James Starks and TE Jared Cook took part in practice Wednesday, and McCarthy seemed encouraged by their involvement. Starks hasnt played since Oct. 9 because of a knee injury, and Cook has bee

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmie Johnson has two victories this year, guaranteeing him a spot in the NASCAR postseason. He remains the only driver to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup in each of its 13 seasons.And yet the six-time Sprint Cup champion could really use a win.He hasnt run well. Thats putting it mildly. He has no top-10s in his past six races. Up next is Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a place where he has won four times, including three in championship seasons.If he ever raced at a track that could help boost his season, Johnson will race at one Sunday afternoon in the Brickyard 400.The magnitude of this race, in the red vest [Lowes paint scheme] car, the chance to tie Jeff [Gordon] as the winningest [driver at the Brickyard]?-- theres a lot of things to look to for motivation, Johnson said. But, man, it can honestly happen anywhere. Even at a road course.Johnson believes it is easier to run the Chase with some momentum but thats not a requirement to have a great Chase. Sometimes the Chase comes down to a simple part breaking, as what happened to Johnson last year at the end of the first round at Dover.So whats the big deal? Johnson said the big deal is the team hasnt had the speed.You could debate those results due to some crashes and stuff, but Im not trying to sugarcoat it at all, Johnson said. Were not where we want to be. Its been a couple of years since weve had the raw speed that we have grown accustomed to.There has been a lot of hard work and change that has gone on over the last three years, and were not stopping.The reason the team has put in so much work points to the realization that the answers arent readily available. The team tried a new short-track car for last week at New Hampshire, and it didnt perform as well as hoped. At least Johnson knows that when he returns there for the Chase.Based on history, we had some stuff weve been interested in trying and were like, Heck with it, lets try it, Johnson said.Unfortunately it didnt yield the success that we wanted. Now we know and we wont come back in the fall Saturday night [the night before the race] making a bad decision [on the setup].That was pretty indicative of how the season has gone for Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports as a whole. Johnson, in ninth, ranks best among Hendrick drivers in the standings this year.Unfortunately were not having the instant change that we would all hope we would find, Johnson said. Honestly, it tells us its not one thing. Its a lot of small things.I feel like the Chevrolet body, its the same one that was on the car when the SS started [in 2013] and hopefully we can get a little help there [from NASCAR]. I know the other manufacturers have had multiple changes.Any hopes of Chevrolet body changes wont come until next year. As far as the now, Johnson hopes that having Jeff Gordon substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. will provide a small benefit in a hugely negative situation.He believes Gordon might not only be able to see what is causing the issues, but also whether they need commitment from management to make some drastic changes, Gordon now can speak from the experience of being inside the car.As connected as he can be in literally living it and going into a management meeting or some kind of office meeting and be able to sit there with all honesty and a fresh opinion and say, Yeah, this is what we need to do, I think is helpful, Johnson said.Johnson compared it to being like Denver Broncos general manager John Elway getting back in the huddle.He is a huge, huge asset in being a former player but its been a while since hes been in the huddle, Johnson said. You look at Gordon evolving into that role potentially at Hendrick Motorsports, and, Oh by the way, I just played one of the biggest games of the year.He comes back in the room and has a fresh perspective.Team owner Rick Hendrick said his shop has become a salvage yard with wrecked cars. He hopes that Gordon can give Johnson and the rest a lift.Ive been doing this long enough that you cant stay on top forever, Hendrick said. You have to work hard to get back. And I think weve made a lot of improvements.I think well see some, hopefully, this weekend.That doesnt mean Johnson wants to see Gordon beat him to the finish line. Johnson needs that win. Hed get into Gordon -- or Earnhardt for that matter -- if he had to for the win.Which driver would Johnson rough up more?Thats a tough one, Johnson said with a laugh. Maybe Id feel bad if I had to put a fender to Junior because he doesnt have a Brickyard yet and Jeff has got five.It would be a little easier to lean on Jeff than Junior. ... Im in trouble either way. Fake Air Jordan 9 . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Fake Jordans For Sale . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. http://www.fakeairjordan.com/fake-air-jordan-26/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Fake Air Jordan 21 . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Fake Air Jordan 2 . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If the Green Bay Packers did indeed experience an energy shortage during last weeks loss to the Indianapolis Colts -- and Mike McCarthy did his best to walk back that narrative in the days following the defeat -- their coach does not believe that will be a problem again.Well play with great energy Sunday, McCarthy said Wednesday as his team began preparations for the first of three consecutive road games, a stretch that begins at Tennessee. Thats not a concern of mine.It was a concern at least in the immediate aftermath of the 31-26 loss to the Colts, as it was part of McCarthys postgame message to the team.Aaron Rodgers then publicly questioned the teams passion during his postgame press briefing, as did veteran offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga. Both players said the team lacked juice and that the vibe on the sideline was not an energetic one. They added that allowing a 99-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff should not have had such an impact on the teams mood.Our guys will bring it. Weve just got to get detailed. Thats really what our focus is on, McCarthy said. Were just paying attention to what matters and its about improvement.Asked how confident he is that his team will have the requisite energy this weekend, Rodgers replied, I expect everybody to come ready to play and prepared and excited about it. You know, we just need to weather some of the ups and downs a little bit better.Obviously not the way you want to start a game with the kickoff return for a touchdown, but we need to weather that a little bit better this week -- all of us, and itll start with me, Rodgers added. Ill make sure that our guys are ready to play and were enthusiastic about it and fired up to be out there, because its a great opportunity and a great privilege to do what we do and were not going to take it for granted.ddddddddddddA loss Sunday would put the Packers (4-4) below .500 for the first time since they started the 2014 season 1-2. The Packers havent been below .500 this late in the season since 2008, Rodgers first year as a starter following the teams ugly divorce from his quarterbacking predecessor, Brett Favre.That year, the Packers were 5-5 after 10 games but lost five straight and finished 6-10.The matchup that could decide the game Sunday figures to be the Packers No. 1-ranked run defense (75.8 yards per game) against the Titans third-ranked rushing offense (144.2 yards).Their run versus our run defense, its going to be a hell of an afternoon, McCarthy said. I think its a great matchup. I think its going to be a heck of a game.Game notes RB James Starks and TE Jared Cook took part in practice Wednesday, and McCarthy seemed encouraged by their involvement. Starks hasnt played since Oct. 9 because of a knee injury, and Cook has been sidelined since suffering a high ankle sprain on Sept. 25. They will need to do more work in Thursdays in-pads practice in order to play Sunday. . McCarthy said LB Clay Matthews, who hasnt played since Oct. 20 because of a hamstring injury, had not been evaluated because he was absent due to a positive personal experience on Tuesday. . The Packers re-signed safety Jermaine Whitehead to the practice squad after releasing him Monday from the 53-man roster.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '