ould ruffle traditionalists and alienate an already frustrated longtime fan base. From the marketing standpoint, not everyone will look favorably upon

Fun. Edgy. Fun. Global. Fun.Those buzzwords rang through the NASCAR news conference last week when the league introduced Monster Energy as the sponsor of its Cup series, or whatever it chooses to call it in the future.The news conference included two mentions of global and three references to edgy ... but fun -- a fun, fun, fun 10 times.It sounds good. It sounds like last Thursday could go down as a historic day in the sport. Or at least a fun day.The potential appears awesome, and the storyline sounds so, so fun and good. But thinking NASCAR just landed a sponsor with a florescent green wand that will magically wave and automatically create great things for the sport would rate as a stretch of the imagination.If the NASCAR-Monster pairing provided the perfect deal, they would have gotten it done six months ago and not late Wednesday night or Thursday morning of banquet week. Both sides had such little time to prepare for the news conference, they didnt have an elaborate plan, leading to even more speculation to what Monster intends to do with the sports premier asset.While Monsters consumer fan base trends younger, those fans wont migrate to NASCAR just because their favorite energy drink sponsors the sport. If they did, they would have followed Ricky Carmichael or Travis Pastrana. Those famous athletes didnt win as they had in their motocross and X Games endeavors, and their fans loved them because they won and because of their personalities.So NASCAR cant just slap a logo on a bunch of NASCAR drivers, have some Supercross (and even recent Monster signee Tiger Woods) show up at the track and expect those ages 18 to 34 to fall in love with the sport.It could expose NASCAR to a new group of fans, but NASCAR will need to make the most of it. It seems strange that people seem to still stick to the philosophy that if someone goes to a race, that person will turn into a fan for life. Tracks wouldnt remove seats if that philosophy proved true.NASCAR doesnt need all those fans -- it just needs some of those fans -- and hopefully with the cars having less downforce in 2017, the competition will build on a strong 2016 season on the track.The gnawing question: What will Monster get from this relationship?Monster has money to burn -- its net income for the first nine months of 2016 was $539 million. Its market cap, the combined worth of all of its stock based on the current stock price, sat at $25.63 billion at the close of trading Monday. For comparison, International Speedway Corp. had a market cap of $1.67 billion, Lowes $63.43 billion and ESPNs parent company, The Walt Disney Co., $159.1 billion.Monster Energys revenues rank it 787th on the Fortune 1000 list, up from 875th a year earlier with a revenue increase of 10.5 percent and profit increase of 13.2 percent in 2015 from 2014. About 23 percent of its gross sales come from outside the United States.So did Monster just buy the series -- for what some would consider at an estimated $20 million to $25 million a similar amount to the sponsorship of one full-time Cup car on a prominent team -- because it can? Part of having an edgy persona requires doing the unconventional.That edginess could ruffle traditionalists and alienate an already frustrated longtime fan base. From the marketing standpoint, not everyone will look favorably upon the scantily clad Monster Energy girls. And what will Monster want on the competition side?Will Monster try to influence race formats to try unconventional ideas to attract millennial fans? As the whole Chase concept has evolved, NASCAR hasnt shied away from unconventional, but every step will serve as a test of whether it goes too far.NASCAR executive vice president Steve ODonnell appears as the executive most likely to sit in the crosshairs as his job will include saying yes or no to any stir-the-pot ideas that conflict with competition philosophy. ODonnell perfectly fits that role -- he has pushed for change while also trying to balance it with NASCARs historical roots -- but even his strong diplomacy skills inside and outside the garage could receive a mighty test.Monster Energy obviously faces a hurdle as an energy drink, and it remains a legal target by certain families who blame the drink for ailments and even deaths of loved ones. Monster doesnt market to children under 12, while some in Congress have urged energy drink companies not to market to anyone under 18.But all companies have challenges, and Monster and NASCAR (which navigated the world of cigarette marketing for decades) at least know what they signed up for. Or at least they should.Among those things, they should know Monster enters a sport with drivers who already have deals with beverage companies.At least in the relationships I have, I know everybody wants to grow the sport, said Gatorde-sponsored and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Sure, Im going to get out of my race car, Im going to drink a Gatorade; Im not going to drink a Monster Energy drink.I am sure there will be some collaboration and support from both sides.If thats the biggest issue, then NASCAR did better than some of the other sponsors it apparently considered that could have had much bigger conflicts. The only primary sponsorship conflict at the moment appears to be the 5-Hour Energy deal with Erik Jones, and many consider energy-shot and energy-drink markets as different.So what to make of the Monster deal? Well, maybe look at it a lot like the product itself. For some, it makes their day go much easier. For others, it doesnt have as much of a boosting impact.Life is about the ride, and NASCAR has paired with a company that promotes the motto Unleash The Beast. In a sport of many leashes, it could end up entertaining -- ahem, fun -- to watch, if nothing else.Jerry Tillery Youth Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Kellen Winslow Chargers Jersey . