DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 23, 2012) – Reeling off top-five finishes is good, but for Scott Steckly its not enough. The two-time and defending NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 champion doesnt show up to finish second, third or fourth. He shows up looking to win and wants to win. Sure, in points racing qualify finishes are crucial, but thats just not what drives this competitor. “We want to win races and havent been able to get that done this year – yet,� said the pilot of the No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge out of Milverton, Ont. In six outings this season, Steckly has five top-five finishes which is good enough for second in the championship point standings behind D.J. Kennington. This is where the problem is. Kennington is in the midst of a four-race winning streak and has amassed a 35-point lead on Steckly, who with 11 series career wins has yet to visit Victory Lane this year. “That (Kennington) car has something figured out this year and we havent found it yet,� said Steckly. “Thats how this sport goes, though. Someone finds something and we all chase it for a while. Then, we move on to the next thing.� It will have to be a quick turnaround for Steckly, who just might be coming off the most bitter race of his career with the Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask., coming up on Wednesday, July 25. On Sunday in Edmonton, he had a dominating car and led for 29 of the 31 laps on the 2.256-mile road course before a pair of late-race cautions. While out front his lead fluctuated between 3.5 and 4.5 seconds, but on the final restart J.R. Fitzpatrick, racing for his third Edmonton win, and Steckly made contact in a tight section of the course knocking both drivers out of contention and opening the door for Kenningtons series record fourth straight victory. “It was a disappointing end to the race. We had the best car on the track,� said the dejected Steckly after the race. Winning is what makes champions and in his two previous title-winning seasons Steckly has a combined seven victories. “Were not frustrated at all. Weve had great finishes for the most part,� he said. “We just want to win.� Steckly already knows how to win at the Saskatchewan track having claimed the series inaugural event there in July 2009. “Its a great track they have there,� he stated. “Youre able to pass without taking the bumper to someone which makes for a good race. Were definitely looking forward to it.� But maybe more than the racing, Steckly enjoys the fans and excitement surrounding the event. “They have great fans,� he said. The track is always packed and we always work on the car at a local Canadian Tire store which has a steady stream of people stopping by to show their support. The whole town really gets into this event.� coach handbags outlet . The slugger hit a tying solo homer with two out in the seventh inning and the Red Sox rallied to beat the Blue Jays 5-1 on Tuesday night. coach outlet online . Hes been allowed to attempt just eight in this - his third NFL season. And all of this has raised doubts over whether there will be a quarterback home for him next season with the New York Jets. http://www.coach-factoryoutletstoreonline.com/ . According to the Nashville Tennessean, Predators general manager David Poile will try to trade the Russian forwards rights or allow him to return to the Kontinental Hockey League. coach outlet . -- David Lee knows Golden State is doing things few expected. coach factory outlet . Theisen, from Humboldt, Sask., cruised to 6,440 points at the NCAA outdoor championships, the best since Diane Guthrue-Gresham of George Mason scored 6,527 back in 1995.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Metta World Peace made his return from a seven-game suspension in front of a home crowd eager for him to help the Los Angeles Lakers survive a first-round playoff scare and advance with a thrilling Game 7 victory. His next stop doesnt figure to be nearly so friendly. The Lakers start the Western Conference semifinals Monday night at Oklahoma City in the teams first meeting since World Peace -- formerly known as Ron Artest -- gave the Thunders James Harden a concussion by hitting him in the head with his elbow. Oklahoma City has had more than a week to anticipate the matchup after sweeping defending NBA champion Dallas in the first round, giving fans plenty of time to get fired up to welcome a player who became instantly infamous three weeks ago. "Good, old-fashioned Southern hospitality. Thats the type of reception that I expect that hell get, and thats fair game," said former teammate Derek Fisher, now a bench player for the Thunder. "The fans will be excited. Im looking forward to being on this side of these fans this time at this point in the season. "I can only imagine the amount of energy they have stored up. Well have to properly use that energy. Cant get too caught up in it." With Harden leading the way, the Thunder insisted theyre over the incident that happened in the Lakers 114-106 double-overtime victory on April 22 in Los Angeles. Instead, theyre focused on reaching the conference finals for a second straight year. "What can I say? The focus is going out there and doing whatever it takes to win," Harden said after practice Sunday. "Im not worried about him or what he has to say." World Peace proclaimed after the Lakers win over Denver the previous night that he doesnt shake the hands of substitutions, even his best friends. So Harden, the leagues Sixth Man of the Year, certainly isnt getting one to go along with the personal apology he never got. "Shaking hands is, like, so low on our concerns right now, its not really an issue," Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison said. "I think were going to be ready to play." Starting centre Kendrick Perkins went through Oklahoma Citys practice Sunday for the first time since straining a muscle in his right hip in a Game 4 victory against Dallas eight days earlier. Collison and Harden said they expect Perkins to play in Game 1, although coach Scott Brooks refuses to make a decision until at least Monday and possibly not until game time.dddddddddddd Perkins was active enough in practice to sweat through his T-shirt, and he appeared to be pain-free during a round of jump shots after practice. He was not made available to speak to reporters. Beyond providing resistance to the Lakers All-Star frontcourt tandem of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, hes also the teams primary enforcer if theres another dust-up. "Thats the only thing that we care about: Its the first to four who wins the series," Brooks said. "The subplots, thats part of NBA basketball. You dont worry about that. If you focus on that, your attention, your focus is not where it needs to be. "We understand what happened. It happened. We moved on weeks ago." That may not hold true for the sellout crowd expected at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Thats not my concern. My concern is playing the game of basketball," World Peace said on TNT after the Lakers Game 7 win. "Everything else is not really -- its not important to me." Fisher has the unique perspective of having won five NBA titles with the Lakers before they traded him away this season. He bought out his contract with the Houston Rockets and signed with Oklahoma City in late March, and perhaps it was inevitable that he would face his former team now. He agreed with Kobe Bryants sentiment that the series would compare to playing against his brother, although he considered even those to be loaded words. "Your brother oftentimes was the recipient of some of the hardest blows you ever delivered. Im sure hes planning to deliver quite a few, and Ill be ready to deliver some as well," Fisher said. "Its going to be fun to just have to compete against the best. Thats what we want to be." Beating the Lakers may be the only way to take all the focus off what happened three weeks ago and put it back on the championship chase. "Hopefully, he has the same feelings that we all have. Its a bad play. It should have never happened," Brooks said. "But were focused on playing basketball. Its not going to be between James and Ron. Its going to be about us playing good basketball as a team to beat that team." ' ' '