DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. As far as hes concerned, those are the only major changes since he broke two bones in his leg in an August sprint-car crash. So when the green flag drops Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for his first race since the accident, Stewart believes it will be the same old "Smoke" behind the wheel. "Were not going to need a backup driver," boasted Stewart, who is scheduled to be in the race car for the first time Friday for 105 minutes of practice for the exhibition Sprint Unlimited. "I feel good enough that Im confident were not going to have to worry about anything," he added. "Weve planned for anything that we think might or could go wrong, and when I say go wrong, its not anything thats going to take us out of the race car. Its just a matter of making everything as comfortable as possible." Stewart has not raced in more than six months, an unheard of amount of time off for a driver who makes his money racing in NASCAR yet crisscrossed the country cramming 50 or more weeknight events into his year-round schedule. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson isnt dismissing Stewarts chances of making a successful return. "Tonys a guy that when hes motivated, he can do anything," Johnson said. "And his motivation and desire to get in the car is probably higher than its been since he was a little kid, so it could be really dangerous for all of us, you know what I mean?" Last August, Stewart was leading with five laps remaining at Southern Iowa Speedway when a lapped car spun in front of him, causing Stewart to hit that car and flip several times. Stewarts time sidelined was certainly difficult, enhanced by the pain from his broken leg. He had two surgeries for the breaks, then a third to treat an infection. He was flat on his back, confined to the first-floor bedroom of his longtime business manager, where he was forced to lay with his leg elevated above his heart. When there was Stewart-Haas Racing business to address, team personnel did it at his bedside. Stewart required an ambulance to get to his doctor appointments, and when he finally was able to get out of bed, he needed a wheelchair to get around. And when Stewart -- a driver SHR vice-president of competition Greg Zipadelli referred to as "Superman" in the days after his accident -- finally made an appearance at the race track, it was on a motorized scooter. Nobody was comfortable seeing the three-time NASCAR champion so restricted. Many wondered if hed ever be the same. Not Stewart. "Right off the bat, the surgeon, the therapists, theyve all said, Youre going to have 100-per cent recovery," Stewart said. "With that, from Day 1, it took the doubt out." Any questions about getting back into a race car were erased, and Stewart turned his attention to his recovery. He wondered when hed be 100 per cent -- doctors have told him it will take a year, and he said this week his leg is only 65-per cent healed -- and when the pain would subside. He asked doctors if hed always have some sort of lingering pain, and he threw himself into a tough rehabilitation program. As he progressed and moved closer to Fridays practice sessions, his SHR team built a module that includes a seat, steering wheel, steering column and pedals so Stewart could sit and hold the pedal down for 20 minutes to simulate the pressure of having his foot on the throttle. New teammate Kevin Harvick ordered Stewart a special pad that hangs off the steering wheel that will prevent his knees from banging into the steering column. Now his peers wait to see how Stewart will drive. Harvick said they attended a sponsor appearance together this week and when they left, Stewart "was like a crazed lunatic. You could see that look in his eye. He looked at me and said, Im ready to ... race!" A driver who has excelled in races because of his ability to feel the car, some have wondered if the injury has taken that talent from Stewart. He doesnt believe the broken leg has robbed him of anything. "When you hear the quote, Its a seat-of-the-pants feel, you feel it in your core," he said. "Everything that is processed through your brain is between your core as far as feeling whats going on. Your hands and arm are feeling pressure in the steering wheel. But as far as from your legs down, youre not really feeling that sensation. Its more of what your brain is telling your legs to do. "If we had to have an area to have an injury, my right leg was probably the one." Denny Hamlin struggled all last season after missing five races with a fractured vertebra in his lower back. But Hamlin cited Stewarts superior talent as reason why Stewart wont have similar issues. Stitched Athletics Jerseys .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . On Saturday night, Winnipegs strong offense was again accompanied by some fantastic pitching which gave the Fish a commanding victory. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Athletics Jerseys 2019 . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first. Wholesale Athletics Jerseys . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.TORONTO -- Calgary grabbed the most selections but the Toronto Argonauts Ricky Ray and Darian Durant of the Saskatchewan Roughriders were voted the top quarterbacks for the CFL East and West in 2013. Calgary grabbed a league-leading 10 spots on the western squad as the division all-star teams were announced Wednesday. Rays numbers were held back as he missed six games to injury and sat out the last game of the season. But he still finished with 234 completed passes out of 303 tries for a career high 77.2 per cent, tops among CFL starting quarterbacks. Durant finished the season with 4,154 passing yards and a league-leading 31 touchdown strikes. Saskatchewan and Montreal were tied with nine selections each. Toronto was next at eight, with Hamilton and B.C. at six each, Winnipeg at four and Edmonton at two. Representing the West at running back is Calgarys Jon Cornish, the CFL rushing leader, and Saskatchewans Kory Sheets, the runner-up. Hamiltons C.J. Gable and Winnipegs Will Ford share the honour in the East. Sheets and Cornish were both unanimous selections. Torontos Chad Owens was one of the four receivers named in the East and Edmontons Fred Stamps was a unanimous pick as one of the four in the West, after leading the league with 1,259 receiving yards. The others were Torontos Andre Durie, Hamiltons Bakari Grant, Montreals S.J. Green, Saskatchewans Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf and Calgarys Marquay McDaniel. The offensive lineman named for the East were Montreals Josh Bourke, Winnipegs Glenn January, Torontos Chris Van Zeyl and Jeff Keeping and Hamiltons Greg Wojt. For the West it was Calgarys Brett Jones, Jon Gott and Stanley Bryant, B.C.s Jovan Olafioye and Saskatchewans Brendon Labatte. For January, a seven-year CFL veteran who has made the East all-star squad three times now, the honour was bittersweet after the Bombers finished last at 3-15, tied for their worst record ever in the 18-game CFL. "It was an extremely difficult season forr us and I think its been well documened that a lot of are frustrated that the season went the way it did," he said.dddddddddddd "Its nice to have individual acknowledgment but I sure wish I was playing this weekend." Defensive players include CFL tackle leader Chip Cox from Montreal and runner-up Henoc Muamba from Winnipeg in the East, and sack-leader Charleston Hughes from Calgary and Saskatchewans Alex Hall in the West. Muamba said terrible season or not, the fact that four Bombers made the all-star list helps show that the team never gave up. "Its a testament to the fact that myself personally, I didnt quit, and for the rest of the all-stars. It goes to prove that there were a lot of guys in that room that never quit, despite the things that were going on and the season that we had." He also sounded a little more positive at the prospect of returning to the Bombers, although he said his agent is still in negotiations with the team. Six of Montreals all-star selections were on defence. Besides Cox, John Bowman, Geoff Tisdale, Jerald Brown, Billy Parker and Mike Edem were named. Torontos Khalif Mitchell and Patrick Watkins, Winnipegs Bryant Turner and Hamiltons Brandon Boudreaux complete the defence for the East. In the West it was Saskatchewans Tearrius George, Dwight Anderson and Tyron Brackenridge; B.C.s Adam Bighill, Solomon Elimimian, Cord Parks, Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips; Calgarys Juwan Simpson and Edmontons Almondo Sewell. Calgary swept the special teams category in the West with league-leading kicker Rene Paredes, punter Rob Maver and the CFLs leader in combined return yards, Larry Taylor. Hamilton claimed two spots in the East for punter Josh Bartel and tackle-leader Marc Beswick, while Montreals Sean Whyte took kicker. The lists are voted on by coaches and members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The CFL will announce its all-star team, featuring players from both divisions, in early December. ' ' '