Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti was released from a Houston hospital Thursday, four days after fracturing his spine and breaking his right ankle in an IndyCar Series crash. Cheap Celtics Jerseys Authentic . "Im overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and Im thankful to have such a great family and such wonderful friends and fans. Thanks to everyone at the hospital and the track who took such good care of me during my stay in Houston," Franchitti said in a statement. Franchitti was headed back to Indianapolis for further evaluation and will eventually have a second surgery on his ankle. He underwent surgery Sunday night to stabilize his ankle following the accident on the last lap of the Grand Prix of Houston. Target Chip Ganassi Racing released a photo of the four-time series champion before he left the hospital. Franchitti was smiling, surrounded by his two dogs, and aided by a walker. His right leg was in a cast and he was wearing a heavy brace around his torso. He will be replaced by Alex Tagliani in the No. 10 Honda in the Oct. 19 season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where teammate Scott Dixon will be trying to win his third IndyCar championship. "I look forward to watching Scott, Alex and the Target team next weekend on television, and will be pulling for them as they go for another championship," Franchitti said. Dixon joked Thursday that Franchitti had gotten use of his phone again, "so thats a good sign. He seems to be in good spirits," and has mentioned trying to come to Fontana to watch the race. Although hes glad the team picked Tagliani to as a replacement driver, Dixon said hed have liked to have his longtime teammate in the car next week. "I would have liked Dario to be there and to be in fighting spirits and helping me win the championship," Dixon said. "I think Tag was a solid choice. As a team, the drivers and myself, we dont have much control in situations like that. I think they picked the best guy. Im great friends with Tag. We hang out a fair bit, and it makes it an easy transition." Dixon takes a 25-point lead over Helio Castroneves into the finale. He was down 49 points going into last weekends doubleheader at Houston, where he won the first race and finished second on Sunday. Castroneves said Franchitti was slow to respond this week to emails from drivers, but is finally communicating. "He mentioned that he is on a lot of painkillers, so hes not feeling so much," Castroneves said Thursday. "He is joking right now hes not feeling much. But we are very glad -- I mean, it could be more serious than that." Franchitti was injured when his car made contact with Takuma Satos car in Turn 5 and sailed into the fence. It tore a section of fencing out before his car bounced back onto the track. Debris scattered into the grandstand, injuring 13 fans and an IndyCar official. Castroneves said the fence at Reliant Park worked in that it kept Franchittis car inside the course. Dixon praised the new DW-12 car, introduced last season. "What the car went through and how Darios crash sort of played out, you know, he was lucky. The car did exactly what it should have," Dixon said. "Having seen the car after the wreck, its done its job. I think we definitely saw the advantages of some of the safety things that have been added to the cars throughout the years, and IndyCar is as always ever pushing on and trying to make them safer, and they are. "But still reality, man. Its racing, fast cars, and some tricky positions sometimes." Cheap Boston Celtics Jerseys . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Cheap Danny Ainge Jersey . The roster changes have been constant and continuous since late last year, but even with their 46-man roster set for the start of the season, the banged-up Bombers will be kicking off Week 1 with a handful of fresh faces and back-ups in the starting lineup. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-kyrie-irving-jersey . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded.Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - A Top-25 matchup is on tap in the ACC, as the fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals take on the 18th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday afternoon. Rick Pitinos Cardinals are sitting at 14-1 on the season with the lone loss coming a couple of weeks ago against rival Kentucky (58-50). Since then, Louisville has gotten back to its winning ways, with three straight victories, including wins over Wake Forest (85-76) and Clemson (58-52) to begin its first run through ACC play. Roy Williams Tar Heels arent the new kids on the block by any stretch of the imagination. North Carolina has been a powerhouse in the ACC for a long time and despite four losses, they are among the conference elite once again. The Heels are however, coming into this matchup off their first ACC loss on the season, falling at home to Notre Dame, 71-70 on Monday. North Carolina holds a 9-3 series edge over Louisville and won the last meeting, a 93-84 shootout last year at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff in Uncasville, Conn. The Cardinals are coming off a poor offensive performance against Clemson, as the team shot just .327 from the floor overall. The first half was particularly disappointing for the Cardinals, as they scored just 18 points on .222 efficiency and trailed the Tigers, 22-18 at the break. The team rallied in the second half though with 40 points to top Clemson and remain unbeaten in league play. Chris Jones led the way with 22 points. Fellow guard Terry Rozier poured in 15, while forward Wayne Blackshear finished with 11. All-America candidate Montrezl Harrell struggled though, finishing the game wwith just six points and six rebounds. Cheap Celtics Jerseys. . The one constant for Louisville this season has been strong play at the defensive end of the floor. The Cardinals are limiting foes to a mere 55.5 ppg, while holding them under 36 percent shooting overall, including a mere 28 percent from behind the arc. The team also boasts of an impressive +5.2 turnover margin. Four of the teams five starters are averaging double figures, although the scoring pool dries up after that. Rozier paces the team with 17.0 ppg. Despite a less-than-stellar outing against Clemson, Harrell is still delivering on 59.7 percent from the floor and averaging 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Jones (12.8 ppg) and Blackshear (12.5 ppg) round out the potent quartet. North Carolina will put Louisvilles vaunted defense to the test in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are averaging 80.1 ppg as one of the most explosive squads in the ACC. Guard Marcus Paige headlines the team in the scoring column at 13.5 ppg. Sophomore big man Kennedy Meeks is UNCs equivalent of Harrell. Meeks is converting 58.6 percent of his shots and is averaging 12.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Brice Johnson (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Justin Jackson (9.6 ppg) and J.P. Tokoto (9.1 ppg) provide more than enough scoring depth. Despite holding a huge edge in rebounding (43-26), UNC allowed Notre Dame to drain 10 3-pointers in the Irish win on Monday. North Carolina couldnt keep pace, shooting just .369 from the floor overall, including a mere 4-of-16 from behind the arc. Paige was just 6-of-17 from the floor, but he did lead the team with 15 points. Tokoto and Meeks each posted 12 points in the loss. 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