DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is admittedly scared by the daunting task of replacing crew chief Steve Letarte. Hell leave it up to team owner Rick Hendrick and management at Hendrick Motorsports, and theyve got the entire season to find a new crew chief. Letarte was formally introduced Friday as the third and final member of NBC Sports Groups broadcast booth for its NASCAR coverage beginning in 2015. Earnhardt and Letarte have been paired since 2011. Although the duo has just one win together, theyve made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship the past three seasons. More important, Letarte rebuilt the confidence in NASCARs most popular driver and instilled a structure around Earnhardt that the driver admits raised his professionalism in the race car. "The one thing that I fear is just trying to get a guy in there thats equally as talented," Earnhardt said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. "Steve is a great cheerleader and definitely built up my confidence and changed me as a race car driver and as a person. Working with him has really helped me grow. I think that my fear is can we replace Steve?" Earnhardt brought cousin Tony Eury Jr. with him to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. When that working relationship fractured, Hendrick replaced Eury with longtime company man Lance McGrew. Only that combination failed to produce results, so Earnhardt was paired with former Jeff Gordon crew chief Letarte when Hendrick made a massive organizational shake-up shortly after the 2010 season ended. Letartes influence on Earnhardt was immediate, so Earnhardt will once again put his trust in Hendrick. Hell also want Letarte and Jimmie Johnsons six-time championship winning crew chief Chad Knaus to be part of the decision making. Knaus works side-by-side with Earnhardts crew chief, so Earnhardt believes Knaus needs to have input. "It was Rick and upper management that decided to put me with Steve," Earnhardt said. "I didnt know exactly what was going to happen, but I just wanted to trust their judgment, and thats what Im going to do again. "I would love to have input from Chad Knaus and Steve. I think that Steve knows what makes this team work. Steve knows how I can be successful and how the individuals within the team can be successful. Its important that Chad has got a lot of influence because he knows how well the shop works together and what the culture is in the shop and how a guy, a particular guy may mesh in that environment." Letarte, meanwhile, finds himself in the unique position of entering his final season atop the pit box under an intensified spotlight to perform. Earnhardts popularity already brings immense attention and pressure to the No. 88 team, and with Letartes end-of-year exit looming, fans could be particularly harsh about results. Letarte believes it will be business as usual. "I think what makes this situation unique is Im not going to crew chief for another organization," he said. "Im not working on being a broadcaster in 2014, Im working on filling a trophy case, and to do that we have to win our first race." Letarte and Earnhardt first discussed the NBC opportunity in October, when Earnhardt heard rumours and summoned Letarte to his motorhome to discuss the whispers, and Letarte kept his driver involved as he weighed his decisions. Ultimately, after 19 years in the garage, it was the ability to spend more time with his two children that made the NBC job more attractive than continuing as a crew chief. "I dont think Ive ever hidden it from anyone that my family has always been my No. 1 priority," Letarte said. "If it comes down to if Im going to be unsuccessful in anything I do, being a father shouldnt be on the list. So Im going to put that one first, and this allows me to put that one first and still be in a sport that I love and join a great team." Earnhardt can respect that. "For me personally, it was difficult. And the more I sat down with him and talked about it, the more it made sense and the more I understood his situation, and I could put my own selfishness aside and kind of understand what was important to him and how this was good for him," Earnhardt said. "He deserves these opportunities and hes earned it." Dwyane Wade Heat Jersey . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Alonzo Mourning Heat Jersey . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Bam-Adeba...ion-Jersey/.com) - Novak Djokovic easily took care of Andy Murray to reach the final at the $2. Tyler Johnson Jersey . THE MICHAEL JORDAN FLU GAME First this famous basketball moment. The story goes like this. “Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordans most memorable. Jeremiah Martin Jersey .com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league.The defending Stanley Cup champions will begin the second round on home ice, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild at United Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Watch the Blackhawks vs. Wild live tonight on TSN2 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. This series is rematch of a 2013 postseason matchup, as the Wild were the Blackhawks first victim in their march to the Cup last year. Chicago knocked Minnesota out of the first round in five games, losing only Game 3 on the road and holding a 17-7 edge in scoring. That was the first playoff meeting between these clubs, but the Wild can lean on the fact they went 3-1-1 versus the Blackhawks this season, splitting two games in Chicago. Game 2 of this series also will be staged in the Windy