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Nick Dal Santo could be forgiven for feeling slightly envious of the young Western Bulldogs captivating run to the AFL premiership.With the bulk of the Bulldogs team tasting glory this year after only a handful of finals matches each, the former North Melbourne and St Kilda star was left wondering what hed done wrong to narrowly miss out on a flag on multiple occasions.That Saturday was a tough one, Dal Santo told Melbourne radio station RSN on Wednesday, a day after announcing his retirement.I was a little bit emotional that day knowing I never got that.Dal Santo retired on 322 games after being part of the shock Kangaroos cull that also saw Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie and Michael Firrito depart Arden Street at the end of the season.The three-time All Australian midfielder played in two losing grand finals with St Kilda.In 2009, the Saints were beaten by 12 points by Geelong before drawing the 2010 decider with Collingwood and being soundly beaten in the sequel.He also played in preliminary finals with North Melbourne in 2014 and 2015 after joining the club at the end of the 2013 season.Ive put in 15 years work to try and get one of those and you feel like weve missed out so many times, Dal Santo said.Jeez, we did everything we could and we just missed out twice.Nonetheless, Dal Santo was full of praise for the premiers, who won the clubs first flag in 62 years after finishing seventh on the ladder, hailing his amazing cousin and Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli.Im absolutely rapt for him that hes been able to achieve and he had an amazing year and deserves everything he gets, he said.Thats the thing I love about our game as well and I think the competition becoming so more at an even level, its fantastic the Bulldogs can come from where they did.I just love the idea that anyone can win at any particular game during the year, let alone finals.Dal Santo said he was always a long shot to extend his playing career at a third club after North Melbournes elimination in week one of the finals, receiving a couple of little nibbles of interest for his services.(But) it got to the point where there wasnt enough (interest) to be able to weigh it up anyway, he said. 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Roquan Smith Bears Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- We interrupt a season of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota dominance on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series oval tracks to bring news of a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota win on the Watkins Glen International road course.?Denny Hamlin was the man in front when the checkered flag fell to end the Cheez-It 355, a race that nobody seemed to want to win.?It was a race that Hamlin didnt even think he would start. The 35-year-old Virginian woke Sunday morning with back spasms, barely able to move.?Despite enduring pain he described as the worst he had ever experienced during the course of a race, Hamlin maintained his poise while many others lost theirs.?The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry took the lead on a late restart and paced the last 10 laps to cross the line ahead of the Team Penske Fords of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Meanwhile the rest of the field self-destructed in their wake.?By NASCAR road racing standards, this was a strangely unsatisfying affair with a pair of red flags and a series of crashes in the second half of the race that eliminated the usual fuel-mileage-strategy tension.?There was sloppiness in the pits too, with 18 of the 40 drivers penalized for some kind of pit road infraction.?Eight drivers led laps during the 90-lap contest, and seven of them could legitimately say they had a shot at the win.?Martin Truex Jr. came closest, getting his Toyota to within a few feet of Hamlins similar car entering the last turn of the last lap. But Keselowski came in even hotter and spun Truex out and down to a seventh-place finish.?The biggest drama of the afternoon was whether there would be a postrace contretemps between Keselowski and Truex, who rammed and sideswiped Keselowkis car on the cool-down lap.?Keselowski quickly apologized to Truex for wrecking him, but by then, Hamlin was executing a quarter-mile long victory burnout down the pit straight.?It was Hamlins first Sprint Cup race win on a road course in 22 starts. More importantly, he felt vindication after blowing his chance to win on the Sonoma Raceway road course in June when he made a mistake on the last lap, allowing Tony Stewart to claim a surprise victory.?This time, Hamlin was error-free, left to ponder on how he managed to win a race he questioned whether he would be able to start.?Today I slept wrong or something, and woke up and knew I was in pretty big trouble, he said. If it was Friday or Saturday, no question, I wouldnt have turned one lap today. It wass by far the worst conditions Ive ever had to drive in, over the knees or anything else.dddddddddddd By far the worst pain-wise that Ive had to go through.?Hamlin who has driven with torn ACLs in both knees in the past, texted his crew chief Mike Wheeler the news, and an emergency plan was put in place to put Xfinity Series Chase grid leader Erik Jones in the No. 11 FedEx car if necessary.?Thats not something you really want to hear, said Wheeler, describing the wake-up text. You could tell he was in pain in the drivers meeting and there was nothing that could be done today to fix it.?At the end of the day, I know he mans up when he needs to, Wheeler continued. He definitely gets that attitude going in the car when he knows he has a winning car and can run out front. He knows the situation he was in, youve got to tough it out, and he did.Hamlin qualified sixth and prior to suffering the back spasms, was confident about his race prospects. He said the Gibbs team made changes since Sonoma that improved his feel for the car under braking.?That came in handy on a restart with 10 laps to go. Kyle Busch raced Keselowski so hard into Turn 1 that they both missed the corner, allowing Hamlin to dart through into a lead he would not relinquish.?Truex was in position to challenge for the win or complete a 1-2 finish for Toyota until Keselowski took him out on the last lap.?I saw them shoot forward and lunge into the corner and I knew there was no possible way to get out with any sensible speed, Hamlin said. It was my opportunity when they slid up the race track, and we executed and came through.?Hamlin said that his biggest disappointment in his narrow miss at Sonoma was not completing the cycle of victories on all types of tracks that NASCAR races on. The win Sunday at Watkins Glen ticked that box.?It wasnt a fluke -- thats the biggest thing, Hamlin said. Sometimes guys run up front at a road course and youre like Where did that come from? because it happens once.?But I really think weve turned the corner with all of our Toyota teams, he continued. When you have multiple cars with speed like we do, when one makes a mistake, theres another one there to pick up the pieces. We were there to pick up the pieces today.?What make it feel extra special is when it was game time, when it was go time, we got it done. ' ' '