has scored four goals for Sunderland this season Since

Erik Jones, 20, considered the top young prospect in NASCAR racing, had spent the two weeks before the Chicagoland Speedway race weekend away from home.That meant he had no practice for one of his competitions Saturday, namely the event where he was on a stage competing in the game NASCAR Heat Evolution against a member of the esports team Evil Geniuses.But Jones is used to performing without a whole lot of practice. NASCAR only allows a couple hours of practice each week before an event.About nine hours before winning his fourth Xfinity Series -- NASCARs version of triple-A baseball -- race of the season, Jones was playing against fellow driver Darrell Wallace Jr. and Evil Geniuses Justin Roy Brown in a virtual race.The two worlds were brought together Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway, site of the NASCAR races for the weekend. Through their mutual sponsorship by Xfinity, the idea came about of pitting NASCAR drivers against the Evil Geniuses as well as having the Evil Geniuses play against fans.Beyond maybe the difference in practice time and the danger factor, though, Jones could see a lot of similarities between his career path and skills and those of the Evil Geniuses pros he played against.Its just as tough to break into and its not easy to get that shot and theres only so many people who get to do it, Jones said. To be that good at video games, you have got to have some pretty good reaction time.Jones technically won at the NASCAR game, although he admitted he won because Wallace had started celebrating early.Anyway, it was a fun respite during what would be a high-intensity day. It was the same for the Evil Geniuses who got to play recreationally for a change.This is a great distraction, said 26-year-old Jason Lunchbox Brown. We played the best team [OpTic] in the game [Halo] yesterday and beat them, so that was a huge series for us so this is a really nice getaway for us.We practice Sunday [to] Thursday for our [Halo Championship Series] Pro League matches. This is a great time.The competitors in the NASCAR and esports worlds dont get many distractions. They cant afford to have them.There are literally thousands of drivers who compete around the country at their local tracks, dreaming of making it big one day. Just like there are literally thousands of people at home playing video games dreaming of what it would be like to do it for a living.I would love to drive a car 195 miles an hour, said 25-year-old John Harvey, a fan who lives near the track and attends the races annually. But Id also love to play video games all day.Lets face it. The competitors have cool jobs. But they have made the most of their opportunities.Jones earned his big shot by beating NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch in a race in Pensacola, Fla., and Busch urged Toyota to sign him. Evil Geniuses players Jason and Justin Brown finished fourth in a major tournament at age 16 in 2007 to get noticed.If we didnt place in the top in our first event ... we might not be where we are at today, Jason Brown said.Thanks to winning championships and races at every level, Jones will race at the top NASCAR level next year. He probably doesnt have to start looking over his shoulder yet.But he will soon, and the Evil Geniuses know what that is like.There is always that young gun that is coming up playing how many hours a day to try to be that next top dog and so youve got to put in an equal amount of time or even more to kind of maintain your level of competition and skill level, 26-year-old Justin Brown said. Youre thinking what you can do better as a player [and] as a teammate.Its just constantly evolving. Youve got to keep with the times and be able to adapt and evolve.There also is the intense preparation. While racecar drivers cannot practice much during the week -- typically rules prohibit testing to keep costs down -- they often use simulators to help prepare for major events.So, sometimes they will play iRacing or other video games to just stay mentally sharp.On weeks I do play video games, for whatever reason, it helps me be more focused during the race weekend, said NASCAR driver Brennan Poole. Youre just so focused on what youre doing and reaction speeds and all that stuff in the first-person shooter games, that when I show up in the weeks I did play the game, I have a better race.I play all the time.Poole described his race preparation to the fans at the event, and it was the same answer EG coach and player Ryan Towey Towey would have given.[He answered] first and it mirrored what I was thinking [for] how to answer the question, Towey said.