Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]


Add Reply
over Pittsburgh, Philadelphia has n
Topic Started: Dec 12 2012, 07:28 AM (9 Views)
lingzi

TORONTO -- After several minutes in the pits, James Hinchcliffes crew revved his crippled engine one last time. Wes Welker Jersey . The crackling sound it made told him his day was done. Hinchcliffe capped a rough week with an early exit from Sundays Honda Indy Toronto. The Oakville, Ont., native, who remains fifth in the IndyCar driver standings, pulled out after just 27 laps due to persistent engine troubles. "It started as a little hesitation that was progressively getting worse, and that usually means its going to blow up soon," said Hinchcliffe. "Rather than risk that and maybe having a 10-place penalty in Edmonton (on July 22), hopefully we can take this one back, get it fixed and just hit the ground running in two weeks." The other Canadian in the race, Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., was forced into two early pit stops but stormed back to finish 10th. Engine woes plagued Hinchcliffe all week long. A problem during Fridays qualifying session forced the 25-year-old to swap out engines, a move that resulted in a 10-place penalty and forced him to start 19th on the grid. Hinchcliffe was one of the fastest in the field on Sunday, moving up six spots in the first 14 laps. He moved into the top 12 on Lap 16 before hitting the pits for a tire change and vaulted to fifth when the lead pack pitted en masse 10 laps later. But the Andretti Autosports driver went back into the pits after telling his team he felt a "weird hesitation" in the motor. "They wanted to know exactly what I could feel, and then as I started reporting that, they started seeing it in the data and they could see that something was seriously wrong," Hinchcliffe said. "For them, the big thing is that we were out of this race no matter what. "It was more to try and protect Edmonton now and not have to switch to another engine." Fans sitting in the vicinity of the pit area groaned after discovering Hinchcliffe was out, then gave him a warm ovation as he waved to the crowd. Sundays disappointing result did little to dampen Hinchcliffes mood. He was upbeat when speaking with reporters and spoke about how fortunate he felt to be able to race in his home town. "Its so cool coming home to race in Toronto," he said. "I guess Im getting a small sense of what Paul (Tracy) lived through for all these years. You cant go through the paddock on your scooter without 10, 12, 15 people knowing who you are and wishing you luck. "Ive never experienced anything like this." Team owner Michael Andretti, a seven-time champion in Toronto as a driver, said he believed Hinchcliffe and race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay had a chance to finish 1-2. "I feel so bad for him, because he was doing a hell of a job," Andretti said. "He was going to be a factor for the win. Watching the times he was running ... and then his engine had a problem, which was a shame." Tagliani made an early pit stop for a tire change but the move didnt yield results. He was forced to stop again on Lap 26 to fix a broken nose section, a move that dropped him to the back of the pack. He eventually made up enough ground -- and avoided the late-race calamity that claimed several other drivers -- to secure his ninth top-10 finish in 12 open-wheel races in Toronto, and his first since 2009. "To finish the day with a 10th place position is pretty amazing," Tagliani said. "I think we had a fast car but we never had the chance to prove it. We had a wing problem early on, then some tire pressure and then finally when the car was good, we didnt have sixth gear. "Im very proud." Notes: Tracy -- a native of Toronto -- is the only Canadian to win the race, capturing the 1993 and 2003 titles. ... Hinchcliffe was surprised when told that IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard considers him one of the circuits stars. "I hadnt realized we had gotten to that point," said Hinchcliffe, who is still looking for his first win. "Thats a flattering thing for the boss to say." ... Taglianis best result in Toronto was a runner-up finish in 2001. Rob Gronkowski NFL Jersey . -- Georgia is dealing with a big loss heading into its Southeastern Conference showdown against South Carolina. John Hannah Jersey . The former middleweight champion is back to his familiar role as super sub Saturday night, filling in for the injured Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort against Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva at UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. http://www.nflpatriotsfansshop.com/vince-wilfork-womens-jersey/ . Its sentimental, its obvious and its cheap. Its also a few hours away from possibly happening in real life. At midnight tonight, the Toronto Raptors will attempt to convince Steve Nash to sign away the last few years he has left in the NBA to an organization that hasnt secured a single top-tier free agent in their entire seventeen-year history. Rob Gronkowski Elite Jersey . Roethlisberger broke the thumb in the second half of the Steelers win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 13. He wore a splint under his glove and didnt take a snap from under centre during Mondays practice. Stevan Ridley Red Jersey . Not surprisingly, they didnt recover. RedHawks centrefielder Nic Jackson had a double, a home run and five runs batted in while third baseman Ryan Stovall had two singles, a home and three RBI, as the RedHawks pounded eight Goldeyes pitchers for 16 runs on 13 hits (along with nine walks) as the ‘Hawks won their third straight from the Fish and took the four-game series in Winnipeg, three-games-to-one.NEWARK, N.J. -- The Philadelphia Flyers better start worrying about the New Jersey Devils, and soon -- real soon. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists in his return to the lineup and set up Alexei Ponikarovskys tally with 2:39 left in overtime as the Devils defeated the Flyers, 4-3, Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal series. "Winning this game in overtime is a big plus," said Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who made 25 saves. "We tried to keep serve, I guess. We play another big one, and we can really put the pressure on them in the next game if we play well. Its a good team on the other side, and we have to be cautious about the way were going to have to approach our game." New Jersey will look to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series here Sunday. The Devils have the series edge because theyve scored 11 goals in three games, and their penalty kill -- No. 1 in the NHL during the regular season -- has been outstanding. It erased two penalties in overtime and has limited the Flyers to two goals on 16 extra-man chances overall. Philadelphia was 12-for-23 against Pittsburgh in the opening round. "Were really confident with our penalty kill. Its been good all series," said Zach Parise, who also scored for New Jersey along with Patrik Elias. "Theyve got great players on the power play, but were finding a way to make it tough on them. We had to remind ourselves that we had the best penalty kill all year, and that was for a reason." The Devils short-handed unit was so good in overtime that the Flyers never threatened in those four minutes. Kovalchuk, who missed Game 2 with a lower back injury, then made a pass from his own end that sent Ponikarovsky into the Flyers zone on a 2-on-1. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped his initial shot but the forward snared his first goal of the post-season on a backhander that Bryzgalovs left side. "I didnt have time to celebrate because everyone jumped on me right away," Ponikarovsky said, "but I had a great time in the pile." But Kovalchuk, clearly, was the Devils top player in Game 3. "You feel pressure," Kovalchuk said. "The guys played so well, and you dont want to get back in the lineup just because you want to play." Danny Briere, Matt Carle and Brayden Schenn tallied for the Flyers. Bryzgalov had 27 saves. "Were down 2-1, the pressure is on us," Flyers forward Claude Giroux said. "There is no guy on this team that is going to quit. Its going to be a wake-up call. "We have a good series now." Schenn nearly won the game eight minutes into overtime with a deflection in front and then the Devils penalty kill did an outstanding job after a controversial boarding call against Dainius Zubrus with 11:37 left in the overtime and a delay-of-game penalty against Bryce Salvador. New Jersey had problems with its short-handed lines in Round 1 vs. Florida, but the unit has regained its form. "I think the power play won us a lot of games this year and tonight wasnt the case," Giroux said. "We have to do a better job." The Devils seemed on the verge of a 3-2 win early in the third when Parise rammed a puck into the net from in close after Elias won a loose puck behind the net and found the Devils captain all alone at the right goal post. Kovalchuk came within inches of making it a two-goal lead minutes later, when he had a shot hit off the crossbar as Bryzgalov looked behind him. Rob Gronkowski Nike Jersey. "He had three points, a huge goal, and then a great play on the winner," Parise said of Kovalchuk. "He is a special player, and its good to get him back." Philadelphia tied the game on somewhat of a gift from Brodeur. The Devils 39-year-old goaltender could not control a weak shot from the outside of the left faceoff circle by New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk, and Briere chipped the rebound over his pads. He has scored goals in five of the Flyers nine playoff games. The first two periods were distinct with the Devils dominating the final 11 minutes of the opening session, and the Flyers having the upper hand for most of the second. Carle tied the game at 2-2 at 4:44 of the second with a blast from the top of the left circle that was set up by Jakub Voracek. The forward took a pass along the right boards, skated around the net and found an unguarded Carle coming in from the point for a shot that whizzed by Brodeur. The goal came minutes after Bryzgalov stopped Adam Henrique on a breakaway to prevent New Jersey from taking a 3-1 lead. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Devils outshot Philadelphia 10-3 and grabbed the lead when Elias and Kovalchuk tallied in a 20-second span, the fastest two post-season goals in franchise history. Kovalchuk, the Devils leading scorer in the regular season with 37 goals and 83 points, had his legs in the opening period and it paid off for New Jersey. With Braydon Coburn off for tripping, Elias tied the score with a shot from the right circle that went off Bryzgalovs glove. Kovalchuk recorded the secondary assist on the play, sending a pass from the left point to defenceman Marek Zidlicky, who slid it to Elias. Kovalchuks goal came on a quick counterattack in which he came late down the middle, took a pass from Travis Zajac and wristed a shot past the Flyers goalie. The Russian, who had never been part of a winning team in an NHL series until this years first round vs. the Panthers, pumped his fists and celebrated his fourth goal. And there was more to celebrate after Parises go-ahead goal stood. Schenn had put the Flyers ahead with a power-play goal 6:08 after the opening faceoff. Briere set up Schenns third post-season goal with a pass from along the goal line that found Schenn low in the left circle. His shot beat Brodeur to the short side. The Devils have now won three of four overtime contests this post-season, including Games 6 and 7 vs. Florida, when facing elimination. Meanwhile, dating back to their first-round win over Pittsburgh, Philadelphia has now lost consecutive road games. NOTES: The Flyers didnt make any lineup changes. The Devils did. With Kovalchuk returning, New Jersey sat defenceman Peter Harrold, who had played in all nine previous playoff games. ... The old Devils record for two fastest playoff goals was 26 seconds by Petr Sykora and Bobby Holik on May 14, 2000 at Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. That Devils team won the Stanley Cup. ... Flyers C Sean Couturier sustained a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... The crowd of 17,625 was a sellout. ... Devils rookie defenceman Adam Larsson, 19, who scored in his playoff debut in Game 2, remained in the lineup. ... Brodeur will turn 40 on Sunday, in time for Game 4. ' ' '
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Forum Number One · Next Topic »
Add Reply




Skin orginally created by Tariq | Converted by Lewis of the ZetaBoard Theme Zone