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-dan-fouts-jersey.html . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Mike Williams Chargers Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Derwin James Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in.PHOENIX -- Brandon McCarthy felt out of synch, spent most of his night battling, hoping batters would hit balls right at his fielders. They did, for the most part, allowing Arizonas hitters time to come alive and give the right-hander his first winning streak since being struck on the head by a line drive last season. McCarthy pitched seven effective innings for his second straight win and Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run double to cap Arizonas five-run seventh inning, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. "Today isnt a whole lot dissimilar than some of my starts earlier in the year where luck was on my side with some of it," McCarthy said. McCarthy (2-3) may not have had his best stuff, but he worked his way through it, long enough for the Diamondbacks to break open a tight game. Arizona had two hits over the first six innings against Eric Stults (4-4), the hits started to fall in the seventh. Martin Prado had a run-scoring double, pinch-hitter Wil Nieves followed with another and A.J. Pollock added an RBI single for his third hit. Goldschmidt capped it with a double off Anthony Bass to put Arizona up 5-1. Everth Cabrera led off the eighth inning with a homer off David Hernandez and the Padres had two on in the ninth, but Heath Bell worked around the trouble for his seventh save to send the Padres to their third straight loss. "Stultsie and McCarthy were hooked up in a definite pitchers duel," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Stults threw the ball great. He really did." Just not as well as McCarthy. The lanky right-hander was superb in his last start, tossing a three-hitter against Miami for his third career shutout and first win since suffering a life-threatening head injury from a line drive last September. McCarthy had been on a roll even before that, entering Fridays game with a 17-inning scoreless streak, leaving him two shy of his career best set in 2005. He topped his personal best by getting through the first inning, then had it abruptly end in the second after Carlos Quentins leadoff double and an RBI single by Yonder Alonso. McCarthy was good after that, escaping a couple of base runners in the sixth inning before being replaced for a pinch hitter in the seventh. He allowed a rrun on five hits.dddddddddddd "That was his third (quality start) in a row, threw the ball the same way," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "Just really good command of what he was doing, pretty efficient." Stults had been solid after a couple of rough starts against San Francisco at the end of April, going 2-1 with a 2.39 ERA in four May outings. He allowed a run and four hits in eight innings to beat Washington his last start after carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Stults no-hitter run ended a bit earlier against the Diamondbacks: on Pollocks two-out single in the third inning. The left-hander was still sharp, getting the Diamondbacks to hit soft grounders and lazy fly balls while retiring eight more hitters in a row. Arizona finally got Stults in the seventh inning, when Miguel Montero led off with a double and Prado spun the next pitch over the first base bag with an inside-out double that tied the game. Nieves, whos played 13 games this season, put the Diamondbacks ahead with a run-scoring double that chased Stults. Pollock hit Dale Thayers first -- and only -- pitch to left for a run-scoring single and Goldschmidt reached 20 RBIs in 21 games this month with his double off Bass. Arizonas four doubles in the inning matched a team record set four times, most recently on May 21, 2010, against Toronto. Stults allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. "I felt like I got away with some pitches through the sixth inning," Stults said. "Actually, it felt like in the seventh inning I made the pitches I wanted to, (but) just didnt have the results." Notes: McCarthys scoreless-innings streak matched Curt Schilling (2003) for fourth-longest in franchise history behind Brandon Webb (42 innings and 25) and Andy Benes (23 1-3). ... A moment of silence was held before the game for Phoenix Police Officer Daryl Raetz and firefighter Bradley Harper, who were killed in the line of duty in separate incidents on Sunday. ... Arizona LHP Wade Miley will be making his sixth career start against the Padres on Saturday. He is 1-3 with a 6.28 ERA with 13 walks and 18 strikeouts against them. ... RHP Andrew Cashner, who will start Saturday against the Diamondbacks, is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his past three starts. ' ' '