HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The congratulatory messages started rolling in long before Jimmie Johnson had finished his obligatory championship photos. Larry Bird. Mia Hamm. Michael Phelps. Mario Andretti. Drew Brees. The Chicago Cubs.The list of dignitaries -- and the friends and neighbors who toilet-papered his North Carolina home overnight -- shows just how significant this latest milestone is for Johnson.Greatest of all time? Maybe. He certainly deserves to be in the conversation.Johnson joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers in NASCAR to win seven titles with a race-winning run Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His record-tying championship came in a bizarre year for Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team, and on a day that did not belong to the iconic No. 48 Chevrolet until the final lap of the race.Hendrick Motorsports was not good this year, and never found the speed to match Joe Gibbs Racing and its fleet of Toyotas. Johnson, for most of the season, was never even mentioned as a title contender.The organization buckled down, improved its cars and got Johnson in position to race for his seventh title.Then he did the rest.When Carl Edwards wrecked Sunday night to essentially lose the championship, Johnson charged through the melee and found himself suddenly leading the two remaining title contenders. On a night when hed started last -- his team was found to have manipulated the body of his car after it had passed inspection -- and clearly wasnt as good as the other three contenders, he had somehow lucked into the lead.He still had to earn the win, though, and did it with the restart of his life to hold off Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. He led one lap and it was the one that mattered.He is probably the most underrated champion in this sport, said his crew chief, Chad Knaus. He is a fantastic, fantastic individual, an amazing race car driver. Most people in the situation we were in just in would crumble. He didnt even waver. He knew what he needed to do. He knew what the demands were on him at that point in time, and he made it happen.Weve got a great team. Weve got a great owner. Weve got a great everything at Hendrick Motorsports. But the fact of the matter is the real spark in this whole thing is Jimmie.A fatigue perhaps set in when Johnson reeled off five consecutive titles. Fans didnt seem to appreciate his dominance, certainly not the way they revered Petty or Earnhardt.Almost each Johnson championship was met with a collective yawn, when they should have been celebrated for their unique achievement.Johnson, at 41, is the youngest driver to win seven. Petty was 42 when he did it in 1979, while Earnhardt was 43 in 1994. He also collected his seven titles in a 10-year span. Earnhardt needed 14 years to do it, while Petty did it in 15 seasons.Johnsons 80 career victories rank seventh all time, one spot ahead of Earnhardt.I think the five in a row was pretty phenomenal, and I think winning seven and tying seven is pretty special, said team owner Rick Hendrick. Its special to see him tie those guys. I think its good for the sport, and I think it draws a lot of attention to our sport. We had Gatorade, had a lot of guys like Peyton Manning telling him how neat it was, and Serena Williams. I think its going to be a big shot in the arm for not only Jimmie but our sport.Johnson will likely add to his totals. With retirement still a ways off, he has a chance to win eight titles, and as he drank a beer and ate a slice of cold pizza in a champagne-soaked firesuit, he was already being asked about the possibility of eight.I dont know what the chances are, but lets go, he said. Im so excited to put that in front of myself and the team has a hurdle to get over and an accomplishment to achieve. I had a lot of fun racing for the sixth. This one and the calm nature and the way we went about business and got it done only gives me more confidence for the future.I honestly feel like Im playing with house money. I never aspired to be famous. I never aspired to be a champion. I just wanted to race. I think it makes us really dangerous, and I look forward to the challenge of trying to get number eight.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org . Bam Adebayo Heat Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Dwyane Wade Heat Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Shaquille-Oneal-City-Edition-Jersey/ . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Tyler Herro Heat Jersey . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Glen Rice Jersey . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Instead of sagging after giving up a late tying goal, the San Jose Sharks went on the attack.Patrick Marleau scored with 22.5 seconds left and the Sharks rebounded after giving up a goal 35 seconds earlier to win their third straight game, 3-2 over the New York Islanders on Friday.It was just get right back out there and go after it, Marleau said. You dont like to see another team tying it up that late in the game, but I think we had the right mindset going right back out there and trying to get the win right away.Nick Leddy had tied it for New York with a one-timer off a feed from John Tavares with 57.1 seconds left, but the Sharks bounced back quickly.Brent Burns took a shot from the point that Marleau deflected in the slot past Thomas Greiss for the winner that helped San Jose improve to 7-2 at home this season.Its big to get a win after Thanksgiving, Burns said. You always worry if the legs are going to show up, or if the turkeys going to show up. Its nice to see the boys were skating and working.Joe Pavelski and Burns scored 34 seconds apart in the second period, and backup Aaron Dell made 26 saves for the Sharks. Dell has earned both of his wins this season against the IslandersAnders Lee scored his third goal in two games for New York, and Greiss made 25 saves. The Islanders have one win in eight road games this season and no regulation wins of any kind since Nov. 7. This marked the second straight game New York allowed the tiebreaking goal in the final three minutes of regulation.Its just frustrating, coach Jack Capuano said. For whatever reason right now, hockey gods arent with us.After a listless start in the rare home matinee that saw the Sharks trailing after Lees power-play goal, San Jose took over the play midway through the first period. Joe Thornton missed the net on a penalty shot and Greisss was sharp early against his former team to keep New York in front.dddddddddddd.But a quick flurry early in the second period changed that and put San Jose in control. It started following a defensive zone faceoff for the Sharks after an icing. Matt Nieto had a quick breakout pass to Chris Tierney, who fed an open Pavelski on a two-on-one for a one-timer that tied it.Less than a minute later, Burns shot from just inside the red line deflected off defenseman Calvin de Haans stick and beat Greiss to put San Jose up 2-1.It was just a knuckle-puck, Greiss said. Those happen with the funny bounces. You dont want to let them in but sometimes it happens.The Islanders have struggled to score away from home with just 15 goals in eight road games. Captain John Tavares has none of them and missed a golden chance at a potential tying goal in the second period against San Jose.After Burns turned over the puck in his zone, Bailey fed Tavares for what looked like an easy tap-in into an open net. But Tavares pushed the puck wide and the Sharks remained on top 2-1.Tavares then was stopped in front early in the third period as Dell came up big in just his third career start.He does have a great demeanor for a backup goalie, coach Peter DeBoer said. He works hard. Hes composed. Theres no panic. I think our team feeds off of that.Game notes San Jose F Tommy Wingels left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. ... Islanders F Cal Clutterbuck returned to the lineup after missing one game with an upper-body injury. ... D David Schlemko returned to the Sharks after being scratched with an illness Wednesday.UP NEXTIslanders: Host Calgary on Monday.Sharks: Host Anaheim on Saturday to finish off back-to-back games. ' ' '