City on Sunday afternoon. For a little while, the Blackhawks quest to repeat as NHL champions appeared as if it was going to come to an end with a first-round exit. Then the Blackhawks reminded everyone just whey they are coming off their second Stanley Cup in four years. It looked as if Chicagos inability to claim home-ice advantage in its quarterfinals matchup with the St. Louis Blues would be the difference, as the Blackhawks lost a pair of overtime decisions to begin the set. That included a triple-overtime setback in Game 1 at Scottrade Center and the fact that the Hawks followed up with another 4-3 overtime setback in Game 2 could have left the club with slumped shoulders going back to the Windy City. Instead of rolling over, the Blackhawks got a 34-save shutout from Corey Crawford to win Game 3 before Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews potted back-to- back overtime-winning goals in Games 4 and 5. Toews then started a four-goal barrage in the third period of Game 6s series-clinching 5-1 win. Toews showed why he wears the captains "C" on his jersey as all three of his goals in the series were game-winners and he matched defenseman and Norris Trophy nominee Duncan Keith for the club lead with seven points. Toews was one of six multi-goal scorers for the Blackhawks in the series, with Kane also potting three goals. Keith and fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook added two goals and Seabrook finished with six points despite missing three games due to suspension for a hit to the head in Game 2. As expected, the duo of Keith and Seabrook logged a ton of minutes. Keith was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes a game, while Seabrook averaged 27 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time. Hell need to maintain his discipline in Round 2. Chicago also had the best penalty kill percentage coming out of the first round, limiting St. Louis to two goals on 29 chances. Crawford, meanwhile, settled down after a rough start to keep the Blackhawks chances of becoming the first repeat champions since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings alive. Rocked for eight goals in the two losses, Crawford followed up his third career postseason shutout by yielding just six goals on 98 shots over the final three games. He ended the series with a 2.03 goals against average and .926 save percentage. The Wild survived Round 1 despite playing from behind seemiingly the whole time during their quarterfinals matchup with the Central Division champion Colorado Avalanche.dddddddddddd A road team did not win a game in the series until Minnesotas 5-4 victory in Game 7. In that contest, the Wild overcame four one-goal deficits, getting a game-tying goal with 2:27 left in regulation before Nino Niederreiters tally 5:02 into overtime. Niederreiters second goal of the game capped the latest comeback of the series for the Wild. They trailed 2-0 in the series after losing the first two on the road and then were behind 3-2 ahead of a Game 6 victory. Rookie netminder Darcy Kuemper was seen as the savior at the early portion of the series, relieving Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2 and going perfect with 14 saves. He then allowed just one goal in total in back-to-back home victories, including a defensive 22-save gem in Game 3. Like the rest of Minnesotas roster, Kuemper showed an ability to bounce back, following up a Game 5 defeat with a 21-save effort in the next game to extend the series. However, Kuemper was forced to exit Game 7 after 51 minutes of action due to an unknown injury and Bryzgalov had to make just one save in 13 minutes and 15 seconds of relief before Niederreiters goal. The injury will leave Bryzgalov as the starter for at least Game 1 of this series and he posted just a 4.25 goals against average and .826 save percentage in his three games that totaled 112:41 of ice time. John Curry, a 30-year-old journeyman, will suit up as Bryzgalovs backup. Curry has seen action in six career NHL games and none in the playoffs. Head coach Mike Yeo said that Kuemper is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury following Fridays morning skate. Minnesota has made it to the playoffs in both seasons since signing forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter to monster contracts and both were solid in Round 1. Parise had three goals and seven assists, tying him with three other players -- two of those on the Avalanche -- for the postseason lead in points. Mikko Koivu was second on the club with six points off a goal and five helpers. Suter, meanwhile, averaged 29:47 of ice time and had a goal with three assists to lead Wild defensemen in points. Thirteen different skaters scored a goal for the Wild against the Avalanche, with Charlie Coyle matching Parise for the team lead with three. Youngsters Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund added two each along with veteran Kyle Brodziak, while blueliners Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella also scored twice. Kuemper won his only start versus Chicago this season, stopping 33-of-34 shots faced at home in January, while Bryzgalov took a shootout loss in Chicago. Bryzgalov is 8-6-5 with a 2.51 GAA lifetime versus the Blackhawks. Crawford, meanwhile, went 2-2-0 with a 2.98 GAA in four games versus the Wild this season. Kane had three goals and two assists versus the Wild in 2013-14 Toews, though, was held to just a pair of assists. Parise had two goals against Chicago in the season series, while Suter had three assists and Granlund four helpers. ' ' '