HOMESTEAD, Fla. --?Rick Hendrick expects?Dale Earnhardt Jr.?to receive his final clearance from doctors in the next six weeks, which will allow him to return to Sprint Cup racing in February.Sometime in December, the doctor is going to give him final clearance, and then well get him in a car, Hendrick said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He feels great. Everything is on track.Earnhardt, who will miss his 18th straight race this weekend as he recovers from vision and balance issues caused by a concussion suffered in June, has repeatedly said that his rehabilitation and recovery have been on track for a February return.NASCAR will allow Earnhardt to participate in a private test to allow doctors to approve his return to racing.Every step that we supposedly need to go through, weve gone through. I dont see anything holding us back, Hendrick said. I think weve just got a couple of more hurdles.Earnhardt has been replaced by Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman over the second half of the season. Bowman led a race-high 194 laps last week at Phoenix before an accident on a late restart while battling for the lead.Im so happy because our cars are so good, Earnhardt said Monday on The Dale Jr. Download podcast. Im going to get into that thing next year, and its going to be as good or better than when I got out of it.I feel like a very lucky guy in that regard. ... Man, Im really looking forward to getting back on the track, cutting some laps and just being a driver. I miss it, especially as I am getting more and more healthy and more confident in my health. I miss it more and more.Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Los Angeles Lakers Pro Shop . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Los Angeles Lakers Shirts . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Wholesale Lakers Jerseys . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training.HOUSTON -- Brock Osweiler was supposed to be the solution to years of quarterback woes for the Houston Texans.Through eight games, its unclear if thats the case.At times, such as during a fourth-quarter comeback against the Colts, Osweiler has looked worthy of the $72 million contract Houston used to lure him away from Denver.But there have been other times, such as his performance in Houstons three road games , where Osweiler didnt look any better than the string of quarterbacks the Texans ran through last season.The good news for the Texans is that they enter their bye 5-3 and leading the AFC South despite his inconsistent play and the loss of star defensive end J.J. Watt.Theres been some good spots and I think theres obviously been some bad spots, Osweiler said. But I think the thing thats encouraging is I feel like Im getting better every single week and I feel like this football team is getting better every single week.So, theres plenty of room for improvement (and) fortunately we still have eight more games.Though hes seemed rattled at times when hes struggled on the road, Osweiler never shows any cracks in public in his picture-perfect veneer off the field. He always says the right things, takes the blame when the offense sputters and vows to get better.But those close to him know that he hears the criticism mounting with each bad road outing and that his struggles weigh on him.In this league everyones striving for perfection, so when it doesnt go the way that we prepared or practiced or wanted the result to be we all die a little, so to say, offensive coordinator George Godsey said. But hes been able to overcome that, a little bit of adversity so its a good sign going into the next half of the season.Coach Bill OBrien believes Osweiler has improved each week and the quarterback insists that he feels comfortable in the offense and is convinced he has the skills to lead this team.I have great confidence in myself, I have great belief in myself, Osweiler said. Im my own biggest critic. When a game doesnt go how maybe I wanted it to or how this team wanted it to, I examine that film very hard. Im very hard on myself to improve, to learn, to get better.Osweiler has thrown nine touchdowns with nine interceptions this season to lead a passing game that is among the worst in the league, ranking 30th inn the NFL by averaging just 199.dddddddddddd2 yards a game.Hes been much better at home than on the road, with eight of his touchdown passes and all of the teams wins coming in Houston. Hell have to figure out a way to get things together on the road when the Texans start the second half of the season at Jacksonville before a game against Oakland in Mexico City followed by two of the next three away from Houston.Hes focused on getting Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins more involved in the second half after hes been limited to 434 yards receiving through eight games after finishing with a career-high 1,521 yards receiving last season. Hopkins knows hell have to do more in the second half to help Osweiler and the offense improve.There were a lot of plays I left out on the field I couldve made (in) the first eight games, he said. Just got to go out and make it right.While Osweiler hasnt played up to expectations, Houstons offense has been kept afloat by the steady play of the teams other big offseason acquisition Lamar Miller .The Texans signed the former Dolphins running back to take over for Arian Foster, the teams all-time leading rusher whom they released in March. Miller enters Week 9 ranked fourth in the NFL with 637 yards rushing.On defense, Houston lost Watt to a back injury after three games. But the defense has remained the strength of the team without last years Defensive Player of the Year, thanks to a pass defense that is among the best in the league and a breakout season by Jadeveon Clowney .Clowney moved from outside linebacker to defensive end to fill in for Watt and is having the best season of his young career.The top overall pick in the 2014 draft is healthy and has started each game and has 30 tackles, three sacks and a career-high nine tackles for losses.Defensive line coach Anthony Weaver loves the way Clowney is playing now that hes on the field consistently.Every time he goes out there and has success, his confidence gets higher, Weaver said. If Im the rest of the league that scares me. A confident Jadeveon Clowney with his God-given ability could be frightening to the rest of the league.---AP NFL website: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '