That brings up the possibility of racing in the rain on specially designed

SINGAPORE -- The WTA Finals ended on a surprising note, with Dominika Cibulkova beating top-ranked Angelique Kerber?6-3, 6-4 for the title. The Slovakian ended a remarkable season by Kerber, who won two Grand Slam trophies and reached the final of a third.With the win, Cibulkova moved up to the No. 5 ranking in the world and showed she will be a legitimate threat moving forward. Heres what else we learned during the weeklong year-end championships:1. Womens tennis has never been more exciting: Yes, its more exciting and unpredictable than the ATP. These WTA Finals were a roller-coaster ride from start to finish because of the competitiveness between the players. Svetlana Kuznetsova only qualified by winning the Kremlin Cup final the day before the WTA Finals kicked off in Singapore, and both she and Karolina Pliskova had to save match points to win their opening round-robin matches. Cibulkova snuck into the semifinals despite losing two round-robin matches, but it could just as easily have been Simona Halep or Madison Keys in her place. From start to finish, the WTA Finals were filled with exciting, topsy-turvy matches.?2. Despite the loss, Kerber could be a long-term successor to Serena Williams: Despite losing the final to an inspired Cibulkova, Kerber only enhanced her growing reputation. Oozing with confidence and comfortable with her new status, the 28-year-old navigated her way to the final with clinical efficiency, dealing with everything that came her way. Even in the final, when Cibulkova played the match of her life, Kerber almost pulled it out of the fire, saving three match points before Cibulkova got a lucky break with a net cord that ended the contest.3. The days of wunderkinds winning Grand Slams could be a way off: Serena may have won her first major as a teenager, but her biggest legacy may end up being inspiring older women to stick at it for longer. Although the grueling round-robin nature of the WTA Finals should in theory benefit younger players, it instead favored the more experienced brigade. The four youngest players in the tournament were all eliminated after the round-robin phase, and the four semifinalists were all 27 and older.4. Madison Keys is a work in progress, but the wait could be worth it: Still just 21, she was the youngest player to qualify and clearly has all the weapons to dominate her opponents, with a thunderbolt serve and ferocious groundstrokes. The trick for her now is to get her temperament right, but she appears to have a good head on her shoulders. She admitted that her nerves got the better of her at times in Singapore but was mature enough to recognize thats an area she needs to fix. She also took note of what was happening on the other side of the net, watching how the older European players went about their business and consoling herself in the knowledge they also took their time before breaking through.5. Theres still a place in the game for smaller players: At 5-foot-3, Cibulkova could be riding in the Kentucky Derby if she werent such a good tennis player. But what she lacks in height she makes up for with sheer tenacity, with aggressive groundstrokes and never giving up, fetching more balls than a golden retriever. Hers was a win for the sports romantics, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to win the biggest tournament of her life at a time when most everyone is resigned to thinking that big is better. Chipper Jones Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Tom Glavine Jersey . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom-phil-niekro-jersey-large-327z.html . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Max Fried Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Peter Moylan Jersey . 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.ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - Nelson Piquet Jr. was surging with confidence after winning the Nationwide race at Road America a year ago, optimistic that his success would lead to a full-time ride in NASCARs second-tier series. Now Piquet returns to the scene of his biggest stock-car racing moment still trying to find his footing on the next rung up the ladder. "Obviously, Im frustrated with our results," Piquet said Friday. "Were not where I wanted to be." Piquet, the first Brazilian to win a race in one of NASCARs major national series and the son of a three-time Formula One champion, ended up getting the full-time Nationwide ride he was looking for this year. He moved up a level with Turner Scott Motorsports after driving in the third-tier Camping World Truck series full time last year. He enters Saturdays race a respectable 13th in the Nationwide points standings, but he has had a pair of races end in wrecks while managing only one top-10 finish — ninth place at Michigan last week. "I think part of it is because it was a last-minute deal and we had to put a team together very quickly two weeks before Daytona," Piquet said. That hurts, Piquet said, given the level of competitiveness in the series. "Obviously, were fighting against Cup teams, so I dont think we have the best cars out there," Piquet said. "But I think if you get a team that works very well together, we can be competitive sometimes." Its telling, perhaps, that Piquets most notable moment this season was his infamous below-the-belt kick to fellow competitor Brian Scott after an altercation at Richmond International Raceway in April. If Piquet is to put that ugly moment behind him with another win this weekend, he might have to do it in the rain. Lightning in the area interrupted the Nationwide practice schedule Friday afternoon — drivers ended up practicing part of the afternoon on rain tires then changed to slicks as the track dried out — and there is a chance for more showers during Saturdays race at the scenic four-mile road course in Central Wisconsin.dddddddddddd That brings up the possibility of racing in the rain on specially designed grooved rain tires, something fairly common in other forms of road racing, but almost unheard-of in NASCAR beyond a memorable 2008 Nationwide race in Montreal. AJ Allmendinger said a wet race might be a blast for fans, but not so much fun for drivers. "Itll be entertaining for people to watch, because itll be insane," Allmendinger said. Michael McDowell has a road racing background and doesnt mind the idea of driving in the rain, but has some concerns about other drivers who dont have experience in wet conditions. "Theres a lot of guys that dont have any experience," McDowell said. "And because of that, when you have heavy rains and lots of mist and lots of spray coming off the cars and you barrel down into Turn 5 and all the guy sees is a red light, were going to have a caution every couple of laps." Said Nationwide series points leader Regan Smith: "I think, at this point, Id prefer that it stays dry and dont worry about it. Its tough enough learning a new race track." Piquet wouldnt mind rain, but knows hell have a tough time repeating his victory either way. After spending most of his career in open-wheel road racing — including a stint in Formula One, which ended in scandal after he deliberately crashed in a race to help his teammate, allegedly because he was ordered to do so by his team — Piquet decided to try stock car racing. Beyond his Road America Nationwide win last year, he also had a successful 2012 in the Trucks Series, winning twice and finishing seventh in the points. To help him take the next step, Piquet hopes his team can get its chemistry issues sorted out. "Its frustrating, because we know we have a car that can be running constantly, lets say, in the top 10 — but were struggling to get close to the top 10," Piquet said. "(Im) trying to give my best, and obviously Im pushing the team as much as I can for them to get these issues sorted and try to get better." ' ' '