Inland Waterways » on the opening day of practice for the Austrian

SPIELBERG, Austria -- Red Bulls hopes for a triumph on its home circuit were dampened Friday as Mercedes regained its dominance in Formula One, clearly setting the pace on the opening day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. With Daniel Ricciardos maiden victory in Canada two weeks ago, Red Bull ended a six-race winning streak by Mercedes but the Australian driver and his teammate Sebastian Vettel did not come close to matching their rivals speed on the Red Bull Ring. Lewis Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in the second practice. Hamilton completed his best lap on the 4.3-kilometre (2.7-mile) track in 1 minute, 9.542 seconds, topping Rosberg by 0.377. Ferraris Fernando Alonso was almost a second off the lead in third. Vettel came sixth, more than 1.4 seconds behind Hamilton, while Ricciardo posted the eighth fastest time. Mercedes also came 1-2 in the opening practice, with Rosberg beating Hamilton by 0.140. "Its so close between the two of us," Rosberg said about the fight with Hamilton for pole position. "Im hoping we will still have the edge on everybody else. That seems to be the case today." However, Hamilton said he wouldnt mind if Rosberg started in front of him on Sunday. "Hunting definitely brings out the better side," the 2008 F1 champion said. "When you are in front, you feel vulnerable and any mistake you make you are going to be caught." In the morning session, Ricciardo and Vettel came only 13th and 15th respectively. "We clearly did better in the afternoon," Vettel said. "We are not there where we want to be when it comes to speed ... but it will be warmer on Saturday and Sunday and I think that will bring us closer." In the first session, Vettel brought his car back to the garage undamaged following a spectacular incident in the final turn. He came off the track and spun twice on the grass before the car came to a standstill on the track again. "That wasnt planned of course," the four-time champion said. "I went too wide and the wet grass was slippery." Ricciardo also spun on the same spot shortly afterward, prompting team boss Christian Horner to joke "they were just warming up the crowd." "We are trying to find out the limit, and both just came on the grass," said Horner, adding the track was still lacking grip during the first session. "There was also a little bit of rain in the air. Thankfully everything is fine." Rosberg quit his first practice after 19 laps with a minor problem to his hybrid engine, enabling his technicians to fix the problem in time for the afternoons session. The German, however, couldnt keep up with Hamilton this time and didnt hide his anger as he was unaware over engine tests his team was applying on his car toward the end of the second session. "I was suddenly losing power and asked over the radio what was happening," Rosberg said. "Only then they told me they had changed my engine settings." Rosberg leads Hamilton in the drivers standings by 140-118 points going into Sundays race, the first GP in Austria since 2003. Most of the 22 drivers knew the track only from computer simulation. Alonso is one of just four drivers who raced on the track before, alongside McLarens Jenson Button, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen and Williams Felipe Massa. The track is one of the shortest on the F1 calendar and features fast straights and only nine turns. Weather conditions could become an issue in the race as strong winds in the second practice Friday caused several drivers problems, especially on the third and eighth turns. The second session was considerably faster than the first as temperatures went up and teams were able to test their so-called supersoft tires, which helped cut lap times by approximately 0.6 seconds. The third practice is scheduled for Saturday, followed by the qualifying. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . The Swiss won on the fastest run-time tiebreaker after the four-racer teams tied 2-2. Wendy Holdener and Reto Schmidiger won their final heats against Julia Mancuso and Tim Jitloff, respectively. Wholesale Rockies Jerseys . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. http://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.com/ .com) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with running back Jackie Battle on a one-year contract Friday. Cheap Rockies Jerseys Authentic . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup. Cheap Colorado Rockies Jerseys . -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.(SportsNetwork.com) - Where was the pass rush from Jason Pierre-Paul earlier this season? The New York Giants defensive end looks to wreak more havoc on the St. Louis Rams Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. Pierre-Paul recorded only 1 1/5 sacks in his first six games and 3 1/2 over 11 games from Sept. 8 - Nov. 23. JPP posted 2 1/2 sacks in Sundays 24-13 win over the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium and has six in the past three games. I think we have some people that are playing very well, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said today. JPP is playing very well. Technically, early on, he was doing some things that we could correct and help with and he has really adapted his game again to the way and manner in which we would like him to rush. Pierre-Paul is now the veteran of the bunch and arguably the most talented across the defensive line. He had 2 1/2 of New Yorks seven sacks