CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Winning iconic races often changes the career course of a young driver. Alexander Rossi is no exception.Rossi spent his entire childhood chasing a career in Formula One, then in one last-minute deal found himself with a job in the IndyCar Series. It wasnt particularly the job he wanted, but it gave him seat time as he waited for an opening in Europe.Then Rossi pulled off one of the more shocking wins in IndyCar history. He stretched his fuel and outsmarted the competition to win the historic 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year.Just like that, Formula One didnt seem to be the lifetime goal anymore for the driver from California.I wont be continuing in F1 as any type of reserve driver in 2017, Rossi said Monday. When Rio Haryanto lost his seat, I was offered to take his place -- and I turned it down because I didnt think it was appropriate to do, for Andretti Autosport and the Verizon IndyCar Series. I made that call back then in August. Ive come to terms with it.Rossi readily admits that winning the Indy 500 radically altered his plans. His deal with Andretti-Herta Autosport was thrown together right before the start of the season, and it permitted him to continue on as a reserve driver in F1.With one foot still in the door at Formula One, he had something to fall back on as he struggled to learn his new team, the nuances of IndyCar and how to race on ovals.Its been challenging, he said. But obviously the flagship event and the highlight race is the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, it gave us an incredible year from the standpoint of my future in America and the future of my career in IndyCar. I think that definitely shifted the direction of a lot of things.Rossi confirmed Monday that hell return to Andretti-Herta Autosport in a deal for the 2017 season that has options on the backend of the agreement. To be competitive each week, and have a legitimate chance to run for the title, made Rossi realize his focus can only be on IndyCar.Hell finish the F1 season as a reserve driver at Austin, Mexico and Abu Dhabi, then turn his attention only to IndyCar.Rossi gave no indication that letting go his dream was a difficult decision.He races alongside a pair of Americans at Andretti-Herta in Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti, and both his team owners are former American drivers. For Rossi, who had hoped to proudly display red, white and blue throughout his racing career, hes found an alternative means.One of my huge things when I was growing up and wanting to race in Formula One, aside from the desire to race in Europe, was the fact that I wanted to represent the U.S. and be an American driver that was successful, he said. I think that even though the IndyCar Series is an American championship, theres been a lot of longing for a young American talent.Plus, he added, the community of teams and drivers, you know, everyone really kind of supports each other in a way that I wasnt used to in Europe.Now its up to IndyCar to capitalize on Rossis decision to stick around.The series has done decent work marketing Graham Rahal and budding star Josef Newgarden -- it helps that both American drivers win races -- and IndyCar has put a tremendous push behind Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe, who is currently starring on Dancing With the Stars.With Rossi now in its arsenal, theres potential to groom another American star.I started the year with a completely unknown -- I had no understanding of what the Verizon IndyCar Series was or what it stood for, he said. The first thing that struck me was competitiveness, which I hugely enjoy, and the second thing was how diverse you have to be in order to win this championship.The fact that there are so many different tracks and you have to be good at so many different things, I think is a very unique thing and something that Ive really enjoyed being a part of this year. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Tyler-Higbee-Jersey/ . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Lance-Dunbar-Jersey/ . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Deacon-Jones-Jersey/ .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Cory-Littleton-Jersey/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Jacob-Mcquaide-Jersey/ . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Minutes after losing for the seventh time in eight games, Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith stood in the middle of the locker room, surrounded by teammates and coaches, and let it all out.It was an emotional mix of disappointment, frustration and failure.It may have been needed, especially considering the Jaguars (0-1) believe this is their most talented team in nearly a decade.The passion for the game runs deep, Smith said Monday. And the expectations for this season I just feel like are so much higher and every game is important. That was a close one. Thats one we should have won, and everybody in this locker room truly feels that way that we should have won that game. So when we came back in, I just felt like it was something I needed to get off my chest to the team and let them know from this point forward these are the expectations.We cant sit back and let one loss dictate where we go from here or let that team dictate where we go from here.Although the Jaguars are reluctant to say it, their latest season-opening setback -- a 27-23 loss to Green Bay on Sunday -- shows theyre making progress. They might even be close to turning the corner despite losing for the 37th time in coach Gus Bradleys 49 games.Jacksonville led early, made a crucial stop late and had a chance in the final minute. The offense scored on five of its last seven possessions. The defense was decent against the run and better than most against two-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers. And Jacksonvilles special teams were nearly perfect.Yet, the Jags ended with another loss -- their fifth in a row to open the season.Nonetheless, players and coaches should view the opener as a positive sign since the Packers have made the playoffs seven straight years and Jacksonville has 22 losses by double digits over the last three years.We want to see everything that we put in work and come out during the game, and unfortunately a win is the only way, defensive tackle Roy Miller said. When (people) look back, no ones going to say, `They only lost by whatever. The only thing theyre going to see is an `L.Its going to haunt us every night until next Sunday.dddddddddddd. Hopefully we take this and use it next week against the Chargers.Jacksonville plays at San Diego (0-1) on Sunday, a cross-country flight to a place the Jags have never won. They are 0-3 in San Diego and 2-10 on the West Coast, with both victories (1997, 2004) coming in Oakland.The Jaguars have plenty to clean up this week, most notably finding a way to run the ball better and generate more pass rush.Running back Chris Ivory remains hospitalized with an undisclosed medical issue. His status for Sundays game is in question. Without Ivory, the Jaguars averaged just 1.8 yards a carry.And they managed little pressure on Rodgers, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.Still, Jacksonville had a chance in the closing minutes, forcing a punt and moving to the Packers 14. But on a fourth-and-1 play with 23 seconds left, Allen Hurns was tackled for a loss on a bubble screen.Quarterback Blake Bortles knew the play was in trouble when he suspected Green Bay was blitzing. But Bortles had no timeouts and didnt have enough time on the play clock to change the call.This one hurts, Hurns said. When it comes down to it, we want to finish out the game and get these wins. Its been a tough time for us and this organization these last couple years, but I think were headed in the right direction.Smiths reaction in the locker room was proof. In recent years, losing games to any team would have been somewhat expected in Jacksonville. Now, though, they want and demand more.That is a good sign, Bradley said. There is a difference between you expecting to win and you knowing you are going to win. When you know you are going to win, you are shocked if you lost, and that is what this team is feeling now. I think that is a good step for our team. We do not accept the loss. We do not accept it. How they are handling it now shows me a lot about them.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '