HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- As Jimmie Johnson struggled through the longest winless drought of his Sprint Cup career, team owner Rick Hendrick wondered whether it was time to split up the band.Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have won six Sprint Cup titles together, and Knaus has overseen the cars for Johnsons 79 victories. But after 15 seasons together, Hendrick at least wondered a little bit whether they needed a change as Johnson went on a 24-race winless streak with 11 finishes outside the top 15.He didnt act on those thoughts, and Johnson is one of the four drivers vying for the Cup title Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.When you have two guys that have been so good and you try to decide is it time, and this year we started off really well, and then we hit a lull in the summer, and it was -- we asked ourselves then, Is this time, do we need to make a change? Hendrick said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.But when you see things that are so close [to turning around], I think thats when they work harder. We really just sit down and work hard together and try to identify weaknesses, and I think they have both made a commitment -- they want to retire together. They want to finish their careers together.If Johnson wins a seventh title -- tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt?Sr. for the most championships in a career -- it will be the first time a driver has won seven titles with the same crew chief.Jimmie personally, obviously, he is by far one of my best friends, and to be able to have seen him grow and mature into the driver and the family man that he is has been awesome, Knaus said Wednesday. Its been a great ride.It hasnt been all milk and cookies -- though Hendrick once had them snack that way to get over a rough patch -- but racing rarely is so peaceful.That could be said for Joe Gibbs Racing, which has two drivers in the championship hunt. For the first time in three years of the elimination-style format, two of the drivers --?Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards?-- come from one team.Theyre not sharing a lot of stuff, Gibbs said. Its going to be up to them individually, and I think both of our guys ... its such a big deal for them. We kind of felt like obviously theyre going to be kind of individually going for it. ... Theyll both kind of be on their own here.Busch and Edwards dismissed the notion they arent working together after they posted the top speeds among the Chase finalists in qualifying.Joe is not in our meetings, Busch said about the work among the four JGR teams as well as affiliate Furniture Row Racing. Dont listen to Joe. Were not sharing with him.Everything right now is all the same -- open notebook. Ive been looking at Carls stuff all day. Carl has probably been looking at [notes from] everybody else as well as I have. Buy Adidas Nmd . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Ultra Boost Deals . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.stansmithdiscount.com/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Cheapest Nmd Shoes .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Discount Adidas Nmd .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. MILWAUKEE -- Former NBA player and UNLV star Stacey Augmon is joining the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach.Augmon was a member of the Bucks coaching staff during the 2016 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He spent the past five years as an assistant at his alma mater. Augmon was also an assistant for the Denver Nuggets from 2007-11.Augmons playing career started after he was drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 1991 draft by Atlanta. In 16 yeaars in the NBA, Augmon also played for Detroit, Portland, Charlotte and Orlando.ddddddddddddThe Bucks on Friday also announced two other moves .Seth Partnow was named director of basketball research. He was most recently an editor for a basketball statistical analysis website.Scott Faust has been named head athletic trainer. ' ' '