CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., who missed the final 18 races of last season because of a concussion, has been medically cleared to return next year.Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Earnhardt will take part in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.Dr. Micky Collins, medical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh, in consultation with Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, cleared the 42-year-old driver Wednesday following a test session at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Petty attended the session.Dale is one of the hardest-working patients Ive ever encountered, Collins said. Hes done everything weve asked, and we believe he is ready to compete at a professional level again and can withstand the normal forces of a race car driver. Dale has been very open with us, and weve had plenty of time for his treatment, so we feel very good about his long-term prospects and how this has been managed by everyone involved.Earnhardt completed 185 laps during a nearly five-hour session at Darlington under the guidance of his Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Greg Ives. In addition to the on-track test, which was observed by NASCAR, the driver has logged more than 15 hours in a racing simulator during his recovery.I feel great, and Im excited to officially be back, Earnhardt said. I expected things to go really well (Wednesday), and thats exactly what happened. Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017.Earnhardt said he would do more testing in January to help knock the rust off ahead of the season-opening race he has won twice.When its time to go to Daytona, Ill be ready, he said.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org Walker Zimmerman Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Graham Zusi Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/Omar-Gonzalez-Copa-America-Jersey/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Kellyn Acosta USA Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Reggie Cannon USA Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. LAKELAND, Fla. -- Florida got a major contribution from the son of a Hall of Famer on Thursday night in a 73-66 victory over St. Bonaventure.Canyon Barry, the youngest son of Rick Barry and Lynn Norenberg Barry, came off the bench with 16 points and five rebounds as the Gators (3-0) survived two St. Bonaventure comebacks to preserve the neutral-court win.Canyon came to the rescue tonight, Florida coach Mike White said. He stepped up and made some huge shots for us.Matt Mobley, who played the entire game, scored a game-high 28 points for St. Bonaventure (1-1) and Jaylen Adams added 20, but no other Bonnie player scored in double figures.Barry gave Florida a 60-45 lead with three straight 3-pointers midway through the second half, and made three free throws in the final minute after St. Bonaventure (1-1) had erased the 15-point lead.When you have open looks, obviously you want to make them, Barry said. I air-balled the first one but I was able to come back and knock my shot down. They had trust in me and kept giving me open looks.Devin Robinson made all six of his shots for the Gators, who shot just 41 percent but made 8 of 17 3-pointers.Not that were a great offensive team, but weve got parity and weve got depth, and it was Canyons night tonight, White said.Mobleys 3-point play tied it 66-66 with 1:42 left, but St. Bonaventure never scored again.Barrys two free throws with 58.1 seconds left regained the lead for Florida. Dunks by Robinson and John Egbunu clinched it in the final seconds.In the first half, the Gators jumped out to a 12-point lead before Adams led a 22-11 Bonnie surge over the next seven minutes, driving for three layups and beating the shot clock with a desperation 3-pointer.St. Bonaventure cut Floridas lead to 31-30 on Adams two free throws with 4:24 left, but the Bonnies went scoreless for almost four minutes.dddddddddddd Allen drove the baseline for a layup and found Justin Leon open in the corner for a 3-pointer and a 38-32 Gator halftime lead.CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCKBarry, a graduate student in nuclear engineering who played three seasons for the College of Charleston, made 5 of 6 free throws underhanded, one of the trademarks of his father.BIG PICTUREFlorida: Allen, who has been declared a candidate for the John Wooden Award, and Mobley figure to have some big games with their ability to get inside against bigger and slower defenders. Florida enjoyed a frontcourt advantage of three inches per man.The Gators big frontcourt, having survived its first two tests, is getting a chance to gain experience and keep Florida in contention for a ranking before SEC play begins at Arkansas on Dec. 29.TIP-INSSt. Bonaventures only lead of the game was 4-3. ... The Bonnies have only played Florida twice, dropping the first meeting in 1977.Floridas foul shooting was a sore spot last season, but the Gators are at 74 percent after three games in spite of missing four straight in the second half.UP NEXTSt. Bonaventure: Starting Monday against Arkansas-Little Rock, the Bonnies will play three games in three days in the Lone Star Showcase in Austin Texas.Florida: The Gators next four games will be next week on neutral courts, beginning with Mondays game against Belmont in Tampa. Because of a renovation at the Stephen F. OConnell Center, they will not play a game in Gainesville until Dec. 21. ' ' '