RICHMOND, Va. -- Denny Hamlin won the pole Friday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, racing about 20 miles from where he grew up in Chesterfield, turned a fast lap at 122.344 mph in the third round of qualifying to claim his first pole position of the year. Its the 24th pole position of his career and third in 21 tries on the 0.75-mile oval.It also marks the 24th consecutive race Hamlin will start from in the top 10.We were second and third so many times, it was crazy, Hamlin said about his consistently good qualifying but inability to win a pole. We actually looked at the rainouts and its like, Were going to start seventh because of a rainout and it hurts our average.Hamlin said his average starting position, 6.1, is the best since Jeff Gordon had a 5.0 average in 1995.That was a pretty cool stat to see, he said.The pole was somewhat unexpected, Hamlin said, because he had to run several laps in each round while others ran just one.I thought that for sure we had too many laps on our tires, he said. A lot of guys that we were challenging only had one lap per session. My car didnt really come in that quick, so I had to run multiple laps.Earning the pole regardless is promising, he said.Running that fast with so many laps tells us we have a good car for the long run, he said.Kyle Larson will start on the outside of the front row, with Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray in the second row, followed by Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. in the third. The top 10 also includes Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson.Dillon and McMurray are among the drivers hoping to cement a spot in the Chase for the championship that begins next week.Cheap Shoes Fake . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Cheap Shoes For Sale . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Cheap Shoes Website . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Majlinda Kelmendi stood on the podium with a wide smile on her face.A gold medal hung around her neck, and not just any gold medal -- the first one ever for Kosovo. Kelmendi went to Rio with Kosovos first Olympic team, and she knew she had to deliver in the womens 52-kg judo competition to make sure her nation didnt go home empty-handed.I was really ready for this competition, Kelmendi said. It was the first time that Kosovo was in the Olympics. I wanted so badly to win.While so much attention is paid to the top of the medals table at the Olympics, where the athletic powerhouses like the United States and China practically need to charter another plane to bring home all the gold, silver and bronze they accumulate, there is an equally spirited competition at the bottom, where dozens of smaller countries hold out hopes of just getting their hands on one.Newspapers back home praised Kelmendis historic achievement Sunday. Hidilyn Diaz, whose weightlifting silver ended a 20-year medal drought for the Philippines, received a personal message of congratulations from President Rodrigo Duterte, who told her she brought honor to the country.They are not global stars on par with Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt. But to the success-starved countries they represent, they may be even more important.Coming into the Rio Games, more than 70 nations with National Olympic Committees had never won a medal of any kind. Others, like India, very rarely reach the podium. So they come to these Olympics with very few chances for glory, their collective focus pinned on one team, or one athlete, to break through.Fiji plays in the rugby semifinals Thursday in a sport that has returned to the Olympics after a 92-year absence.We need pressure. Island life is a nice, chilled and laid-back one so if we take things too easy the boys just drop off, said Fiji rugby coach Ben Ryan, who represents a country that has never won a medal of any color. We are embracing that pressure at the moment. The more the better. This is the strongest 12 Ive ever had. There are absolutely no excuses not too perform.ddddddddddddIndia has won just two medals since 1964, including one for mens field hockey in Moscow in 1980. This years team is looking to restore the countrys standing as one of the worlds elite.Thats my life. Its a dream, captain Sreejesh Parattu said. If you look at the Indian history, it is a very prestigious thing for our country.And when they finally do make it happen, the emotions can be overwhelming. Diaz openly wept after winning the silver medal in the 58kg class of weightlifting. It was the countrys first medal in any sport since the Atlanta Games in 1996 and helped her overcome failures in Beijing and London.I have tried so hard. I have stumbled many times, Diaz said. I wanted to quit, but now all of my sacrifices have paid off.The Associated Press issued predictions prior to the beginning of the games for the medal winners in each competition. The Philippines didnt have an athlete listed, but Diaz came through. In return, shell receive nearly $53,000, per a law enacted in 2001 that rewards successful Olympians.Others predicted to medal win from nations that rarely reach the podium include Ghirmay Ghebreslassie from Eritrea in the mens marathon and Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi in the womens 800 meters. Both nations have just one medal in their histories.Thats the feeling so many others are chasing. They dont have vast financial resources to help pave their ways to gold. They also dont have dozens of other teammates with prime chances for the podium to reduce the pressure.Its all on them to deliver.For me the Olympic Games is all about winning, nothing else, said India mens field hockey coach Roelant Wouter Oltmans. Many years ago someone else said something different, its about participation. But nowadays in the modern Olympic Games its all about winning and thats also why I went to India and accepted the challenge when they offered me to see if there is any possibility to come close to the history of Indian hockey. ' ' '