it Watkins Glen International.NASCAR has raced each year at Watkins Glen since 1986, and IndyCar began a five-year run in September 2005 before the track parted ways with the series when the finances didnt add up.The departure of open-wheel racing didnt sit well with track president Michael Printup, a devotee of Formula One, and when Boston organizers pulled out of their deal in May, IndyCar and WGI worked out a deal to move the race to upstate New Yorks Finger Lakes region. That turned into a three-year commitment when a two-year contract extension was agreed to last week, ahead of original plans to talk after Sundays 60-lap, 202.2- mile race.The short time to promote Sunday afternoons race means attendance wont turn any heads. Its a start, though, at the very least.Were not going to hit a home run. You cant plan a birthday party in 90 days, Printup said. We sold just under 10,000 tickets in corporate in 2010. We have 200 this race. Its too hard to call a company in June and say, `Hey, our race is the first week of September. Budgets are done. Even family budgets are done.The track sold all of its grandstand seats for the last two Sprint Cup races as sizable crowds streamed through the gates in spectacular weather conditions. Attendance figures are not released, but those two NASCAR crowds were estimated at around 100,000.Printup estimated the track would end up with 40,000-50,000 fans for IndyCars race weekend, an average of around 15,000 or more per day. He said next years race would be held the same weekend, but a 2018 date had not yet been agreed upon.It might be the best weekend for TV, Printup said. College football on Saturday, no NFL on Sunday. You want TV for all your sponsors, but you want your on-track attendance. I think if we give people a year to plan, this could be their family vacation next year.Just the thought of that left Printup wearing a big smile.This is awesome. This is the place for those cars, he said. They belong here. They need to stay here.---AP Auto Racing Website: www.racing.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 Air Max 97 Undefeated China . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Air Max 97 Undefeated Fake . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.outletairmax97.com/mens-nike-air-max-97-plus-black-shock-orange-ah8144-002.html . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Discount Air Max 97 .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Air Max 97 Plus Hybrid Pink . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Michael Birdsong passed for a career-high 327 yards and accounted for four touchdowns to help Tennessee Tech beat Eastern Kentucky 33-30 in overtime on Saturday night.Birdsong was 27-of-42 passing with three touchdowns and added a 1-yard rushing score. Dontez Byrd had seven receptions for 116 yards and two TDs -- all career bests.Trailing 30-27 in overtime, Birdsong scrambled 10 yards to the 15 where he stepped out of bounds. A personal foul for a late hit gave Tennessee Tech (2-3, 2-1 Ohio Vaalley) first-and-goal at the 7.ddddddddddddAfter his 3-yard run, Birdsong hit Alex Carling on a play-action pass for a 4-yard touchdown.Bennie Coney threw for a school-record 464 yards and three touchdowns -- including a 25-yarder to Dan Crimmins with 1:06 left in regulation that made it 27-all -- for Eastern Kentucky (1-3, 0-1). Devin Borders had nine catches for 121 yards and a score. ' ' '