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Mike Johnston feels like he is back where he belongs. Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Its just a statement on who he is. "(Coaching) is in your blood when the pre-season starts until it finishes at the end of the year," he said. "Its just kind of that own ownership, being able to coach, being able to compete, and you miss that when youre away from it, for sure, and its a good feeling to be back." Heading into Saturdays home game against the Kamloops Blazers, he has guided the defending WHL champions to a 3-3-1 record. Johnston was suspended last November after a league investigation determined the Winterhawks provided improper, undisclosed benefits that included free flights for players and parents. The team, which was also fined $200,000 and lost several draft picks, and league disputed the allegations publicly but Johnston ultimately accepted his punishment. He didnt get mad. He got busy, even though he was prohibited from going into the teams office or having any contact with players. "I tried to focus on what I could do rather than what I couldnt do, and I could still evaluate older players or our team for the future, and I could evaluate players who were on our list and determine if they were ready to fit into our program or were a ways away," he said from Portland in a recent phone interview. "I couldnt watch our team, but I could watch the other Western league teams." Johnston watched games online and also ventured to numerous rinks to scout Winterhawk hopefuls playing at lower levels. He also attended major coaching clinics in Burnaby, B.C., where he was a speaker and attended sessions to get insight on his profession. "Any time youre not coaching, like summer hockey, I always try and see if theres some way I can improve and try and study what other teams are doing, what other coaches are doing, take a look at our team, the organization, to see if theres any way to get an edge, to improve in what youre doing from that perspective," he said. Johnston, a Dartmouth, N.S., native who is in his early 50s, has been trying to get an edge on the bench since he stopped playing university hockey and got into coaching while in his 20s. He joined the Winterhawks after serving in the NHL for almost a decade as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings. He has also won several medals with Canadian junior and senior-age national teams and served as an assistant with Canadas 1998 Oympic team in Nagano. His resume includes Canadian college coaching experience with the Camrose Kodiaks, a tenure with the University of New Brunswick and a stint as an assistant at the University of Calgary, where he obtained a masters degree in coaching science. He also co-authored the book, "Simply The Best -- Insights and Strategies From Great Hockey Coaches." After joining the Winterhawks early in the 2008-09 season, he guided the team to the playoffs for the first time in four years and built them into the powerhouse that won the WHL title last season. Former assistant Travis Green filled in as head coach before taking a job as head coach of the Canucks new AHL affiliate in Utica, N.Y. Although he was exiled from the club, Johnston took considerable satisfaction from the accomplishment. "Every year, we were making strides, we were taking steps and then last year we were able to break through," he said. "I was extremely proud of the coaching staff, the players and the whole team on how we handled the steps that wed been through the last four to five years -- how they progressed, how they developed and how they finally pushed over that hurdle to win a WHL championship." Now Johnston is setting his sights on a possible repeat and another berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament with the bulk of the roster that prevailed last season. The Winterhawks lost seven players to graduation and promotion to the pro ranks. Defenceman Seth Jones, the fourth overall pick in this years NHL draft, has moved on to the Nashville Predators, while winger Ty Rattie, a St. Louis Blues prospect who placed third in the WHLs scoring race with 48 goals and 62 assists, is now playing for Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon is also in the AHL, toiling for Calgarys affiliate in Abbotsford, B.C. Portland still has 15 holdovers from the championship club. Among the returnees are Brendan Leipsic, who had 49 goals and 120 points last season. "Its going to be challenging, its going to be difficult," Johnston said of the effort to repeat. "But it wasnt easy to do what we did the last couple years. There are a lot of good teams in the league. Its a well-coached league, a well-run league and every season there are five or six teams that are playing at a level where anybody could win it. "This year it looks like its even more wide open than that. But weve got a good nucleus back, weve got a good core group and I believe that well have a chance to play (for a title). Well be right there." And so will Johnston. He declined to discuss his suspension in detail, and a team spokesman noted the organization is moving on from it. Johnston also declined to indicate whether the Winterhawks have reviewed or changed their recruiting procedures in wake of the suspension. But the club is treading carefully now that Johnston has been reinstated. "Were making sure that everything we do is in conjunction with what is being allowed by the league," said Johnston. "So we are making sure that (with) any grey area, any questions we have, we are checking with the league office first to make sure were in accordance with exactly how everything should be done." That way, Johnston, a self-described career coach, can focus on guiding his charges without fear of sanctions and a hiatus that, despite his efforts to keep busy, still caused obvious discomfort. "This is what I do, what I love to do," he said. "It means a lot to be back coaching." Martin Brodeur Jersey . