INDIANAPOLIS -- The orange and brown glasses slide down the bridge of Jacques Villeneuves nose.
Bob Probert Jersey . Along with the greying hair and growing bald spot, they give the Canadian driver a professorial vibe.
Its only reinforced when he begins to speak. In clear, crisp sentences spiced by
that unmistakable French-Canadian accent, Villeneuve lays out his opinion on
just about anything -- especially when it comes to the Indy 500. He will talk
about the latest generation of cars, lament the fact there is only one chassis
manufacturer, and argue that spotters who are supposed to make the race safer
have often had the opposite effect. Then hell talk about the speed and the
danger. "Some younger drivers didnt grow up seeing racing as being dangerous,"
said Villeneuve, who is back at the Indianapolis 500 after a 19-year absence.
"They break their little finger and they are surprised. Its like, Be happy its
only that." Of course, Villeneuve forgets many of those younger drivers grew up
watching him. James Hinchcliffe, a fellow Canadian, said his earliest memory of
watching a race was 1995, when Villeneuve took advantage of a late penalty on
Scott Goodyear to win the Indy 500. That was also the last time Villeneuve
stepped into an Indy car at the iconic racetrack. At least, it was until this
year. "Its cool to have him back," Hinchcliffe said, "because hes obviously one
of the guys I looked up to as a young driver, and one of the guys I never
thought Id have a chance to race." Villeneuve spent nearly two decades driving
just about everything but an IndyCar. He won a Formula One title, tried his hand
at NASCAR and drove at Le Mans. He dabbled in RallyCross and even raced V8
Supercars around the street circuits of Australia. But the lure of Indy started
to tug him back. Villeneuve, who will start 27th on Sunday, watched with rapt
attention last year as Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag. He was intrigued by
the record number of lead changes, the way cars moved through the field and how
stiff the competition had become. Villeneuve managed to land a ride with team
owners Sam Schmidt and Rick Peterson, and will be part of a stable that includes
Mikhail Aleshin and Simon Pagenaud on Sunday. "If I jumped from F-1 to this
again, it wouldnt be an issue," Villeneuve said of the return to open-wheel
racing, "but the first 20 laps, your eyes, your brain -- its not used to those
speeds, so it is a big shock. You have to get out, breath again, and then get
back in and its like, All right. Business as usual." His team may be an
underfunded underdog, at least compared to heavyweights Penske, Ganassi and
Andretti Autosport, and he may have struggled Friday in the final practice on
Carb Day. But none of that will convince Villeneuve that he doesnt have a chance
to win. "When I won here we were two laps down and we spent the whole race
minding our own business," he said. "Thats the key: You should mind your own
business. Figure out what is happening with everyone else at the end. You need a
little bit of luck, and then you need to see how it pans out. I just hope Im not
one of those people who does something stupid." Pagenaud was surprised to see
his new teammate prepare for the race the moment he arrived in Indianapolis.
Qualifying was almost an afterthought as Villeneuve gazed ahead to Sunday. "It
actually makes me wonder why he focused so much on the race," Pagenaud said with
a wry grin. "Im sure hell come up with something in the race and Ill learn
then." If he does come up with something, Villeneuve could make history. The
43-year-old would break Al Unsers record of 17 years between victories that has
stood since 1987. Even if he doesnt win, though, a good showing could prove
invaluable. Villeneuve has dropped hints that he may be try to run the IndyCar
series full-time next year, and that would turn the Indy 500 into quite an
audition. "I had an opportunity to spend half an hour with Jacques in the garage
area a week ago," said Goodyear, now an analyst for ABC. "Through all the
questions I was asking him, catching up with him, I asked him, Why come back to
something that youve won, have great memories with? "He said, Racing is my
oxygen. I need to race something."
Bob Probert Red Wings Jersey . They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point
guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted.
Terry Sawchuk Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. NEW YORK -- When told he was going to start the makeup of Fridays
rainout, Daisuke Matsuzaka said he was certain he could go deep into the game,
throw maybe 100 pitches, even though hes spent this season in the bullpen. He
never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had
success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the
offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader
split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "Im pretty confident in my
hitting so I just wanted to get a hit and get a run in," the .185 career hitter
coming in said through a translator. "I wanted to pitch as deep into the game as
I could and today I was able -- that was the least I couldve done." Bobby Abreu
added a run-scoring double in a rare chance to play because Eric Young Jr. was
held out with a tight right hamstring. He will be examined by a doctor before
the Mets decide if the speedy outfielder needs to go on the disabled list.
