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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Joe Gibbs Racing fielded two of the four entries competing for the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crown Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the JGR Toyotas driven by Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch appeared to have the speed necessary to win the Ford EcoBoost 400.Then the stock car team owned by the Hall of Fame football coach fumbled late in the contest.Edwards was running second in the race and leading the four championship contenders as the field lined up for a restart with 10 laps remaining, with Busch not far behind.But Edwards attempt to block a fast-charging Joey Logano triggered a nine-car wreck and instantly took him out of the championship equation. Busch was then called in for a questionable stop for tires that left him too far behind for the green-white-checkered overtime finish to challenge race (and championship) winner Jimmie Johnson.For much of the 267-lap contest, Edwards looked like the driver to beat in terms of the championship, usually holding the upper hand over final four challengers Busch, Logano and Johnson. He led eight times for a total of 47 laps.Edwards and Busch were disputing second place (and the lead of the championship) behind race leader Kyle Larson in the closing stages when Dylan Lupton grazed the Turn 2 wall to bring out the caution on Lap 253.Larson maintained the lead in the pits and Edwards lined up on the inside of the front row for the restart. Meanwhile, a slow pit stop dropped Busch to sixth place.When the green flew to start the 258th lap, Logano immediately shot to Edwards inside. Edwards steered hard left, forcing both cars off the racetrack toward the inner wall on the approach to Turn 1.Logano caught his fishtailing car and continued into the corner. Edwards wasnt so lucky. After pounding the inside wall, the orange Camry shot up the track and was collected at near full speed by Kasey Kahnes Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, shoving it slightly airborne and into hard contact with the outer wall.Six other cars were swept in, including the Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr., which briefly caught fire. None of the drivers was injured, but Edwards championship hopes were as badly damaged as his mangled race car.Five years removed from when he ended up second to Tony Stewart in the most memorable championship finish in Chase history, Edwards once again came away from Homestead empty-handed.They put it in my hands and thats all you can ask for, Edwards said. [Crew chief] Dave Rogers, my guys, everybody, they did a good job. It didnt work out. This is life. We performed well. We did our best. I just risked too much.Dave told me before this race that its a pretty big reward [the championship] and remember risk gets reward, he continued. I just had to push it. I couldnt go to bed tonight and think that I gave him that lane.Edwards stopped at Loganos pit to share a few words with Logano crew chief Todd Gordon. Despite the accident, there was no animosity from Logano or his team.Its cool that Carl came up and said that because I dont blame him, Logano remarked.?It was great racing. I understand why he had to throw the block and he understands why I had to make the move because that was for the win. That was the only shot that I had. That was for the race and with 10 [laps] to go, what do you expect?? Its for a championship.Thats just racing, he added. It hurt both of us, ultimately Carl a little bit more, but its unfortunate.While Edwards was out of the race, classified 34th, Logano and Busch were still in the thick of the championship battle -- and Logano indirectly influenced Buschs race.Logano pitted for minor repairs and fresh tires after a 31-minute red flag to clean up Edwards wreck. On the subsequent restart, he shot through the field from eighth place to third, flying past Busch in the process.The yellow flew again, and crew chief Adam Stevens called Busch in for tires. But he was mired deeper in the pack than Logano was, and while Logano finished fourth in the race, second among championship contenders, Busch could work his way back up only to sixth.We had one straightaway on our tires, and they [Logano] came in and put tires on and they just blitzed right up through the middle and got to us before we even got to Turn 1, Busch said. That just kind of killed it and ruined our race.All in all, we fought hard tonight, he added. We gave it everything we had. We didnt have the greatest race car today, but we had enough of one that we could run with those guys. All things considered, we had a really good run tonight -- just