on the afternoon, while DT Johnathan Hankins posted 2 1/2 as well. JPP leads the team with 9 1/2 on the season and rookie linebacker Devon Kennard has 4 1/2 sacks over the previous three games. The Giants have sacked opposing quarterbacks at least seven times in each of the last three games (22 total). They have 41 total this season. New York has won two straight following a seven-game losing streak and are averaging 28 points per game in the last four. It is 3-7 against NFC foes this season and 2-5 as the visiting team. St. Louis is coming off Thursdays 12-6 setback versus the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals last Thursday, as the offense stalled with a pair of Greg Zuerlein field goals. Rams quarterback Shaun Hill passed for 229 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, while running back Tre Mason added 33 yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver Stedman Bailey posted a team-best 74 yards on five receptions. Its hard to win football games when you dont score touchdowns, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said. The difference in this game was our inability to get the ball in the end zone. The Rams had won two straight and three of four games. Weve got to keep battling in this game, Rams tight end Jared Cook said. The seasons not over. Weve still got two games left. Youve got to keep scratching and clawing your way to the top. St. Louis leads the series with New York, 25-14, and the teams have split two playoff matchups. The Giants have won the last five meetings with the Rams and recorded a 28-16 triumph in the last matchup on Sept. 19, 2011. Eli Manning threw for 223 yards with a pair of TD strikes and one interception. Coughlin is 3-1 in his career against the Rams, with the lone loss coming in 1996 while the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. WHAT TO LOOK FOR Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has taken off the past few weeks, especially the previous two games. He had 11 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown at Tennessee on Dec. 7, then caught 12 passes for 143 yards and three scores on Sunday. Beckhams speed and excellent hand coordination has him as one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year. Nothing this guy does amazes me at this point, Giants safety Antrel Rolle said of Beckham. Hes a phenomenal talent and more importantlly, I think he has the attitude and passion that this game deserves and that this team needs.dddddddddddd He tries to go out there and be the best of the best each and every time on the field. Beckham has six touchdown catches in his last four games and five 100-yard efforts in the past seven. Beckham has recorded no less than 90 yards receiving since early November and his 12 catches Sunday were a rookie record for the Giants. Beckhams 12 receptions tied the highest total by a wide receiver in franchise history and it was the sixth time a Giants player caught at least 12 passes in a game. Hakeem Nicks was the last to accomplish the feat, registering 12 receptions at Houston on Oct. 10, 2010. His 972 yards this season are a new Giants rookie record. The old record of 894 was set by Jeremy Shockey in 2002. The LSU products nine touchdowns this season are the highest total by a Giants rookie since Bill Swiacki set the record with 10 in 1948. The young man is having outstanding success. When we are getting the ball to him, hes doing very well with it, Coughlin said. Hes a very good football player. He has the ability to go the distance, I think, any time he gets it ... whether as a punt returner or as an offensive player. He can run the football; he can throw the football, so weve tried to create a lot of situations. He does have the talent to exploit the defense in a lot of different ways. The Rams are allowing 249.7 receiving yards a game this season. St. Louis has five players with two or more interceptions and cornerback Trumaine Johnson leads the team with three in seven games. Alec Ogletree, E.J. Gaines, Rodney McLeod and Janoris Jenkins each have two INTs. Manning is good for one or two interceptions a game, but protected the ball Sunday versus Washington. In his last six games, Manning has thrown eight picks to 10 TD strikes. He won his 90th regular-season game as New Yorks starting QB, five behind Phil Simms (95). Manning, who passed for 250 yards with three TDs and no INTs, recorded a rating of 118.5, the second-highest of the season. We are preparing ourselves today for a very good (St. Louis) Rams team that is very physical, Coughlin said. They have done a lot of very good things. They have done good things at home and we are going there to play at their place. Manning is facing a Rams defense that has posted 36 sacks, including 10 1/2 by Robert Quinn. Quinn has 4 1/2 sacks in his last three games and has posted at least 10 in each of the previous three seasons. OVERALL ANALYSIS The Giants would enjoy nothing more than to end the season on a high note and perhaps save the job of Coughlin. After visiting the Rams, the Giants will close the season at home versus Philadelphia, which is still eyeing the postseason. Before trying to spoil the Eagles season, New York has to get through a stingy St. Louis defense and Manning must keep the football out of harms way. The Rams scored only six points versus a tough Arizona squad and will at least triple that number Sunday. It wont be enough, however, to stop Beckham and his remarkable season. 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