Outfielder Matt den Dekker is on his way to New York from Triple-A Las Vegas in
case Young goes on the DL. The Diamondbacks used a miscue by Daniel Murphy in
the ninth and turned a season high-tying five double plays for a 2-1 victory in
the opener. Anthony Recker had a career high four hits. Pinch-hitter
Ruben Tejada hit a tiebreaking single off Triple-A Reno callup Zeke Spruill
(0-1) in the sixth inning for the Mets, who have won just three of 11 games. "We
realize were not hitting, were not scoring runs. When you can win a game, when
you can get a big hit -- Ruben had a tremendous big hit for us -- its a lift,"
manager Terry Collins said. "Its nice to go into the next series with a W."
Murphy added an RBI single in the eighth for New York. Jenrry Mejia pitched the
ninth for his third save after getting the loss in the opener. Its the first
time the converted starter pitched twice in a day and he is finally feeling like
a closer. "Right now I feel pretty good. Lets see how I feel (Monday)," he said.
"Its unbelievable." The 33-year-old Matsuzaka (2-0) made 123 starts and one
relief appearance in seven big league seasons before being called up by the Mets
in mid-April. The longest of his 14 relief outings this season was 3 2-3 innings
and 56 pitches. But he threw 98 pitched and allowed only three hits. Other than
a three-batter sequence in the second when Aaron Hill led off with a single,
Martin Prado got a favourable carom for an RBI triple and Cody Ross followed
with a run-scoring groundout, Matsuzka was sharp. He struck out six, walked one
and hit a batter. Matsuzaka got a run back for the Mets when he sent a
broken-bat flare into left field in the second inning. "It tells you the kind of
heart hes got," Collins said off Matsuzaka.
Darren Helm Red Wings Jersey. "He knows we needed help." After Lucas Duda and Chris Young each stranded six runners and
grounded into a combined three double plays in the first game, Collins mixed up
a lineup that was 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in the opener. They
were 4 for 13 in the late game. The 40-year-old Abreu was making only his sixth
start since coming up five weeks ago and he had two hits, driving in the tying
run in the fifth with a double off Spruill, the Diamondbacks 26th man for the
twin-bill. Tejada hit for Matsuzaka in the bottom of the sixth and had an RBI
single. Spruill gave up 10 hits and three runs in 5 1-3 innings. "He did well
for us. ... He gave us a chance to win," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said.
"But we could mount no offence at all." In the opener, the Diamondbacks broke a
1-all tie when Murphy dropped a throw at second base from David Wright, trying
for an inning-ending forceout in the ninth. A.J. Pollock, who doubled off Mejia
(4-1), scored when Murphy dropped Wrights force attempt at second base on Owings
grounder to third base. Owings homered off Rafael Montero and Wright had an RBI
single off Bronson Arroyo, both runs coming in the first. Addison Reed earned
his 14th save. Montero and Arroyo impressed with differing styles. The
23-year-old Montero used a 91-92 mph fastball to strikeout 10 in his third big
league start. The high-kicking, slow-pitching Arroyo induced four double plays
-- including inning-ending turns in the second, third and fourth innings to keep
the game tied. Duda had the double play that hurt the most. With first and
third, he hit a sharp grounder off Evan Marshall (2-0) to first baseman
Paul Goldschmidt, who threw home. Catcher Miguel Montero made a perfect relay
back to Goldschmidt at first base. Gibson said he lifted Arroyo after six
innings because the 37-year-old right-hander had a tender elbow. "Ill be fine.
Ill make my next start," Arroyo said. "Theres times when youre grinding through
(stuff)." Hill had to leave the finale a couple of innings after he fouled a
ball off his left ankle. "It blew up pretty big on him, the top of his ankle, so
I had to get him out of there," Gibson said. "I think itll be OK, but its pretty
swollen up; he couldnt hit." NOTES: Mets C Travis dArnaud (concussion) caught
five innings Sunday and went 1 for 3 with a two-run home run for Double-A
Binghamton in his first rehab game. ... Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said
RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) was help out of his rehab start. He also
said a June 5 return for Gee is unlikely. ... The Mets 26th man for the DH, RHP
Vic Black, was sent back to Las Vegas. ... The Diamondbacks were a combined 0
for 13 with runners in scoring position.
Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
