INDIANAPOLIS -- The orange and brown glasses slide down the bridge of Jacques Villeneuves nose.
Tajh
Boyd Clemson 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."
Paul
George Fresno State Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption
lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to
join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and
Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major.
Marshawn
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Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and
the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88
victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.OKLAHOMA CITY --
Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City had an answer for every challenge from the
Chicago Bulls. It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant
scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for
their eighth straight win. Oklahoma City led by 15 in the opening minute of the
fourth quarter, but the Bulls pulled within seven on D.J. Augustins 3-pointer
with 8:50 to go. Oklahoma City then outscored Chicago 16-4 over a late 5
1/2-minute stretch to pull away. "I thought our defence was good the whole
game," Durant said after topping 30 points for the 13th time this season. "They
slowed us down a little bit with their free throws, but I thought we just played
through it in the second half. We were able to come out and speed it up a little
bit, get some turnovers and get some easy points." Russell Westbrook had 20
points and 10 assists, and reserve Reggie Jackson added 18 to help the Thunder
improve to 13-0 at Chesapeake Arena. Oklahoma City is the only NBA team with a
perfect home record. "If we move the ball like that with the guys we have that
create for everybody, create for themselves, it makes it tough on other teams,"
Durant said. Joakim Noah had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the banged-up Bulls,
who have lost four straight and seven of eight. Taj Gibson scored 16 points and
Augustin added 15. Chicago played without Kirk Hinrich (back tightness) and
Luol Deng (sore Achilles), and Jimmy Butler left during the game with a right
ankle injury. "I thought we still had a shot in the second half," Bulls coach
Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought we were within striking distance, but we couldnt
get the key stops when we needed them. ... Youve got to give them credit."
Oklahoma City led by 14 in the first half, but their advantage was cut to three
at the break, prompting a strong response from the Thunder in the third quarter.
They used a 13-4 run to go up 68-56 with 7:52 to go in the period. Westbrooks
layup increased the advantage to 13 about 1 1/2 minutes later, and tthen he had
a layup and Durant made a jumper to make it 79-64 with 3:25 left in the third.
Doug
McDermott Creighton Jersey. Jacksons 3 in the final minute put Oklahoma
City up 84-72 heading to the fourth, and Nick Collison opened the final quarter
with three-point play. The Bulls put together another spurt to close to 89-82 on
Augustins 3, but that was as close as it would get. "We were just trying to shut
down the paint," Jackson said. "That was our main focus at halftime and I think
we did a good job of locking in, getting some stops, and getting out on the
break. ... Theyre physical. They play really well defensively, especially
half-court sets. Right now theyre a little depleted, people are banged up, beat
up." Jeremy Lambs dunk with 7:44 left made it 93-82, pumping up the home crowd.
Durant made a 3-pointer and Westbrooks two free throws with 3:06 to go extended
the lead to 105-86. "I think our defence just hasnt been there to help us out,"
Gibson said. "We are normally a great defensive team. We just got to get guys
more reps, especially now that we lost Jimmy with the ankle." Jackson made six
of the Thunders seven baskets in a 6:13 stretch bridging the first two quarters.
Lambs steal and fast-break dunk with 9:21 left in the second interrupted
Jacksons streak at four consecutive baskets. Jacksons jumper about a minute
later gave Oklahoma City a 41-27 lead. Chicago battled back, and Mike Dunleavy
hit two 3s in the final minute to get the Bulls within 55-52 at halftime. NOTES:
Durant was whistled for a technical foul with 2:25 left in the first quarter for
arguing following his second personal foul. ... Led by Jackson and Lamb, Thunder
reserves came in averaging 33.6 points per game, the franchises highest since
moving to Oklahoma City. ... Deng missed four games earlier this month due to a
strained left calf. The Bulls are now 1-4 in his absence. ... About 45 minutes
after the game, Thabo Sefolosha brought Noah to the Thunder locker room with the
media still present, but the Bulls star was chased out by Oklahoma Citys
Kendrick Perkins.
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