TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Everyone expects the big one to happen at Talladega Superspeedway. For some reason, it never occurred Sunday. Oh sure, there was a wreck on the final lap, which allowed Jamie McMurray to coast to the victory under caution. But by the standards of this place, it was about as clean as can be. "Once you get toward the end, it usually gets more intense and everybody starts taking bigger risks," McMurray said. "I was listening to my spotter and he would say, A line is forming, but its not very organized and theyre not making up any ground. Im really surprised they couldnt put something together to make more of a run. Im shocked by that, actually. I thought guys would take bigger chances at the end." McMurray won for the first time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 2010, snapping a 108-race winless streak, and didnt even have to worry about a planned last-lap charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. after Dillon spun coming out of the second turn. The only other driver collected in the crash was Casey Mears, who slammed into Dillons car and sent it flying into the air before it came back down upright. Everyone was OK. "I was trying to go for the win there," said Dillon, who was filling in for injured Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car and competing in just his 12th Sprint Cup race. "A wild ride. I just have to thank NASCAR for everything they have done for safety. That hit was fine. I got to drive the car back" to the garage, though he settled for 26th after going to the final lap in third. A race known for massive crashes was essentially trouble free. There was a minor wreck early on when Marcos Ambrose got loose in front of the main grandstand and took out Juan Pablo Montoya, and 103 consecutive laps under green until the yellow and checkered flags waved together at the end. Earnhardt settled for second, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Paul Menard and Kyle Busch. "For some reason," Earnhardt said, "it was a lot calmer the last few laps." Jimmie Johnson steered around trouble and finished 13th, emerging from the race with the lead in the Sprint Cup standings. The five-time Cup champion passed Matt Kenseth for the top spot and has a four-point edge with four races remaining. Kenseth finished 20th. Busch and Kevin Harvick are tied for third, 26 points behind Johnson, with Jeff Gordon -- who had hoped Talladegas unpredictable nature might help him make a big push -- made up only two points and is 34 off the lead. "Thirteenth isnt the best finish," Johnson said, "but with what we are trying to do and win a championship, we beat the competition today. That is good." After running strong early in the 188-lap race, Kenseth dealt with an ill-handling car and lost several spots when he attempted to make a move late in the race. "It was really bizarre. Typically handling is a non-issue here," Kenseth said. "We finally got it fixed that last run, but we only had 20 laps to get back up there. I really needed to be up there like we were early and feeling I was controlling the race more." McMurray, who isnt part of the Chase, won for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and took a phone call in victory lane from car owner Chip Ganassi, still in California celebrating Scott Dixons championship in the IndyCar series the previous night. Earnhardt, a huge fan favourite at Talladega, had hoped to make his move going down the back straightaway on the final lap. He never got the chance. "I guess if were in that situation next time," Earnhardt said with a shrug, "well try to go a lap sooner." Johnson wound up leading 47 laps, Earnhardt 38 and Kenseth 32. McMurray led only one lap until he got to the front with 15 to go. He held that spot the rest of the way, showing again his knack for restrictor-plate racing. He has won twice each at Daytona and Talladega, accounting for more than half of his seven career victories. Three drivers -- Johnson, Earnhardt and Kenseth -- dominated the race until McMurray claimed the top spot after the final round of pit stops began with 25 laps to go. The typical Talladega pack -- 25 cars running within 3 seconds of each other -- formed at the front and began plotting ways to make a move without causing the massive wreck that always seems to occur at the 2.66-mile trioval. There was a bit of two- and three-wide jockeying before the leaders lined up single file, settling in for what turned out to be a relatively comfortable ride to the finish for McMurray. Even if the caution had not come out, Earnhardt wasnt sure if he had enough momentum to pass the leader. "I didnt have the greatest run," he said. "I wish I was in front." Nelson Cruz Jersey . 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Ken Griffey Jersey .com) - Robert Martin and Josh Hicks combined for more than 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns, as Rutgers rolled past North Carolina, 40-21, in the Quick Lane Bowl.TORONTO - The home locker-room at Air Canada Centre stayed closed for a few extra minutes on the night of Oct. 25. The Toronto Maple Leafs needed to clear the air after a demoralizing 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins.Basically, we had an agreement that that was enough, coach Randy Carlyle said. Enough was enough. Because we couldnt continue to go the way we were going, and our performance against Boston was one where in our minds and in their minds was unacceptable.Since that unacceptable performance, the Leafs are 3-0-0 with victories over the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks. The wins have moved them from 14th to seventh in the 16-team Eastern Conference.Along the way, the morale gradually improved. Taking care of business against lowly Buffalo led to what centre Nazem Kadri called a complete 180 after some tension amid the losing.Goaltender James Reimer, who on Saturday night became the first goaltender since 2008 with 25-plus saves and no goals allowed in a third period, didnt like how things were going.I think its one of those things where we werent all pulling on the same rope, for lack of a better word, Reimer said. We werent on the same page.Victories against stronger competition had the Leafs feeling pretty good about themselves going into this weeks Western Conference road trip.We knew what we were doing was unacceptable and we needed to get back to playing Toronto Maple Leaf hockey, said centre Peter Holland, who has a bigger role in the absence of injured forward Joffrey Lupul. When we play our brand of hockey were a good team, were tough to beat.The Leafs brand of hockey will get tested on the road, even if its not against the best of the West. They visit the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday before returning home to face the New York Rangers on Saturday.Our hockey club has played pretty good on the road, Carlyle said, referencingg the Leafs 3-0-1 road record.dddddddddddd You have to win on the road to climb in the standings.It could help the Leafs that they have some Western influence on the roster, including forwards Peter Holland (Anaheim Ducks), Daniel Winnik (Ducks and Coyotes) and Mike Santorelli (Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators) and defencemen Stephane Robidas (Ducks and Dallas Stars) and Roman Polak (St. Louis Blues). Even new assistant coach Peter Horachek had been in Nashville before a stop with the Florida Panthers.That certainly will help having Roman and Danny Winnik, myself, who have been in the Western Conference a lot, Horachek said last week. Randys been out there before, he came out there and (has an) understanding of some of the way teams play and some of the characteristics of some of the players. ... Any time you can have familiarity, I think it helps, for sure.It also doesnt hurt to have some momentum. Reimer said the teams confidence is in a good place right now, something Carlyle credited the players for.Captain Dion Phaneuf just sees it as the machinations of a season that are magnified in Toronto.Theres lots of ups and downs, Phaneuf said. Believe me, when youre in a market like this, you can feel the ups and the downs. ...But I think that we did a good job of sticking with it and turning it around because we werent feeling very good about ourselves about five, six days ago. We beared down, we talked about (how) we expected more out of each other and we expected more out of our team and weve shown that.Note — Before leaving for Phoenix, the Leafs recalled centre Sam Carrick and defenceman Stuart Percy from the AHLs Marlies. Carrick, who made his NHL debut Saturday night and then was sent down for salary-cap reasons, is expected to remain in the lineup as the fourth-line centre. 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