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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- On the first full day of Major League Baseballs annual winter meetings, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo downplayed reports that Bryce Harpers lofty contract demands have the team prepared to move on when Harpers current deal expires.Its not like us to discuss anything that we talk [about] when were talking to players about anything, said Rizzo on Monday afternoon, addressing a group of reporters in an 11th floor hallway at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Im not going to answer any of those kind of questions. Those are private discussions between us and the players.Earlier Monday, USA Today reported that Harper -- who is set to become a free agent after the 2018 season -- is seeking a contract in excess of 10 years and $400 million, and that because of those demands, the Nationals are inclined to let him go elsewhere when the time comes.With every player that you acquire, its a possibility that you may lose them in a specific time frame, Rizzo told media members at the Gaylord. So with Bryce Harper and every other player that has a contract expiring, you better make plans. Its not just Bryce Harper. Its everybody on the roster.In 2015, Harper became the youngest unanimous MVP ever after a season in which hit .330 with 42 home runs and led the majors in on-base and slugging percentage.But in 2016, the former first overall pick, who turned 24 in October, struggled to replicate his historic MVP campaign. In 147 games, he hit .243 with 24 homers and an .814 OPS that was nearly 300 points lower than a year earlier. During the second half of the season, when he missed five games in August with a shoulder injury, he hit just .226 with a .709 OPS.According to the USA Today report, Harpers agent, Scott Boras, said he hasnt had any long-term discussions with the Nationals regarding his client.Rizzo, whose roster features several high-profile Boras clients, including All-Star hurlers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, said the lines of communication between him and the super-agent are always open.We have discussions with Boras and every other agent on a weekly basis, said Rizzo. Were constantly talking to him throughout the year, throughout the winter, during the season. Its talked about quite often. Theyre not specific negotiations, but theyre discussions. About strategies and philosophies and all those things that come into it.In May of last season, the Nationals agreed to terms with Strasburg on a seven-year, $175 million contract extension.Nike Air Max 180 Nederland . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Nike Air Max 1 Aanbieding . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.airmaxkopennederland.com/uitverkoop-air-max-97.html . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Air Max 2019 Nederland . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Nike Air Max 270 Dames Nederland . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night.AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Maybe its just that time of year, but it seems like some people already want to declare a winner in a contest that hasnt actually yet happened.Kevin Harvicks track record at Phoenix International Raceway is so strong that a sizable number of prognosticators have already handed victory in the Can-Am 500 to the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.Its true that Harvick has proven almost unbeatable at PIR since the track was re-profiled and repaved. He has won six of his past eight Sprint Cup Series starts at the Desert Mile and probably would have added another in the fall 2015 race if rain hadnt handed the victory to Dale Earnhardt Jr.Harvick pretty much needs to win again at Phoenix on Sunday because hes 16 points out of the all-important fourth place in the Chase standings that will determine the drivers who will join Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson in the championship shootout one week from now at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Hes confident he can triumph again, but his challengers believe the law of averages is about to put another driver in Victory Lane -- and on to Homestead with one of the two remaining spots being contested among six drivers.There are several storylines to follow when the green flag drops for Sundays 312-lap race. Heres what to watch for:1. Harvick: Theres no question, Harvick has been The Show at Phoenix dating back to his time at Richard Childress Racing.Hes won from the pole, and hes won from the 10th row. Hes led 43 percent of the laps run since 2012. More importantly, hes been able to run up front when needed in the November Chase cutoff race.Harvick believes his team thrives in the pressure of a must-win situation. And thats why he expects to be in the mix again on Sunday. Hell start the race from the outside of Row 3.Anything can happen, and we just have to control the things that we can control and try and put ourselves in the position we usually do and see where it all falls, he said Friday after qualifying. That is what makes all this here exciting. What I like about it is the sense of the unknown, the competition, the effort, and the thought and everything that goes into it. That is intriguing for me.From a team standpoint, to see where everybody is at and how they approach it is fun to me, he added. I like to see