CHARLOTTE, N. USWNT Shirts .C. -- A small piece of metal in his eye, and not a sinus infection, caused Denny Hamlin to miss last weeks race at California. Hamlin was not medically cleared to race last Sunday by doctors in the infield care centre at Auto Club Speedway. He had visited the care centre on Saturday and Sunday complaining of an irritation to his eye, and it was determined at the track that it was related to a recent sinus infection Hamlin had suffered. Hamlin was referred to a local hospital for further evaluation, and once there, "a small piece of metal was found to be in Hamlins eye," Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement Wednesday. The metal was removed and JGR said "Hamlin felt immediate improvement." By then, the race at Fontana had already started and replacement driver Sam Hornish Jr. was behind the wheel of Hamlins No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin underwent further testing in California before he was cleared to fly home to North Carolina. He was evaluated in Charlotte on Monday and again on Wednesday, when it was determined he had no lingering issues with his vision and is cleared to race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin has four career victories at Martinsville and an average finish of eighth. The timeline of Hamlins diagnosis and revelation it was a piece of metal in his eye and not a sinus infection comes a day after Dale Earnhardt Jr. called on NASCAR to release information regarding Hamlin not being cleared to race at California. Earnhardt, during an appearance Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, questioned why there had been no official NASCAR statement or further explanation from Hamlin on what happened. He was particularly interested because it is so unusual for a driver to be parked shortly before a race is about to begin. "Im worried the perception is bad for NASCAR and the perception is bad for Denny," Earnhardt said. "If Denny didnt race because his vision is blurred and he had a sinus infection, NASCAR should put out a release and say, This is the timeline of the events and this is why we made this choice and this is the protocol for going forward. "That answers everybodys questions. Dont you have questions? I have questions. We shouldnt have questions. We should all feel pretty comfortable with what happened." Earnhardt missed two races in 2012 after he suffered his second concussion in six weeks. He drove for weeks following the first concussion, which occurred while testing at Kansas Speedway. He was cleared to drive following that crash, and the concussion was discovered after he wrecked again at Talladega. "If Denny did everything right, thats good to know," he said. "Why NASCAR did the things they did and the timeline, it would be good to know those things because the drivers are all curious and the fans are curious. Information is moving around. It just doesnt need to be going on. We should all know what happened and know why it happened and be done with it and not have to worry about it." Carin Jennings-Gabarra Jersey . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Mia Hamm Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. https://www.cheapuswnt.com/1112w-sophia-smith-jersey-usa.html . -- New York Yankees centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was sent for an MRI Thursday of his ailing right calf, which was negative. DENVER -- Nino Niederreiter hesitated for just a moment after scoring the winning goal, not sure if what he just saw actually occurred. It happened, all right. His Minnesota teammates suddenly skating over to mob him made the moment real. Niederreiter scored his second goal of the game at 5:02 in overtime after Ilya Bryzgalov made a big save filling in for the injured Darcy Kuemper, leading the Wild to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 on Wednesday night. The right winger was a rather unlikely star with his first two goals of the series. "An unbelievable feeling," said Niederreiter, whose team captured their first playoff series since 2003. "I think our heart made the difference tonight." Minnesota trailed 4-3 before Jared Spurgeon scored on a nifty play with 2:27 left in regulation. Spurgeon waited for a clear look at the goal, and then shot it over Semyon Varlamovs shoulder and off the left post. Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley had the other goals for the Wild, who will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a second-round series that begins Friday. The two met last season, with the Blackhawks winning in five games. Nick Holden, Jamie McGinn, Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche as they returned to the post-season for the first time since 2010 and tied a franchise record with 52 wins in capturing the Central Division. Not that its much consolation -- not now, anyway. "The toughest part is to not come back tomorrow and be ready for Chicago," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "We believe in ourselves and its hard to see that its over. "Im sure tomorrow is going to hurt more thinking its over because we still have the emotion of the game." Rookie Nathan MacKinnon couldnt agree more. "It tarnishes the year a lot," said MacKinnon, who had two goals and eight assists in the series. "We wanted to make a run here and we had a chance twice to win the series, once in Game 6 and obviously tonight. Its tough to describe what went on. "Weve got to wait until September to get things going again, which is going to be a long summer, especially watching the playoffs. Its going to be tough." The Avalanchee took a lead on four different occasions, only to have the Wild respond. Emily Fox Jersey. . Niederreiter won it for Minnesota on a 2-on-1 break when he sent a shot over Varlamovs shoulder in the fourth overtime of the series. "Its not easy to play against a good team," said Varlamov, whos a finalist for the Vezina Trophy thats given to the leagues top goaltender. "Theyve been playing well against us the whole series." Bryzgalov took over in net for Kuemper midway through the third. Bryzgalov started the series but was replaced by Kuemper in Game 2. The veteran Bryzgalov stopped a shot with his left shoulder early in the overtime, paving the way for Niederreiters winner. It was his only save in 13:15 of action. Now, like most of the season, the Wild have a concern at goalie, especially since coach Mike Yeo isnt sure how badly Kuemper is hurt. "If only we had any experience dealing with this," Yeo jokingly said. "Were fortunate we have good depth at that position." Roys first season on the bench for the Avalanche ended the same way his Hall of Fame goaltending career did -- with a loss to the Wild in Game 7. Roy surrendered the winning overtime goal in 2003. This one was just as agonizing. "We had our chance -- dont kid ourselves," Roy said. "We had our chance and they took advantage of theirs." Niederreiter was starting to heat up in Game 6, but couldnt find the net. That changed on Wednesday. "He raised the bar," Yeo said. "Got himself in trouble now, because this is what we expect." Niederreiter was only happy to contribute. "As a little kid, its exactly the moment you dream about," Niederreiter said. "Im very happy and fortunate that it happened tonight." NOTES: Minnesota F Matt Cooke served the fourth game of his seven-game suspension for his knee-to-knee hit on Avs D Tyson Barrie. Cooke has appeared in the most Game 7s (seven) of any Wild player. ... Yeo said this is the start of a "budding rivalry" between the two Central Division foes. ... Wild F Kyle Brodziak had three assists. ... Colorado Fs P.A. Parenteau and Matt Duchene each had two assists. This was Duchenes second game back after missing almost a month with a knee injury. ' ' '