not good enough.It was a disappointing end to the 2016 campaign for the Gibbs organization, which at times during the season looked like it might put all four of its drivers into the Chase final.JGR cars led the most laps in 12 of the years 36 races, with the satellite Furniture Row Racing entry driven by Truex Jr. adding four more.But the Toyota attack fell short at Homestead. After Edwards and Busch led the race for the championship through 90 percent of the race, Johnson and Chevrolet snuck away with the title.They [Johnsons team] were nowhere all day, and just kind of ran around in sixth but never really showed their hand at all, Busch said. They didnt really show any speed, never led any laps until the last one -- and thats the only one that really matters.Busch at least has the satisfaction of knowing that he has a Cup Series title on his résumé. For Edwards, who has finished second in the standings twice (2008 and 2011), the wait -- and the weight -- continues.He vows to return stronger than ever.I was so proud of my guys and so happy with the performance, Edwards said. That run to catch Kyle and pass him, that was everything I had. That was the drive of my life and it didnt yield a championship, but I have a lot of pride in how we performed.I am telling you, this team is going to be on fire next year, he added. You watch out -- this is going to be awesome.Brandon Roy Jersey . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. 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Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory.PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- VCU coach Will Wade got the response he wanted to a loss.Jonathan Williams scored a career-high 22 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 3:59 left to help the Rams hold off St. Johns 75-69 on Thursday night in Battle 4 Atlantis consolation bracket.JeQuan Lewis added 15 points for the Rams (4-1), who had lost 71-63 to No. 20 Baylor in Wednesdays tournament opener. VCU led by eight late in the first half and was tied with about 8 minutes left in that one.Wed been preparing for that for a while -- we put a ton into that game, Wade said. It was a little bit of a gut-punch when we had the lead in the second half and couldnt close it out. So Im really proud of the way our guys responded.Williams, a junior from Richmond, Virginia, came into the tournament averaging 7.3 points but hit 8 of 15 shots and 6 of 7 free throws to go with six assists with one turnover in 34 minutes.We all came together as a team and was like, `The most energized team is going to win, Williams said.Williams drive gave VCU a 67-65 lead, then Lewis had a driving score of his own. Lewis and Mo Alie-Cox went 4 for 4 at the foul line in the last 13 seconds to help seal the win on a night when both teams blew double-digit leads -- St. Johns by 13 in the first half, VCU by 11 with about 14 minutes left.Shamorie Ponds scored 18 points to lead the Red Storm (2-3), who made their first eight shots in the game but shot just 28 percent (8 of 29) after halftime. The Red Storm had lost to No. 24 Michigan State in its Atlantis opener after leading early in the second half of that one.I think we played a good game but didnt finish it off, Red Storm coach Chris Mullin said. We probably pplayed 25-30 good minutes last game, probably about 30 tonight.ddddddddddddWeve got to get it to 40 minutes.BIG PICTUREVCU: The Rams can at least feel good that they came up with the key plays in the final 4 minutes of a tie game, a good sign for a team that couldnt quite figure out how to stay in front of No. 20 Baylor in its Atlantis opener Wednesday.St. Johns: Other than that game-opening burst, the Red Storm struggled with their shooting again. They shot just 31 percent against No. 24 Michigan State then followed that by finishing at 41 percent Thursday.Weve basically played our fifth game together, so some of that takes time, Mullin said. Weve just got to keep working at it and break through it. ... Weve got to keep working and understand we are getting better, were getting closer.TIP-INSVCU: Alie-Cox scored 15 points... VCU shot 42 percent and had just nine turnovers. ... The Rams scored 14 points off turnovers. ... Justin Tillman had 13 rebounds.St. Johns: Redshirt freshman guard Marcus LoVett came in averaging 23.3 points but finished with 10 on 4-for-13 shooting. ... Bashir Ahmed scored 13 points. ... St. Johns finished with a 40-36 rebounding advantage. ... Kassoum Yakwe had six blocked shots.UP NEXTVCU: The Rams will play LSU, who beat Old Dominion later Thursday, in Fridays fifth-place game.St. Johns: The Red Storm will face ODU in Fridays seventh-place game.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '