ones. Others could do it at particular tracks. I had the gift at Martinsville. Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona and Talladega. AJ Allmendinger at Watkins GlenAll drivers have their strengths, but I can count on only one hand t

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - About an hour before first pitch, Clayton Kershaw sits in the middle of left field, not stretching. Two months since his last start, hes alone, with his hat on and his knees bent, lost in thought. The crowd of reverent fans, many clad in Dodger blue with No. 22 on their backs, form a mass on the left-field wall and raise their phones above their heads and to the right, as if drawn to a magnet.This isnt Dodger Stadium but LoanMart Field -- home to the Quakes, the Dodgers Class A advanced affiliate. And for the past hour, starting at around 5 p.m., fans have been lining up and piling in, ready to see the best pitcher on the planet pitch against the Modesto Nuts.News came the day before that Kershaw would start here as part of a rehab assignment, his first live-game action since June 26 in Pittsburgh. Saturday nights are already the most popular, because its fireworks night, said Mike Lindskog, the voice of the Quakes on FoxSports 1350. But when the word came that Kershaw was pitching, it took 30 minutes to sell out.Fans quickly noticed the difference. It only gets anywhere close to this on bobblehead nights, one fan said.At 7:05 p.m. Kershaw took the mound, wearing home white and No. 40, every eye in the ballpark fixated on the mound. Few of the 4,700 in attendance milled about at concessions or the team store. Everyone wanted to see the star throw.Kershaw started with two easy strikeouts and retired the third batter with a grounder to short. Another strikeout started the second. On the next batter, Kershaw threw one of those curveballs that floats over the top, then drops in for a strike, eliciting rousing oohs and aahs from the crowd. He got his fifth strikeout to open the third, then allowed his only hit when Modestos Robbie Perkins dribbled a ball just past home plate and catcher Will Smith?was off target on the throw to first. A 6-4-3 double play ensured Kershaw left the game with no balls making it out of the infield.And just like that, after some 20 minutes on the mound Kershaw was done. He threw 34 pitches on the night, 23 of which were strikes, with his fastball hitting 94 mph. After leaving the game, Kershaw threw about 15 more pitches in the bullpen to reach his pitch count. The crowd congregated again along the left-field wall, phones in hand, peering over each other at Kershaw working.Hes obviously the best pitcher Ive ever caught, said Smith, a Dodgers first-round selection out of Louisville in 2015. I got to learn a bit from him.The biggest differences, Smith said, were in Kershaws command and sequence of pitches. His slider was nasty, and his fastball was pretty good. That curveball, which wasnt really on tonight, but when hes got that on, you can see why hes NL MVP.It was when talking about the curveball, which Kershaw himself said wasnt up to par, that Smith had the widest eyes.After Kershaw left the bullpen, the mass of fans drifted to the nondescript green door marking the home teams clubhouse exit. A metal gate and a law enforcement officer stood between the fans and the door, and the crowd ballooned up the stairway for more than half an hour, waiting for Kershaw to come out. Where is Clayton Kershaw? one girl asked loudly of her mother.Finally, Kershaw emerged, taller than the fans and employees. Wearing a dark blue shirt and blue equipment bag over his right shoulder, he walked slowly down the outdoor corridor with fans following in a trail outside the gate. He didnt smile and didnt speak, looking calm but tired. He stopped near the front of the gate and signed some balls amid clamoring cheers. He walked past more crowd, signed more balls and exited toward a black Suburban.After the start, Kershaw said he thought hed pitch in the majors in four or five days, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has since confirmed hell be back on the mound in Miami on Friday. But for one night in Rancho Cucamonga, with just three innings pitched, Kershaw was the main event.With the black Suburban gone, the crowd dispersed back into the corridors and the walkways to catch the rest of the game. But one member of the Quakes staff stood for a moment, looking back at the now deserted gate, and said, That was awesome.Miami Marlins Store . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Custom Miami Marlins Jerseys . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Cheap Marlins Jerseys . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Miami Marlins Pro Shop . 