by consistently running up front.ddddddddddddBuescher, the 2015 Xfinity Series champion who drove for Roush Fenway Racing affiliate Front Row Motorsports as a rookie in 2016, finished 16th in the standings thanks to making the Chase with a win in the rain-shortened August race at Pocono. He was 29th

What was that middle school volleyball coach in Indianapolis thinking? You know, the one who cut Purdues Danielle Cuttino, back in eighth grade.The junior outside hitter, the espnW player of the week, posted a .333 hitting percentage in the Boilermakers victories at Stanford and against Cal Poly last weekend in the Stanford Invitational. That includes 18 kills and four blocks in the upset against then-No. 9 Stanford.Cuttino followed that up with a career-best 21 kills and four blocks against Cal Poly. Purdue (7-1) left the West Coast with a pair of wins good enough to move up six spots in this weeks American Volleyball Coaches Association poll to No. 14.There just cant be many people in the country who are playing at the level shes playing right now, Purdue coach Dave Shondell said.Cuttino holds no grudges about those early days when she was all about playing center for the basketball team.I was totally out of my comfort zone trying out for volleyball, said Cuttino, whose older sister, India, played volleyball for Vincennes University and younger sister, Shavona, is a redshirt freshman for the Boilermakers. I didnt even know the rules.But the following year, she wasnt terribly motivated about the work needed to get in top shape for basketball at Ben Davis High School.The reason I actually tried out again is because I wanted to get out of the conditioning for basketball season, she said.It didnt take so long before her new sport came naturally, and by sophomore year, Cuttino was MVP and joined a club team. By her senior season, Cuttino was a member of the U.S. junior national volleyball team and courted by many of the top college programs in the nation.Shondell considered the 6-foot-4 Cuttino a game-changer when she signed, and this year, thanks to a position change, thats proven to be the case.Shondell has only lost four players to transfer in his 14 years in West Lafayette, Indiana, two after the 2015 season when Lydia Dimke switched to Creighton and Alexa Smith to Colorado. Needing to boost Purdues outside hitting, he thought Cuttino, a middle blocker since high school, could make the transition best.Cuttino struggled against Kentucky on opening weekend, hitting .027 with 10 attack errors contributing to a 3-2 loss.After that Kentucky game, it made me sick, she said. I watched the film over and over again. I dont know why I was torturing myself, but I was, just to see how I could improve as a player. Once I watched the film, I saw so many things I was doing.Cuttino recognized her tendency to be overeager caused her to go for the ball too early instead of waiting for the set. A series of practices corrected her form.Shes been splendid since, hitting .354 during the past five matches and averaging 4.58 kills per set.Stay aggressive, Shondell often reminds. No one can stop you.Certainly the Cardinal couldnt, even after pulling out that first set 33-31 and coasting in the second, 25-12.When we went into the locker room, it was like we hadnt even played yet, Cuttino said. Once we started the third set, no one was tired. We took it one ball at a time. We knew it was doable to come away with the win.Purdue overcame a Stanford match point in the fourth set before surviving 28-26. Six kills from Cuttino in the fifth propelled the Boilermakers to a 15-11 victory.The following night against Cal Poly, Cuttino hit a team-best .447; her 21 kills put her over 500 for her career. More than the numbers, Shondell appreciated the leadership Cuttino showed on the bench.Purdue dropped the third game of the set against the Mustangs and a sluggish start in the fourth caused him to call a timeout. Danielle was out of the game at that time, but she delivered a lip sandwich to our team, Shondell said. She got into those players about competing and the importance of communicating. A year ago she wouldnt have done that.The maturity shes shown in the last six months is unlike anything Ive seen.A year ago, Cuttino, also this weeks Big Ten player of the week, said she would have deferred to Purdues six upperclassmen. The mass communications major has grown increasingly comfortable being outspoken with help from Purdues John Wooden Leadership Institute, which utilizes the legendary coachs Pyramid of Success to foster the personal growth of its student-athletes.Ive learned when its appropriate to say certain things and when its not, she said.Now Cuttino is hyped about how high the Boilermakers, picked ninth in the Big Ten, can climb in the sports toughest conference. Seven Big Ten teams are represented in the top 25 and three are in the top 10.She likes their chances, noting, I try not to get in my own head too much, but Coach has told me, Be fearless. No one can stop you.Nike Vapormax Plus White . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Nike Vapormax Plus Womens . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. http://www.vapormaxplus.com/ . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Nike Vapormax Plus Black . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Nike Vapor Max Plus . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night.Roush Fenway Racing will cut from three to two Cup teams in 2017 and loan driver Chris Buescher to JTG Daugherty Racing, which will expand to a two-car operation next season.The move allows Roush Fenway to keep Buescher under contract while trying to revitalize its performance for an organization whose proud history includes putting five drivers into the Chase in 2005, two Cup championships and 135 Cup victories. Winless the past two seasons, Roush Fenway put no drivers in the top 20 in the 2016 standings -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 21st in points, while Trevor Bayne was 22nd and the recently released Greg Biffle was 23rd.Stenhouse and Bayne remain as Roush Fenways full-time Cup drivers. The teams charter (NASCARs version of a franchise) for what was Biffles No. 16 car will be leased to JTG Daugherty Racing for Buescher in 2017. Stenhouse will have a new crew chief in 2017, as former Biffle crew chief Brian Pattie will replace Nick Sandler, who will head the Roush Fenway engineering department.We have been able to shore up our plans for 2017 and we feel that this will continue to move us in a direction that will yield improved performance and results, Roush Fenway co-owner Jack Roush said in a statement.We saw improvement in our cars and made substantial gains in our performance at times last season, and we will continue to build on that by maintaining a robbust engineering group in order to take the next step by consistently running up front.ddddddddddddBuescher, the 2015 Xfinity Series champion who drove for Roush Fenway Racing affiliate Front Row Motorsports as a rookie in 2016, finished 16th in the standings thanks to making the Chase with a win in the rain-shortened August race at Pocono. He was 29th in the points in the regular season but earned a spot in the Chase with that win. The 24-year-old Buescher now joins AJ Allmendinger, who was 19th in the standings last year, as part of a two-car Chevrolet stable at JTG Daugherty. The team did not announce a car number, crew chief or sponsor for Buescher.Im thankful for the opportunity and look forward to competing for a spot in the Chase, Buescher said.JTG Daugherty racing is co-owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and ESPN basketball analyst Brad Daugherty.Roush Fenway also announced an organizational restructuring. General manager Robbie Reiser will be reassigned within the organization. Kevin Kidd, who joined the organization a year ago and has assumed much of that role over the past 12 months as the Cup team manager, has been named competition director. Tommy Wheeler, who has overseen vehicle production, was named operations manager. ' ' '