ilt (SEC) and Arizona (Pac 12).POLL IMPLICATIONS: With the loss, the eighth-ranked Wildcats will likely drop out of the Top 10. Arizona has been ranked in the Top 25 for 81 consecutiv

Dale Earnhardt Jr.?completed a test session Wednesday at Darlington Raceway and suffered no concussion symptoms, clearing him to race at the start of the 2017 NASCAR season.I feel great, and Im excited to officially be back, Earnhardt said in a Thursday news release. I expected things to go really well yesterday, and thats exactly what happened. Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017.Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte, North Carolina, neurosurgeon, attended the five-hour test. Dr. Micky Collins, medical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh, cleared Earnhardt on Wednesday night. NASCAR requires a board-certified neurologist or neurosurgeon with at least five years of experience in treating sports-related head injuries to clear a driver after a concussion.Dale is one of the hardest-working patients Ive ever encountered, Collins, considered an authority on the treatment of concussions, said in the news release. Hes done everything weve asked, and we believe he is ready to compete at a professional level again and can withstand the normal forces of a race car driver.Dale has been very open with us, and weve had plenty of time for his treatment, so we feel very good about his long-term prospects and how this has been managed by everyone involved.Earnhardt, 42, will drive Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in a NASCAR test at Phoenix International Raceway, open to one car from each organization. NASCAR created a rule this year that allows a driver coming back from injury to test a car, as long as there are no data acquisition systems that would give the team an advantage.Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick have scheduled a teleconference for 11 a.m. ET Friday to discuss the drivers return.Earnhardt missed the final 18 races of 2016 because of a concussion suffered in June at Michigan International Speedway, the effects of which he said he did not start to feel until about a month later. He had battled nausea, balance and vision issues, which did not begin to significantly clear until August.He has spent more than 15 hours in a racing simulator during his recovery. He said last week that before his concussion he would get sick in the simulator, but that he had not experienced those symptoms recently.Earnhardt said the decision in August to not race again this year helped him recover, because he stopped stressing over when he would get back in the car.You worry about your health, Earnhardt said Friday at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards. You worry about the issues youve got are permanent or when they are going to get better and how.Anxiety is a huge factor with concussions and can be a major problem with people trying to recover. ... Every day, I was in some sort of discussion about my future, and my doctor told me I couldnt get well until I dropped all that and didnt think about it. I thought, How am I supposed to not think about that? Thats the most important thing in my life.Earnhardts first race back will be the Feb. 23 qualifying race for the 2017 Daytona 500. He will not participate in The Clash preseason event.?Alex Bowman, who along with Jeff Gordon substituted for Earnhardt this season, will drive in that event.Alex did such a great job in the car this year, and I felt like he deserved another opportunity, Earnhardt said. When I spoke with Rick and the team about him driving The Clash, everyone agreed that he more than earned it, and [sponsor] Nationwide was 100 percent on board.Im really grateful to him and Jeff for what they did for our team, and Im glad Alex is getting another run with us.Earnhardt, who has 26 career Sprint Cup wins, has one year left on his Hendrick Motorsports contract.Cheap Adidas Stan Smith Shoes . LUCIE, Fla. Adidas Stan Smith Outlet Online . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.cheapstansmith.net/ . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Adidas Stan Smith Online Sale . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Adidas Stan Smith Authentic . PAUL, Minn.LAS VEGAS -- With six new players donning a Butler uniform this season, coach Chris Holtmann isnt sure what to expect from his Bulldogs.Some have labeled this season as a rebuilding year. Holtmann shrugs it off with a wait-and-see attitude.He may not have to wait any longer, as his Bulldogs showed plenty of resolve Friday night in a 69-65 victory over No. 8 Arizona in the championship game of the Continental Las Vegas Invitational.Kelan Martin had 16 points, while Andrew Chrabascz had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Butler (6-0), while Avery Woodson contributed 13 points, Kamar Baldwin had 11 and Tyler Wideman had eight rebounds.Chrabascz was named MVP of the tournament.Its too early to tell what this years going to look like, but what we know is weve already had some good moments this year, said Holtmann, who is in his third season at Butler. Time will tell. Were just trying to kind of grow as a team and figure that out.This was really important for us, because we had some shaky moments for sure in that game. I think our guys found their composure at the right time, and we played well in stretches. But I think Arizona did too. I give them a lot credit, theyre a good team and really well-coached. Its a quality win for us.The Wildcats, who fell behind by as many as nine points with 14 minutes to play, used a 15-2 run to regain momentum to get back in the game before Butler made a final run down the stretch.Freshmen Lauri Markkanen and Kobi Simmons led Arizona (5-1) with 15 and 14 points, respectively.Trailing by four points late, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by Widemans dunk with 29.3 seconds left that gave Butler a 65-63 lead. His ensuing free throw made it 66-63.Both Holtmann and Chrabascz said there was never any sign of panic on the Bulldogs part, even when the Wildcats were ahead by five with 3 minutes left.We just said lets just find a way to do what we do and hope it works -- it was as simple as that, Holtmann said. Players make plays, and they did. We told them to move the ball offensively, we did a little bit of a defensive switch late, we just really focused them on the possessions at hand.Chrabasczs layup with 1:38 left cut Arizonas lead to two, and moments later two free throws by Baldwin tied the game at 63-all, leading up tto Widemans go-ahead dunk.ddddddddddddThe Bulldogs set themselves up with momentum at the close of the first half, when Sean McDermott took a pass on the run from Tyler Lewis, and banked in a soft jumper high off the glass to give Butler a 36-34 lead.After Arizona tied the game at 38-all less than 2 minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to move ahead 49-40 and seize control of the tempo. The momentum shift visibly frustrated the Wildcats, who committed five turnovers inside the first 7 minutes of the second half.BIG PICTUREArizona: With time to regroup after a rugged start to the season, the biggest question remains when Allonzo Trier will make his season debut. The sophomore guard did not travel to Las Vegas with the Wildcats, and hes now missed the teams first six games for unspecified reasons. His absence has left Arizona with eight healthy scholarship players. Trier averaged 14.8 points as a freshman.Butler: The Bulldogs received 14 votes in last weeks poll, but after knocking off Arizona to remain undefeated, one must wonder if theyve done enough to make their first appearance in the Top 25. Three of Butlers six wins have come against Power 5 Conference teams: Northwestern (Big Ten), Vanderbilt (SEC) and Arizona (Pac 12).POLL IMPLICATIONS: With the loss, the eighth-ranked Wildcats will likely drop out of the Top 10. Arizona has been ranked in the Top 25 for 81 consecutive weeks, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Kansas (145 weeks). Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Wildcats have spent 60 of those weeks ranked in the Top 10.TURNING POINT: While it was Widemans dunk that gave Butler the lead again, the key moment came with a little more than 3 minutes to play, when Markkanen fouled out, leaving Arizona without its key presence in the paint. Going into the game, the 7-footer from Finland led the team with 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.UP NEXTArizona: The Wildcats wont play again until Nov. 30, when they return to the McKale Center to host Texas Southern.Butler: The Bulldogs have little time to rest, as they head to Salt Lake City for a Nov. 28 date with Pac 12-member Utah. ' ' '