Die Allianz T-D-P » even former coach Johnny Daw

During this most divisive election year, there have been questions about whether Donald Trump, 70, and Hillary Clinton, 68, are too old to hold this nations highest office. Athletes in this age range are long retired -- and their coaches often are too. Grandparents at this age are being asked by their children if perhaps they might not need to be driving long distances or getting behind the wheel at night. ?John Force is 67 years old, and last weekend he earned a record-extending victory by driving his Chevy Funny Car 319.45 mph, covering the 1,000-foot dragstrip in 3.965 seconds.Juan Ponce De Leon died 495 years ago this month after being shot in the thigh by a poisoned arrow during his second trip to Florida, a place he had named, where he had continued to search for the fountain of youth. Poor Ponce was looking in the wrong place. The fountain of youth is located a full continent away from the Florida coast. Its in Yorba Linda, California, and the liquid that flows through it is not water. Its nitromethane -- with a little Peak antifreeze mixed in for good measure.On Sunday afternoon in Denver, Force gulped from that fountain on live television, earning his unmatched 144th career NHRA finals victory and checking off the mind-bending 29th season that he has won at least one national event. This win might set the stage for an autumn run at a 17th Funny Car championship.There are more statistics to list, but there isnt time. Force is already on to the next race, this weekend at the Sonoma Raceway. Thats cool, because theres really only one stat that matters here. Its the one number that automatically puts all the others into perspective. Those 67 years.His children arent demanding that he hand over the keys. On Sunday in Denver, he defeated one of his four daughters, 28-year-old Courtney. His grandchildren arent begging him to slow down and drive them to the toy store. On Sunday, long after the grandstand had been emptied, Force was making one more run up and down the Denver dragstrip, this time at a near crawl, piloting a scooter with his toddler grandson riding in his lap.This is who John Force is now. He has always been a prodigious talker. But now his legendary 300 mph rants are packed with reflection and philosophy.We are all put here on this earth to do something, whether its to be the governor of a state or the guy who empties the governors trash cans, he said earlier this year. I used to think I was put on this earth to be nothing. Then I thought I was put on here to be a football player. Well, you know what? I wasnt great at football and I really wasnt great at being nothing. Then I thought I was put here to go 300 miles per hour, setting myself on fire and blowing myself up for these fans out there. I am pretty good at that. ...But now I realize thats just part of my purpose. These kids, these grandkids, my wife, thats my purpose, man. I tried racing when I didnt include them as much. Thought I was having fun. I wasnt. Now were having fun. And Ill be doing that until my time here is done.For mere mortals, that time would have been done multiple times over. He isnt being hyperbolic when he speaks of setting myself on fire and blowing myself up. Hes done both multiple times. So many times that in the 2011 Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine -- the one that fills its pages with photos of youthfulness titled Bodies We Want -- there was a two-page spread of Force, then 62, buck naked with descriptions of the scars that crisscross his skin like a Rand McNally Road Atlas. Burned off fingertips, a knee that looks like a zipper, and a sewn-up hole where a bone used to be sticking out of his wrist.It was titled The Body You Dont Want.Force has lost blood, skin and his closest friends. Still, he races on. In 2007 his protégé Eric Medlen was killed via a brain injury so horrific that it has been hard for physicists, let alone physicians, to describe. Force didnt walk away. Instead, he led a wave of safety innovations that have changed the sport, even while rivals questioned every step of the process.Forces physical aches and pains are nearly matched by the pitfalls of his business. It wasnt so long ago that his auto manufacturer unexpectedly walked away. So did his sponsors.People say to me, Why in the world do you keep digging out of holes to keep doing this? he said earlier this spring, when he was mired in the one-year winless streak that was eventually snapped in Denver. Ive been digging out of holes my whole life. I had polio when I was kid. I grew up in a trailer. Yeah, Ive won a lot of races, but you know what? I raced for a dozen years before I even won a race. Why do I keep going? Because my life came without a safety net, man. If I dont keep swinging on that trapeze deal like I do, guess what? Splat.Force is an astronaut without NASA. Hes a stuntman whos never heard Cut! Hes Evel Knievel played with the fast-forward button pressed to 8X. Out here, away from the drag strip, we might wonder why he keeps going. But down there, on Nitro Alley, where the fans line up six-deep, wearing gas masks and 20-year-old John Force T-shirts, screaming his name and laughing along to every diatribe, they never ask when hes going to stop.They just want one whiff of that nitro, one quick shot of 300 mph wisdom. One quick sip from Ponce De Forces Fountain of Youth. Adidas NMD γυναικεια . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Adidas NMD R2 γυναικεια . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.nmdgreece.com/ . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Adidas NMD προσφορες .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Adidas pharrell williams ελλαδα . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. STANFORD, Calif. -- At the family home in South Lake Tahoe, Carol Haase sent her husband out to the shed to search for just the right pieces of wood.The creative mother of five had begun planning yet another important project in a long list of them for her kids. Son Jerod Haase, in his first season as Stanford mens basketball coach, had commissioned her to create a pair of wood-burning art pieces -- including one for outside the Cardinal locker room at Maples Pavilion.He requested three words: Invested. Tough. Selfless.And he asked for another piece to hang in his office with a space for former players to sign it when they return to visit campus.After coaching stops at alma mater Kansas, North Carolina and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Haase is ready to put down roots on The Farm. He hopes to build a program that, eventually, contends year in and year out again like it did for decades before.For him, that starts by thoughtfully incorporating the programs past success while imparting his own philosophies on a new team.Ive come to really believe in culture, Haase said. When I first became a head coach, we had a lot of conversations on the staff, `Is culture a real thing? or `How important is it? After my second year at UAB, I really jumped all in. The idea of, we have to develop a culture and know who we are because if we want to get to a certain spot and a certain level of success, there have to be some foundational pieces that we have.Our core values at UAB were different than they are here. When I got here, I knew they would be different. Stanford is a different place, this is going to be a different team. Were going to have a different vision for our program.Those three words -- invested, tough and selfless -- are ones Haase hopes define Stanford for years to come.It took him a long time to pick the words, said Carol, a former elementary and middle school art and English teacher who still fires clay work in her kiln.The Cardinal, picked to place 10th in the Pac-12, are off to a 6-3 start and currently on their December break for final exams. Players are greeted by the reminder of the teams philosophy with the wood burning every time they open the locker room door.Thats something were trying to do for life, senior guard Marcus Allen said.Haase is trying to move the program forward whiile leaning on its history.dddddddddddd Former Stanford star Casey Jacobsen is a part-time practice player, and Haase has spoken a handful of times with Golden State Warriors assistant coach and former Cardinal center Jarron Collins since taking over in March. Collins hopes his demanding NBA schedule permits him to get to a practice one day soon.He sent out emails. He does a really good job of reaching out, Collins said. They sent out all their literature and bios on the coaches. Theyve set up an email service. He seems fiery, and thats important. Im excited for his start, and I hope he does well.Haase spoke to more than two dozen former players and successful longtime ex-Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. There was also input sought from current players, and even former coach Johnny Dawkins when they ran into each other on the recruiting trail.The basketball has come along nicely, though Haase said it would be baby steps at first. Even with 10 of the top scorers returning , building cohesion was among Haases first priorities. Of course, Stanford had a strong opportunity to bond during a season-opening trip last month to Shanghai, where it beat Harvard. The Cardinal also went through a Navy Seals training course.Haase took about four months choosing those three key words, saying, I have pages and pages of notes of getting thoughts from everyone about what they think the program is, what it needs to be if were going to be successful, what is important.If Im lucky enough to be the coach here for 25 years, our core values, I would be shocked if they changed, he said.Haase is settling in at the university he once thought hed attend . He walks his kids to school most days before strolling to his office. He continues to appreciate what Stanford offers, thrilled to have the full support of Hall of Fame womens basketball coach Tara VanDerveer and Rose Bowl-winning football coach David Shaw.All that effort has helped Haase quickly establish trust with his players.He knows what he wants, Allen said. He leads by example. Coach Haase brings a level of energy and just a level of being very personable, almost like hes a player. Hes right there, hes right in your ear telling you things. ' ' '