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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon is mostly retired and Tony Stewart is almost out the door. Now Dale Earnhardt Jr. is sidelined for the rest of the year, exposing NASCARs glaring need for new stars to captivate the audience.The three big names who have moved the needle for NASCAR the past two decades have a combined seven championships, 168 career Cup wins and five Daytona 500 victories. More important, they are the household names for NASCAR, the ones who move the needle and make people pay attention.But Gordon called last year his last, only to be called back to the race car in late July when a concussion knocked Earnhardt out for the season. Stewart, meanwhile, has just 13 races left in his NASCAR driving career.He was in vintage form Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, where he seemed to intentionally wreck Brian Scott in a move that earned him a post-race sit-down with NASCARs bigwigs. Stewarts response to the incident? A wry smile and denial of culpability.NASCAR will argue the sport is bigger than one, two or three personalities, and that the stable is full of young talent to carry stock car racing deep into the future. Theres some truth to that and it stretches beyond Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.Kyle Larson is a week removed from his first Cup victory, a win that earned him a berth in NASCARs playoffs, and rookie Chase Elliott is a week away from securing his spot in the 10-race championship series. Austin Dillon could also make the Chase for the championship in next weeks regular-season finale, as could Chris Buescher, last years Xfinity Series champion who used a win at rain-shortened Pocono to slide into title contention.Ryan Blaney wont make the Chase, but the 22-year-old has been competitive and part of a new generation of drivers that NASCAR will have to rely upon once its superstars are in street clothes.The problem, though, is that none of these new faces are the complete package. They seem fun on Snapchat and other forms of social media, but put them in a firesuit with a live television camera and all the sparkle is sucked right out of their personalities.There are plenty of drivers with the talent of Erik Jones, William Byron or Daniel Suarez, but if they cant make a fan base fall in love with them, then what does it matter?Labor Day weekend has been celebrated the last two years in NASCAR as a throwback to its earlier days, when the racing was rougher and the men were tougher and drivers didnt hide from fans or media in million dollar motorhomes. They didnt complain about packed schedules, crowded garages or too many interview requests.They called everything like it was and fear of sponsor backlash didnt stifle many personalities.So it was fitting to see Smoke mete out his own justice on Sunday, and to hear Kevin Harvick succicitly blast his crew after yet another race was lost in the pits. Across the border, on a road course in Canada, two teenagers waged a furious drag race to the checkered flag with a bid in NASCARs playoffs on the line for Cole Custer.But John Hunter Nemechek didnt care, bumped Custers Truck from behind, then the two bounced off each others doors as their trucks hurtled through the grass and to the finish line. As if that old-school finish wasnt wonderful enough for every NASCAR fan who wistfully remembers the good ol days, Custer used a running start to leap into the air and knock Nemechek to the ground as Nemechek tried to collect the checkered flag.Now watch, Custer will be punished by NASCAR for his post-race WWE impersonation, and future displays of raw emotion from young drivers will be throttled. Its not that NASCAR needs the drama, the theatrics, the fisticuffs, to be successful. Its just that people need a reason to care, and listening to a driver reel off a list of sponsors between praising downforce and tire wear isnt the sexiest sell.NASCAR needs new superstars, and NASCAR needs them to be engaging, entertaining and excited to be part of the show. Somehow, that message needs to be conveyed to these young drivers before the fan base leaves with Gordon, Stewart and all the other stars from that romantic time when NASCAR was fun. Custom Brian Roberts Jersey . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. 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BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- The final score might not have been historic, but it was sufficiently satisfying for a team trying to take the first step toward a historic gold medal in womens soccer.The Americans beat New Zealand 2-0 on Wednesday. Carli Lloyd scored the opening goal in the ninth minute, while Alex Morgan added the second in the opening minute of the second half.There were uneven moments and lulls that left a crowd to figure out the minimum attendance required to successfully pull off the wave (when it wasnt booing U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo with increasing delight every time she touched the ball). But in its sixth Olympics, the United States opened with a win for the fifth time.The United States remains in Belo Horizonte to play France on Saturday, a matchup of medal favorites and two of the top three teams in the world.More to come, but here are three observations from the Group G opener.1. Injury questions answeredWell, mostly answered. Some deft juggling at halftime marked Megan Rapinoes only appearance on the field once the game began. U.S. coach Jill Ellis elected not to give the veteran her first minutes since suffering a torn ACL in Hawaii in December.But it didnt take long to get a feel for the status of Morgan Brian and Tobin Heath, the other two health concerns entering the tournament. Both were in the starting lineup for the first time since June. And both, as Ellis suggested beforehand, looked ready for duty. That was particularly true of Heath, so easily overlooked but such a dynamic presence in wide spaces and on set-piece deliveries. She set up Lloyds opening goal and created several other chances.Squad rotation will be a common phrase here, but Heath looked indispensable enough to likely squeeze minutes from Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh or both.2. MMidfield questions remainThere is a difference between a problem and a question.dddddddddddd And after one game, the composition of the midfield behind Lloyd remains squarely in the camp of the latter. But there are questions as to how things best fit together after Ellis elected to pair Morgan Brian and Allie Long in the starting lineup for just the third time. That arrangement pushes up Brian to the No. 8 role, while Long fills the No. 6 role that Brian played through much of the World Cup (although rarely ever before that). And the arrangement pushes Lindsey Horan to the bench.Brian was able to slip in the ball that Morgan converted for the second goal, although Brian wasnt always a noticeable presence as the U.S. women went wide.Given that Ellis probably never intended to play Brian 90 minutes in her first start back, it made for an easy swap when Horan came on midway through the second half. And with the condensed schedule of this tournament, all three are going to play. Still, it leaves open the question of what happens against France? Ellis was pleased with the way her team played when those teams met earlier this year, and that was with Brian and Horan paired together to deny French possession.3. Carli Lloyd is agelessLloyd is effectively the same age in this tournament as Abby Wambach was when the World Cup began a year ago. That was a farewell tour, a role and minutes that had to be delicately managed. Lloyd at 34? Just put her out there for 90 minutes and let her score. She might have more memorable highlights than a looping header to the opposite post, but she put the ball in the net for the fifth game in a row at a major tournament. ' ' '