then posed for a photo with the five athletes, their ha

Last week in this web space, I really liked Chase Elliott as my top pick heading to Kansas. Coming off strong efforts at 1.5-mile tracks, Elliott again looked strong, running 23 fastest laps, but he ran into issues and finished 31st.Dont forget that performance when we get to the last two 1.5-mile track races of the season at Texas and Homestead.And dont forget that Kevin Harvick and the Gibbs duo of Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth combined to lead 251 of the 267 laps.But lets put that on the back burner, because this week were off to Talladega, and you clicked on my link for a little fantasy advice there.If youre not a new reader to my ramblings and fantasy nuggets, you know that the restrictor-plate tracks (Daytona and Talladega) bring out a whole different fantasy strategy. The style of racing there, with tight groups of cars caused by engine restriction rules, creates pack racing and evens the field.It also leads to giant wrecks that can take out more than half of the field. Thats the luck part of plate racing that can turn a great day into a disaster. And the rules that limit speed also make it so fastest laps are evenly spread throughout the field.With finishing position and fastest laps being up in the air, that only really leaves two scoring categories to strategize around. Laps led are also a crapshoot at Talladega. The only driver who regularly leads a lot at Talladega is Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he wont be racing this weekend.That leaves start/finish differential, which can give you huge positives or huge negatives. While these races usually produce winners who are regulars in Victory Lane, the volatility of where youll finish throughout the field means that youll want to put your team together almost based entirely around starting position.Ive been all about the pole sitter this season, but at Talladega, the pole sitter averages 14.6 DraftKings points per race, the lowest of any track.Considering a 40-driver field, the nine highest-scoring starting positions are all 29th or further back. And the nine worst fantasy averages come from those starting in top-15 starting positions.You should try to build around drivers you think you will get up front, but with no drivers simply starting and parking, theres value at the back of the field and really no drivers Id completely avoid.Keeping that in mind, here are my picks to get you started, looking just at drivers until the starting positions are set. But check back after qualifying for my final picks and fades.Im starting my team with:Two years ago, Brad Keselowski entered this race 10th in points and needing a victory to advance to the next round of the Chase. He won that race for 55 DraftKings points. This year, Keselowski enters the race 11th in the standings, in need of another win.But dont let that thought stand on its own. Take a look at the last two restrictor-plate races, both won by Keselowski. The last one, at Daytona in July, Keselowski led 115 laps for 78.75 points. This season, Keselowski has led 162 laps in restrictor-plate races, 55 more than any other driver.Keep an eye on these four:Kyle Busch: In the three restrictor-plate races this year, Busch has finished second twice and third in the other race. Dating back to last year, he has finished no worse than 17th in the last five plate races, and has led double-digit laps in the last four.Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500, but Im more impressed with the solid start/finish differential hes capable of here. In the last 10 plate races, Hamlin has averaged a +11.2 start/finish differential, with five races of +20 or better. Holding true to my rule above though, avoid him if he starts in the top 10. In his three races starting in the top 10 of those 10, his combined start/finish differential is -60.Michael McDowell: McDriver is just one of the off-the-radar drivers you should be considering at Talladega. In the three plate races this season, he has finished 10th, 21st and 15th. Why should you take him? He has started outside the top 30 in all three and has averaged 51.7 DraftKings points per race, twice finishing among the top-five fantasy drivers in the race.Cole Whitt: Copy above reasoning for Cole Whitt (who has one of those names that only sounds right when you say the entire thing). Cole Whitts average start in the three plate races this season is 35.0, and his average finish is 17.0. Cole Whitts resulting 51.6 DraftKings points per race are the fourth-best in plate races this season, trailing only Keselowski, Busch and McDowell. Adidas NHL Jerseys From China . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapnhljerseyssigned.com/ . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Wholesale Adidas NHL Jerseys . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Adidas NHL Jerseys Autographed . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. NEW YORK -- How do you follow winning Olympic gold at the Rio Olympics? How about a chance to see Hamilton on Broadway?The Tony Award-winning smash musical on Tuesday night welcomed the U.S. womens gymnastics team -- Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez -- who gave the show a standing ovation and greeted the cast onstage afterward at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.The gymnasts, dressed in skirts and rompers, sat together in Row G to take in Lin-Manuel Mirandas hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary, a night that had athletic gold meeting theatrical gold.I thought you were amazing, Raisman told Tony Award-nominee Brandon Victor Dixon, who just happened to be making his debut appearance replacing Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr.Gymnastics is my favorite Olympic sport, hands-down. Since the days of Kim Zmeskal, Ive been about the U.S. gymnastics team. So, I love these ladies. Im so proud of them. I worship them. I think theyre amazing and I got so hyped when I heard they were in the audience tonight, Dixon said.The U.S. womens team won gold while also winning its second straight Olympic title and third overall. The team won a total of nine medals, including a record-tying four gold medals for Biles.The women had to rush through Times Square -- at one point virtually sprinting through the crowds -- to get to the theater in time after taping The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at Rockefeller Plaza.Rhonda Faehn, senior vice president of USA Gymnastics womens program, said adding Hamilton to their busy post-Olympic schedule was an opportunity of a lifetime. WWhile they were in Rio, Biles coach would blast the Hamilton cast album for the athletes.dddddddddddd. It was just meant to be, Faehn said.The cast and crew took turns taking photos with the athletes after the show and Renee Elise Goldsberry, who plays Angelica Schuyler, brought her young daughter to meet the so-called Final Five. Goldsberry and her fellow Schuyler sisters -- Lexi Lawson and Jasmine Cephas Jones -- then posed for a photo with the five athletes, their hands in the air as they riffed off a lyric in the show by shouting Work!The show has been celebrated for putting African-American, Asian and Latinos at the center of Americas birth and the U.S. Olympic team is a mix of races and ethnicities -- black, white, Latina, Jewish.Theyre just like tiny versions of us, said Okieriete Onaodowan, who plays both Hercules Mulligan and James Madison. Its amazing but its also remarkable what theyre doing, just to be able to perform and not choke under that pressure. At a young age, to be able to perform that way and keep your cool? Im totally impressed.The night before, the Broadway cast welcomed U.S. swimmer Maya DiRado, who won two golds, a silver and bronze at Rio. She brought both of her gold medals to the show to share with the cast. She and the Final Five join a long list of celebrities at Hamilton including Beyonce, Kanye West, Bill Clinton, Julia Roberts, Eli Manning, Dave Matthews and Andre 3000.---Online: http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com---Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits ' ' '