people performing and working at that level. Because once they do it, you can hold them to it.2. Alex Bowman: On Friday, Harvick said his toughest competitor at Phoenix during his streak has been Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sure enough, the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will start Sundays race from pole position.Of course, it wont be Earnhardt behind the wheel. It wont even be superstar substitute driver Jeff Gordon, who ran his last race at Martinsville.Instead, its Hendrick development driver Alex Bowman, who earned his first career pole to at least temporarily steal the limelight from the battle for the Chase.The 23-year-old has a couple years of Cup Series experience, but his full-time job this year was running simulator programs for the Hendrick organization. When Earnhardt was forced to miss the last portion of the season with concussion aftereffects, Bowman was tabbed to split time with Gordon in the No. 88.Hes shown plenty of speed, qualifying in the top six four times, including on the front row at Charlotte. But his results (a pair of top-10s with a best of seventh place at Kansas from eight starts) are not indicative of how well he has often run.He has really helped our team get better on the qualifying front as well as in the racing also, said Earnhardt, who is on hand in Phoenix. Alex has really helped our program. Jeff helped it a lot, but Alex has been a great treat for the guys to work with, and obviously he is a great driver.Though Bowmans stock has risen since he began wheeling the No. 88 on a regular basis, he still doesnt have a full-time ride for 22017.ddddddddddddHe said Friday he expects to be back in the Hendrick simulator.Im very thankful to get this opportunity, obviously not under the circumstances that anyone would want, Bowman said. But Im trying to make the most of it and having a lot of fun.We really werent that great in qualifying trim during practice, he continued. Im not sure where this came from, but Ill take it and hopefully we can stay up front on Sunday.3. The Gibbs battle: One Joe Gibbs Racing driver (Carl Edwards) is already locked into the Chase final four at Homestead. Three others (Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin) are separated by two points, and at most, two of them will join Edwards in the championship battle next week in Florida.Bottom line is at least one of the Gibbs drivers is going to leave Phoenix unhappy. And theyre all convinced that they will be racing each other for those coveted transfer spots.Closely.Obviously all of us want to be in there, so somebody is going to be disappointed when they leave here, observed Kenseth, who currently sits one point below Busch for the critical fourth place in the standings. All three of us could be disappointed when we leave here.You never know whats going to happen Sunday. Out of the eight [remaining Chase-eligible drivers], the four that dont make it are going to be disappointed whether theyre on the same team or not.Hamlin, who drew the wrath of his teammates with some defensive driving down the stretch at Martinsville, tried to downplay any rivalry between the Gibbs drivers.I dont think its that big of a deal as it sometimes seems, he said. Its going to be exciting, and were in for a very, very competitive race where I think the guys that are battling for points, if were not battling for the win, were all going to be very, very close to each other all day long.I think its going to go down to the last lap.4. The outsiders: Obviously the main focus on Sunday will be on setting the final four. Winning the race is the clear-cut way for a driver to advance, but if a non-Chase eligible driver is in position to win, it means both of the two remaining transfers will be decided on points.?After qualifying, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott put themselves in good position. Larson qualified his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet on the outside of the front row, while Elliott will pursue his first Cup Series race win from third on the grid.Larson broke through to earn his first win earlier this year at Michigan, and he is ready to add a short-track victory to his resume.I constantly try to work at it when we come to short tracks, he said. I feel like Ive gotten better but have work to do.This is as far forward as Ive ever started here, and it would be nice to get to the lead at the beginning, lead some laps, take care of my stuff and maintain track position, he added. Its a pretty quick race so you cant make too many mistakes. You have to make the right pit calls, and track position is always important here.5. Reliability: Anyone who watched the Camping World Truck Series race from Phoenix on Friday night knows that a seemingly sure win or solid finish can go up in smoke in an instant.William Byron dominated the 150-lap truck race, but his Toyota suffered a devastating engine failure with just 13 laps remaining. And although car and engine reliability is much better than it was years ago, glitches can still happen at the most inopportune time. Remember how the failure of a $5 axle seal ended Johnsons championship hopes last year at Dover?And dont forget fuel strategy. Three of the past eight Phoenix races have gone to overtime, and those few extra laps could be the difference between coasting into Homestead or being left high and dry.Like Hamlin said, this is going to go down to the last lap. ' ' '