[The similarity] was very eerie to me. We review hours and hours of film, before and after major matches. Well practice five or six nights a week, three or four hours at a time through all of our game types. Well watch the competitions film. And we spend time taking and going over notes.Towey enjoyed a chance to play with no pressure. He still didnt enjoy losing.We do play games recreationally for fun in the offseason, but its difficult because we always want to win, Towey said.It was fun for the drivers, too. They signed autographs, as did the Evil Geniuses. Jackson Baldwin, a 15-year-old from Illinois, came over to the race track just to play Lunchbox in Halo - of course Baldwin didnt win -- and left before any of the races.He missed a good show put on by Jones on the race track. For Jones, it was fun to play the Evil Geniuses before embarking on his real job the rest of the day.I didnt know them before this, Jones said. Theyve been pretty successful. It is pretty neat to meet them and play against them for a second. Yeezy Outlet . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Cyber Monday Yeezy . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. https://www.fakeyeezywholesaleonline.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Black Friday Yeezy . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Yeezy Sale .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans.With Sunderland facing Arsenal live on Sky Sports on Saturday, we look at the duel between Jermain Defoe and Laurent Koscielny. Despite the best efforts of four-goal top scorer Jermain Defoe, Sunderland go into their 10th match of the Premier League season still without a win. The Black Cats host Arsenal at the Stadium of Light in the opening game of the weekend, and Defoe will be keen to end an unwanted run of his own. Sland vs Arsenal October 29, 2016, 11:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass It is almost 12 years since Defoe found the net against the Gunners, when he scored for Tottenham in a memorable 5-4 defeat in November 2004. Now 34, Defoes non-scoring run against Arsenal stretches to 15 Premier League appearances, coming for three different clubs, under seven different managers, and despite 23 attempts at goal. Jermain Defoes barren run against Arsenal Apps 15 Starts 8 Minutes 801 Goals 0 Shots 23 Shots on target 10 It makes Arsenal one of Defoes least favoured opponents in the Premier League. He has only scored twice in 21 top division encounters against the Gunners, and of the 28 teams he has faced for 300 minutes or more in his Premier League career, Defoe only has a poorer minutes-per-goal ratio against Bolton and his former employers Tottenham. Defoes favourite and least favourite Premier League opponents Rank Opponent Minutes Goals Mins per goal 1 Swansea 413 5 82.6 2 Wigan 924 10 92.4 3 Charlton 693 7 99.0 - - - - - 26 Arsenal 1171 2 585.5 27 Bolton 1207 2 603.5 28 Tottenham 708 1 708.0 With at least one eye on Defoe, Laurent Koscielny is likely to lead Arsenals defence at the Stadium of Light. The Gunners defensive record has been highly impressive in recent weeks, with clean sheets in six of their last seven games in all competitions.Koscielny has played every minute of the last nine games in the Premier League and Champions League alongside Shkodran Mustafi, helping the £35m summer arrival settle in north London. Koscielny has impressed for Arsenal this season Leading the Arsenal defence is nothing new for Koscielny. In six of his seven seasons at the club, the Frenchman has ranked either first or second aat the club for clearances, interceptions and blocks.dddddddddddd The only exception was the 2012-13 season when injuries restricted him to only 20 Premier League starts. Koscielnys defensive record (when starting min. 60% of PL games) Season Clearances Club rank Interceptions Club rank Blocks Club rank 2010/11 207 1st 83 2nd 13 2nd 2011/12 170 2nd 91 1st 18 1st 2013/14 234 2nd 89 1st 22 1st 2014/15 159 2nd 93 1st 18 2nd 2015/16 186 1st 126 1st 27 1st 2016/17 44 1st 25 2nd 9 1st Koscielny has helped to prevent Defoe from scoring on each of the three occasions they have started Premier League matches against one another.But despite that fact and his long-running drought against Arsenal, Defoe is still Sunderlands best bet for a goal on Saturday. Defoe has scored four goals for Sunderland this season Since arriving at the club in January 2015, he is one of only two players to have scored over a third of his teams Premier League goals, along with Harry Kane for Tottenham. Highest top scorer reliance (PL since January 2015) Player Team Goals Team goals % of team goals Harry Kane Tottenham 40 110 36.4% Jermain Defoe Sunderland 23 67 34.3% Sergio Aguero Man City 41 129 31.8% Romelu Lukaku Everton 28 90 31.1% This weekend, history suggests he will need to be at his best.You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Premier League video Fixtures Table Live on Sky Get Sky Sports Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '