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INDIANAPOLIS -- Jeff Gordon stepping into the No. 88 car. What a strange sight.Gordon is No. 24 through and through. But not this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not next weekend at Pocono Raceway.Hes No. 88 for the next two weeks. And no matter the car, he brings a winning pedigree with 93 career Sprint Cup wins and four championships, including five wins at the Brickyard heading into the race Sunday afternoon.Gordon said his goals have never changed -- get the most out of himself and the team. Which raises the question: Can he win in a substitute role despite not being in the car for eight months?It was important the first time out to find the edge and the grip level and the speed right away, which we did, Gordon said. If we can get the balance right in practice, I feel good about the race.Whats my goal? Ive always said I want to get the most out of the car, the most out of myself and the most the team can produce. I dont know what that is. Is that a win? Is that a fifth? Is that a 15th?With Dale Earnhardt Jr. out for a second consecutive week battling balance issues and nausea believed to be from concussions, Gordon will at least be in familiar colors -- his longtime sponsor Axalta is the sponsor of the car. So it looks normal. But then there is that big 88 on the side of Gordons car.That looks strange, but the 39 drivers with far more experience this year in the 2016 aerodynamic package will have the biggest influence on Gordons success.These guys are the best there is, Gordon said. This is an intense sport. You dont step out for eight months and just step back in and its easy. This stuff is not easy.Gordon was ninth in the first practice, 25th in final practice.The first lap was good, Gordon said. It was one of the bigger challenges Ive had as a race-car driver to come here without knowing the car and not being [on] ... any track all year long.That one got my attention, that first run.Gordon has earned everyones attention as he makes the unexpected return, but it also has folks at Hendrick Motorsports stoked. The organization has struggled recently, and it feels having Gordon in the car can provide a somewhat outsider perspective from someone who still works there.I dont think theres any risk -- he had a great career and no matter what he does, he could run last on Sunday and its not going to change that, says his former crew chief Ray Evernham, now a consultant at Hendrick.But Im sure hes not going to run last. ... At this place, nobody has got a better record here than him. He still keeps himself in great shape.Evernham -- as everyone has at Hendrick Motorsports -- stressed that he is sad Earnhardt cant race. But having Gordon in the car seemed to make the most sense.Im really kind of glad Jeff is here this weekend, Evernham said. Its a way to rally around a bad situation.Chase Elliott?said he felt the same way. He replaced Gordon in the No. 24 car, and now he gets to race against him at least two more times.Its going to be neat, Elliott said. It will be a little different for everybody. But Im definitely happy to have Jeff on the team this weekend.The one thing Elliott has to worry about? Seeing Gordon in his pit as Gordon might want to drive into the pit with the No. 24 board. It wouldnt be surprising if Gordon uses a pit board with the Axalta logo.You cant plan, Gordon said. You dont know how you are going to react to it. To me, once I get behind the wheel and Im inside the car, I dont know what is on the outside of that car. Its a race car and Im going to be focused on driving, not focused on anything else.But when Im standing outside of it and Im looking at the No. 88 car and Dale Earnhardt Jr.s name over the door ... it is certainly a unique situation that I dont know how that is going to impact me.His biggest challenge will be working with a new group of guys, including Earnhardt crew chief Greg Ives and spotter TJ Majors.Drivers have won races with interim crew chiefs. But this challenge will be different for Gordon, said his teammate Jimmie Johnson.He is going to be fast, and competitive, Johnson said. But to really find that last little bit, I think is more in relationships and building those relationships in a hurry. ... He has been away from this side of the garage area. Hes been out of the race car.He doesnt know these crew guys. And as we all know, the relationships that exist between driver, crew chief and engineer is really where the speed lies.Adrian Colbert Super Bowl Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Robbie Gould Super Bowl Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. https://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Jerick-Mckinnon-Jersey/ . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Laken Tomlinson Super Bowl Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Jason Verrett Super Bowl Jersey . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- A lease agreement between a prospective owner of the Phoenix Coyotes and the City of Glendale is still in doubt with a vote less than a week away. The NHL, which has operated the Coyotes the past four seasons, has agreed to sell the franchise to Renaissance Sports & Entertainment, but the deal is contingent upon completing a lease agreement with the city for Jobing.com Arena. The league has pushed Glendale to make a decision by next week and three councilmembers stepped forward to force a vote Tuesday despite concerns that the city did not have enough time to do due diligence on the deal. "Now is the time for the City of Glendale to decide what theyre going to do," said former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, whos representing RSE. "Theyve driven a hard bargain and I give them credit for that, but they cant screw around anymore. The NHL has given them a hard deadline and if they want to keep the Coyotes here and have the arena managed in a professional and successful way, they need to get on with it. If not, then the decision will be made for them." RSE, a group headed by George Gosbee, Anthony LeBlanc and Daryl Jones, reached an agreement to buy the team from the NHL last month. After weeks of negotiating, RSE and Glendale agreed on enough points to create a draft of the deal, which was posted on the citys website on Thursday. Along with the draft, Glendale also posted a release outlining some of its concerns about the deal, including a $15 million management fee to run the arena, a five-year out clause that could allow RSE to move the team without penalty and concerns that the city would bear all the risk if revenue projected by RSE falls short. "Contrary to what might appear in the papers, I dont see this as a done deal. Far from it," acting city manager Dick Bowers said in a letter sent to the city council on Tuesday. "Discussions continued over the week and we have come only slightly closer to comfortable than before." The city says it has budgeted $6 million to pay for part of the $15 million management fee to be paid to RSE, with the difference made up in shared revenue streams that include arena naming rights, rent, parking, ticket surcharges and other sources. RSE has projected those revenues at $6.7 million, a figure based on the worst year the Coyotes have had in attendance. Glendale officials have raised concerns that the city bears all the risk if the projected revenue falls short, though RSE would guarantee $1.2 million if the projections fall short, based on a $1.50 surcharge on each ticket. The city also is concerned about aa clause in the deal that would allow RSE terminate the contract if its cumulative losses reach $50 million or after five years, while Glendale cannot opt out if revenue projections fall short.dddddddddddd "I think youve got people who are really dedicated to hockey in general and the Phoenix Coyotes in particular," Woods said. "Their entire game plan here is to make this work here in Arizona. Theres no discussion, no contingency plan, nothing in their plans other than making this a success in Arizona." The drawn-out saga to find an owner for the Coyotes will likely come to a head next week, one way or another. If the city council approves the lease agreement, RSE will have a clear path to complete its purchase of the team and keep it in Arizona. Should the council vote against the lease deal, the NHL has indicated it pursue other options, including a possible move of the franchise to Seattle. "Were anticipating, or hoping, the Glendale City Council passes the deal with the Renaissance Group," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said after the leagues Board of Governors meeting on Thursday. "If the council doesnt approve it ... I dont think the Coyotes will be playing there anymore." This ownership tilt-a-whirl started in 2009, when former owner Jerry Moyes took the team into bankruptcy in a failed attempt to sell it to Blackberry founder Jim Balsille, who would move the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL bought the team later that year and has operated it ever since. Numerous potential owners have come to the forefront, only to fall away. Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer appeared to be in line to buy the team, only to be thwarted by conservative watchdog group Goldwater Institute, which warned potential bond buyers to stay away from the Glendale offering because of a looming lawsuit. Former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison had a preliminary agreement with the NHL to buy the team last year, but his bid fell through when he was unable to secure the finances and investors he needed in time to meet a deadline with Glendale on a lease-agreement deal. Now its RSEs turn to see if it can complete the deal. "I think it would be a huge mistake for Glendale to think that we would have anything but an enormous financial disaster on our hands trying to keep that arena open after losing an anchor tenant and 41 nights," Woods said. "The reality is, in my opinion, the arena would end up being shut down. I hope that doesnt happen, but they have to look at the hard realities in the way the real world works, and I think thats the reality is here." ' ' '