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. Scott Stevens Jersey . The England international raised his middle finger toward Manchester City supporters during Saturdays game at Etihad Stadium, which Arsenal lost 6-3. The incident was not seen by match officials at the time but the FA charged Wilshere retrospectively after a study of video footage. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-ken-daneyko-devils-jersey/ . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. Custom New Jersey Devils Jerseys . His second visit, not so much. Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday.FONTANA, Calif. -- With tires and tempers blowing up all over the track for 400 crazy miles, Kyle Busch stayed calm and relied on his remarkable knack for big finishes at Fontana. Busch won on this 2-mile oval for the second straight year Sunday, holding off Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart and his older brother Kurt on a frantic two-lap sprint to the finish. Kyle Busch capably blocked Larson and outlasted a crowded field to win a race featuring a track-record 35 lead changes and numerous tire problems. Busch stayed out of trouble and roared up late for his second straight stunner in Southern California, following up the Las Vegas natives final-lap surge to victory a year ago. "Holy cow, what do you expect when youve got a green-white-checkered finish and everybody has to come down pit road and put four tires on?" Busch asked after his third career win at Fontana. "That was Days of Thunder right there. Unbelievable day." With his 29th career Sprint Cup victory in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Kyle Busch is NASCARs fifth winner in five races already this season. He led just five laps -- the fewest of his career in a win. Jimmie Johnson was comfortably in front when he blew a tire with seven laps left, precipitating the wild finish. Jeff Gordon moved in front until Clint Bowyer spun with two laps to go, setting up an overtime finish. Gordon was hoping to finish on old tires when Bowyer spun, but then elected to pit along with most of the leaders. Kurt Busch gambled with just two tires, allowing him to restart in second, but his younger brother came up from fifth in the final two laps to win. "I came off the fourth turn in disbelief that we won this thing, because we were mediocre all day," Kyle Busch said. "It was really weird for us, not a race that were typically used to. But now theres a load off your shoulders that you can go out the rest of the season and race the way you want to." He also got a thrill from outlasting Larson, the 21-year-old rookie who held him off Saturday to win the Nationwide Series race. "I guess you couldnt ask for more, but I was surprised to get up there late in the race," Larson said. "We were probably a 12th-place car for most of the day." He had to settle for the best finish of his Sprint Cup career in the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. Kyle Busch, who went to Larsons car Saturday to congratulate him on his Nationwide win, pointed out his window at Larson after Sundays finish, pumping his fist in approval. "What a shoe that boy is," Kyle Busch said of Larson. KKurt Busch finished third, with Matt Kenseth in fourth and 2012 champion Stewart in fifth.dddddddddddd Several teams had serious tire problems on this weathered track, with multiple flats and cautions for various problems throughout the hot afternoon. The problems likely were the latest effect of NASCARs new aero rules, which are producing higher speeds that lead to extra stress on the tires -- particularly on the bumpy asphalt on Fontanas back straightaway, which already wears out tires aggressively. Those problems might frustrate pit crews, but they can also lead to phenomenal racing, as the sellout crowd on its feet for the finish could attest. "By no means is this a problem for Goodyear," Kurt Busch said, referring to NASCARs tire manufacturer. "Its just a thumbs-up for NASCAR for allowing teams to get aggressive in all areas." The intrigue and weirdness started early on at Fontana -- which somehow seemed appropriate for a race in which the Muppets Gonzo told the drivers to start their engines. Several drivers complained during an early pit stop that the red light was on, indicating pit road was closed. Gordon, Bowyer and Brad Keselowski did not pit because of the red light, and all were adamant NASCAR needed to correct their position in the running order. Robin Pemberton, NASCARs vice-president of competition, was told that the official in charge of displaying the flag got his uniform caught in a hole in a fence and couldnt move, preventing him from flipping off the red light. Its the second consecutive week an issue with the caution light affected the race: At Bristol last Sunday, someone in the flagstand leaned on the button that turned the caution lights on right before Carl Edwards took the white flag. Rain then began to fall heavily, and the race could not be resumed, so Edwards won under caution. Edwards finished 10th at Fontana and stayed one point ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 12th, for the overall points lead. Fontana didnt get a repeat of last years exciting duel between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, the unfriendly rivals who crashed into each other on the final lap while racing for the win. Hamlin was a last-minute scratch with a sinus infection, depriving him of the self-described chance for redemption after getting airlifted away from the track last year with a broken vertebra. Sam Hornish Jr. took his place in the No. 11 JGR Toyota and finished 17th. Logano, in a backup car after a crash earlier in the week, had to go to the garage after 114 laps, knocking him out of contention. He finished 39th. ' ' '