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.Regardless the sport, there are those within their field that stand above all others, kings of their mountain.Jordan, Gretzky, Ruth and Brady are names synonymous with greatness. Each demonstrated perfection, they are athletic aristocrats, members of a noble fraternity of a chosen few who perform at a level so high it becomes the measure in their discipline for decades.With his seventh title in 11 seasons, Jimmie Johnson has become the latest member of this exclusive group.Im often asked how can one driver win so often? Is it the car, the engine, the crew? Its all those things, but its primarily the individual behind the steering wheel.The answer to the question what makes great is this: The ability to extract more when it matters most under the most adverse or demanding circumstances.Thats how I would describe watching Jimmie Johnson at Homestead when he demonstrated that to perfection.Every great athlete obeys their sports fundamentals -- they become the foundation for your career, they ultimately support prosperity and longevity.In auto racing, the fundamentals are car control, evaluating risk vs. reward, and anticipating opportunity and capitalizing on it.The fundamentals keep you balanced, relevant during a grueling 10-month season.Desire, commitment, determination and composure are what are needed to finish the job. Separate yourself from all others, close the deal.Car control is how well, and how quickly, you process and react to your cars personality against the limits of the race track, or the obstructions created from cars around you.Solid car control doesnt determine if you win or lose, but it certainly increases your chances.Nobody does it better than Jimmie Johnson. He demonstrated it to perfection in the final two laps of the championship race.Watch it. Watch it again and again if you have to. Jimmie drove two of the best laps of his life to capture a seventh title.What did he do?He arced the car into the turn at the precise angle, allowing speed to remain elevated, but controlled enough to maintain the perfect line to the apron. At center corner, he used enough steering input, combined with acceleration, to lean the car onto the right-rear tire -- too aggressive and his car slides toward the wall, forcing his right foot off the gas. Too cautious and he would have surrendered two or three hundred RPM from his exit and would have passed no one. He would have force himself from playing offense to playing defense, preoccupied with the rearview mirror.Going fast is dependent on your body identifying forces of the car, delivering the info to your brain, it being processed and fed to your hands, feet and eyes.Its a process that follows a sequence, the sequence can be sped up or slowed down depending on the individual.dddddddddddd The best make it look and feel instinctive, without thought. Its why a chosen few are fast, very fast -- no matter where they compete.You have to anticipate. The final restart is a perfect illustration of this. Jimmie timed it perfectly, did not spin the rear tires, executed two precise shifts and captured the lead against a superior car off the exit of Turn 2.Anticipating a restart is predicated once again on your senses: Your peripheral vision acting like radar for any sudden appearance or acceleration; sound, because you are locked in to the sound of the cars exhaust restarting next to you; and the feel you have of the rear tires struggling between creating thrust in your car vs. breaking free of the racing surface. Its a beautiful thing when done perfectly, and ugly as hell otherwise.Great drivers identify the limit of their car, the track, their talent and operate within a fraction of that edge all race long. They also drive 100 percent while giving the clear succinct definition of their cars balance to their team.Few drivers can do this.Most operate at 95 percent when evaluating their cars balance, showing an inability to drive on the extreme edge and evaluate all the factors simultaneously.Only a few drivers in my lifetime demonstrated the ability to do it. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt are the obvious ones. Others could do it at particular tracks. I had the gift at Martinsville. Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona and Talladega. AJ Allmendinger at Watkins GlenAll drivers have their strengths, but I can count on only one hand the drivers who could do it every week, at every kind of track.Jimmie Johnson is one of them.Conditioning? Drivers fail most often under these two scenarios.First, when they become distracted; second, when they become tired. Jimmie can fall victim to distraction, its evident the few times a year he and crew chief Chad Knaus swap audio jabs at 150 mph. But he wont tire, because he trains and he prepares, harder than anyone I know. Its an extension of his commitment to being the best.Its not just achieving a superior physical fitness, its about obtaining a superior mental fitness. Jimmie subscribes and adheres to it, beyond what others could imagine.The Bottom LineGood drivers win in great cars. Great drivers win in good cars.The latter is what Jimmie Johnson did Sunday.I understand all the things required to perform and compete as a race-car driver. I understand the criteria for winning races.What I dont completely understand is this: How has Jimmie done it so damned well, so often, for so long and so much better than everyone else? ' ' '