HOMESTEAD, Fla. --?Tony Stewart got out of his car and smiled.A 22nd-place finish wouldnt always result in a smile for the 45-year-old driver, a three-time Sprint Cup champion who ended his NASCAR career with 49 victories in 618 starts.But the smile wasnt necessarily for the 22nd-place finish. It was for all of the tributes and special moments that highlighted his day Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.His car prior to the race was set apart from the rest, allowing friends and several people to come up for hugs and photos. He drove down pit road, giving crews high-fives, and led the field for a pace lap as the crowd cheered.It is still hard to digest it all right now, Stewart said moments after climbing out of his car. The whole day was awesome. You couldnt ask for it to be a better day. ... Probably the best part was your peers and fellow drivers and crew chiefs and crew members.Coming down pit road and high-fiving all those guys, it made me think back to when Dale Sr. won the Daytona 500. It was just an awesome moment.While Stewart wont race in Sprint Cup again, he will be back in the seat of a race car soon. He wouldnt say when, but the planned back surgery to remove screws from the fractured vertebra that held him out for the first eight races for the season has been scrapped.Stewarts first order of business will be his annual off-road trip, and then he will likely find himself in a sprint car at at a short track soon -- something he has not done in more than two years.No surgeries, Stewart said. Were free and clear this year on surgeries. I dont know [when Ill race again]. Stay tuned. ... It wont be long. We arent going to wait too long.As far as his final race, there wasnt a whole lot to talk about. Stewart was lapped in the first 75 laps and was two laps down at one point. But he was able to stay out when the caution flew in order to eventually get back on the lead lap.He even was a little bothered by where he was scored after a big wreck with 10 laps remaining.I raced, Stewart said. I did what I do every time I get into the car. I didnt think of anything else other than racing the race. We got behind there and tried something to make ground and had to run 60 laps on a set of tires.At the end, the lineup there was, lets, say, confusing. I was still screaming about that just like I would on every other race. I was true to form all the way to the end.But Stewart will get over it. He had a career in which he posted 187 top-fives and 308 top-10s in 618 career starts. He finished his final season 15th in the standings, thanks to making the Chase with the win in June at Sonoma Raceway.Im proud, Stewart said. Its been an awesome 21 years racing in NASCAR in the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series. ... I said all year I just wanted to be one of the guys racing and to be put out there [on that pace lap], its an honor ,but its humbling at the same time.Stewart felt honored in one other way -- he raced in the event where Jimmie Johnson won a record-tying seventh championship.I was glad to race with him on the day he got his seventh, Stewart said.Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys Cheap . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Custom Carolina Panthers Jerseys Cheap . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. http://www.customjerseysfootball.com/custom-atlanta-falcons-jerseys-cheap-433h . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Custom New York Giants Jerseys Cheap . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Discount Custom Football Jerseys . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year.OMAHA, Neb. -- Creightons up-tempo offense is hard enough to deal with for an opponent thats at full strength. One thats short-handed is going to be left gasping for air.The 10th-ranked Bluejays let Buffalo stick around into the middle of the second half and then pulled away against the worn-out Bulls for a 93-72 victory on Tuesday night.The reality of it is, our pace isnt going to have that much of an impact in the first half, but over the course of the game theyre going to get tired, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. Were going to get easy ones in transition, theyre not quite as aggressive going to the glass because theyre tired, and theyre a little apprehensive to go to the offensive glass because they know whats coming when we get that rebound.Creighton (7-0) has outscored its last four opponents by 12, 15, 25 and 19 points in the second halves and are averaging 92 points a game.The Bulls (4-3) were winding up an 11-day road trip thats taken them 8,400 miles, with a week spent at the Great Alaska Shootout and the stop in Omaha before a return to western New York. They also were missing starters in point guard C.J. Massinburg (mononucleosis) and Quate McKinzie (concussion). Also, guard Dontay Caruthers was limited to 15 minutes because of foul trouble.Theyre deep and they play fast, and if youre not in shape or you dont have a deep team, youre in trouble with them, Bulls coach Nate Oats said.Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Justin Patton and Khyri Thomas had their first double-doubles. Patton had season highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds and Thomas had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Maurice Watson Jr. added 15 points and eight assists.Foster had nine points during the decisive 13-0 run that made it 67-51 after the Bulls had cut Creightons lead to 544-51.ddddddddddddhats part of my game, Foster said. Ill score a bunch of buckets real quick. Thats how Ive always been.The Bulls got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.Blake Hamilton and Willie Conner scored 21 points apiece to lead the Bulls, and Raheem Johnson added 14.BIG PICTUREBuffalo: The Bulls made it a game until midway in the second half before losing a second game to a top-10 opponent. Xavier beat them by 33 two weeks ago.Creighton: The Bluejays elevated their game in the second half, getting a boost from Thomas, who had 14 of his 18 points and eight of his 12 rebounds in the final 20 minutes.POLL IMPLICATIONSCreighton has been one of the fastest movers in the Top 25 , going from No. 22 in the preseason to No. 10 this week. The Bluejays have never been higher than No. 9, but the way theyre playing, they could go higher than that soon.EMOTIONAL OATSOats became emotional at his postgame news conference when he brought up the support he received from McDermott after he found out in October 2015 that his wife, Crystal, had cancer. McDermotts wife, Theresa, also has battled the disease.He was unbelievable during the whole deal with my wife. Financially he helped out with some stuff, Oats said. For all you writers in Omaha, youve got a big-time coach. I called him when I found out because I knew his wife had gone through it. He talked to me the entire time Crystal was going through treatment. Hes been as good as anybody in the business on that deal.UP NEXTBuffalo visits St. Bonaventure on Saturday.Creighton hosts another MAC opponent, Akron, on Saturday.---More college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '