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HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Joey Loganos championship bid ended in the pits on a miserable stop. Denny Hamlin coughed up his shot on a gamble that went bust. Ryan Newmans ferocious rally from an early deficit was one spot short.Kevin Harvick was the class of NASCARs final four and won the Sprint Cup championship Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.The other three have to wait at least another year.Newman, winless on the season, was second. Hamlin was seventh, and Logano finished 16th.Logano and Hamlin drove like championship drivers for the bulk of the race until mistakes in the closing laps cost them a legitimate push that could haunt the drivers for years.Joe Gibbs Racing decided not to pit Hamlin when a debris caution came out with 20 laps remaining. Hamlin stayed out, leaving him without the fresh tires needed to catch Harvick.I dont know, I thought we could have beat them on pit road, Hamlin said over the radio.Hell never know for sure.We were sitting ducks as long as cautions kept coming, Hamlin said. We had a decent lead. The cautions just didnt come our way.Logano had a fantastic car and was running inside the top 10 when the pit crew had a jack issue with the No. 22 Ford. Logano, in his second season driving for Roger Penske, saw his championship chance destroyed. He plummeted from sixth to 21st and had no time to recover.Im not going to say it was pressure, Logano said. We knew coming into this race you cant afford to make one mistake. Our pit crew did a fantastic job this year. Im not putting them down over one thing.Newmans finish spared NASCAR the embarrassment of stamping this season with a winless champion. NASCAR chairman Brian France said Friday the series would be delighted if Newman somehow defied the model that preached winning above all and won the championship.Trying to win owner Richard Childress his seventh title, Newman saved his best driving of the season for the last race of the season after starting 21st.Our sport would have been better if the four of us were on the front two rows, Newman said. But in the end, I was one of the guys that had a shot at it, and I was happy to be in that position. But man, you live for that moment and you drive as hard as you can.NASCAR seemed poised to have all four cars make a mad championship dash for the checkered flag until the final 20 laps.Newman was the caboose when the contenders lined up second through fifth behind early leader Jeff Gordon. Like a short-track speedskater, Newman could have used a wreck to wipe out the cars in front of him to take the lead. Newman had the speed in the No. 31 to zip into the top five, just not the breaks needed to play catch up.Logano had his sixth win of the season in range when he zipped past Harvick and Newman to move into second place early on.But he ran into his first issue when his Ford slapped the wall midway through the race, though he stayed on the track. But a dropped lugnut on the first pit stop miscue late in the race sent Logano to 11th.We still have a shot at this, pick your heads up, crew chief Todd Gordon said.With 28 laps left, the drivers were bunched nose-to-tail in pairs: Hamlin and Harvick ran second and third; Newman and Logano were seventh and eighth.All the drama NASCAR wanted with its new win-or-bust format materialized for the thrilling finale.But they all knew three drivers had to head home without a trophy.We had a car that was capable of winning today, Hamlin said. We know that. Cheap Wholesale Asics . -- Golden State Warriors reserve centre Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured right hand. Cheap Asics Shoes Online . - The New Orleans Saints have re-signed receiver Joseph Morgan for one year and have agreed to a four-year deal with free agent fullback Erik Lorig. http://www.cheapasics.net/ .com) - DAngelo Harrison posted 21 points to guide No. Asics Shoes Discount Online .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. Asics Shoes Clearance Sale . Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three.TAMPA, Fla. -- Martin St. Louis helped the undermanned Tampa Bay Lightning stop a lengthy scoring drought. St. Louis scored two in-close goals, Ben Bishop won his 15th game this season, and the Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Thursday night. "If you look at most of my goals, Im not the kind of guy thats going to score from outside the circle," St. Louis said. "Its just not my game. I try to get free and go to the net. Thats what I did tonight and the puck came to me." Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Lightning, who were coming off consecutive shutout losses to Columbus (1-0) and Pittsburgh (3-0). Ondrej Palat had two assists. Ottawa, which has dropped seven of 10, got a goal from Patrick Wiercioch. "Were just finding ways to lose," Wiercioch said. "We know we can be a better team and be more consistent, and we havent proven that yet." Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman left after the first period with a lower-body injury, while defenceman Keith Aulie departed during the second due to a broken hand. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Aulie will have surgery Friday, and that Hedman will likely miss Saturday nights game against Winnipeg. "I dont know when hes coming back," Cooper said of Hedman. "Hes more a day to day. Well see what happens, but I dont expect him back for Winnipeg." The Lightning were already without several key players, including centre Steven Stamkos (broken leg), left wing Ryan Malone (broken ankle), and defencemen Eric Brewer (lower body) and Radko Gudas (upper body). "A big effort from an extremely short-handed team," Cooper said. Stamkos has a goal of returning in February, while Malone will be out three to four weeks. Brewer and Gudas could soon return. St. Louiss beat goalie Robin Lehner from just outside the crease to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 advantage 13:19 into the second.dddddddddddd. The Lightning captain tied Jason Arnott for 91st place on the NHL points list with 938. Filppulas goal from the left circle made it 3-1 at 10:56 of the third. St. Louis put the Lightning up 1-0 when he scored while falling forward with 3:15 left in the first. Wiercioch tied it at 1-all with a power-play goal 6:11 into the second. The defenceman had not scored a goal in his previous 20 games dating to last season. "Obviously, we didnt play hard enough to win," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. "I dont think its like inches and inches and miles and miles that we have to play harder, but we have to play harder longer." Bishop made one of his 33 saves early in the first on Chris Neils slot shot. The Lightning acquired Bishop from Ottawa last April. "Its always nice to beat a team that traded you," said Bishop, who has won both of his games against the Senators. Lehner kept the Senators within one early in the third when he stopped a shot by Nate Thompson during a breakaway. Lehner finished with 19 saves. "We were just not good enough," Senators captain Jason Spezza said. "I think we were playing too cautious, and in turn I dont think we played with enough confidence and made too many mistakes. It just seemed like we were a little bit scared to make mistakes, and when you play cautious like that and dont play with enough confidence, thats why were losing games. We have to be a more-attacking team. We have to believe in ourselves more than we do." NOTES: St. Louis was held pointless in his previous three games. ... Ottawa C Kyle Turris had an assist and has seven assists and 12 points in 10 games against Tampa Bay. ' ' '