Tagebücher unser Lieblinge » There is plenty of blame to be shared

BROOKLYN, Mich. - The numbers keep climbing — and this time the rise was anything but gradual. Jeff Gordon set the track qualifying record at Michigan International Speedway on Friday with a speed of 206.558 mph, winning his 76th career pole in NASCARs Sprint Cup series. Gordon broke the previous mark of 204.557 by a remarkable margin — and that record was set just two months ago by Kevin Harvick. Speeds at MIS have been climbing ever since the two-mile oval was repaved before the 2012 season. When Marcos Ambrose reached 203.241 that year, it was the first time anyone won a pole at over 200 mph since Bill Elliott did it in 1987, before horsepower-sapping restrictor plates were introduced at Talladega and Daytona. Joey Logano broke Ambroses record last August, only for Harvick and Gordon to keep pushing it higher. "I dont know where to start," Gordon said. "You can point at the repaving of the racetrack. This track is smooth — has a tremendous amount of surface area where the tire can get a lot of grip to it. The next thing is the cars." Gordons run Friday was the seventh-fastest pole-winning speed in the history of NASCARs top series. NASCAR overhauled its qualifying process before this season, switching to a knockout format similar to Formula One and IndyCar. NASCAR now uses three rounds of qualifying at tracks 1 1/4 miles in length or larger. The entire field has 25 minutes to post their fastest single lap and the top 24 advance to the second round. The second segment lasts 10 minutes, and the fastest 12 advance to a final, 5-minute round. There have been 17 qualifying records set this season, so this is not simply an MIS phenomenon. "It has nothing to do with the racetrack picking up speed," said Logano, who qualified second behind Gordon. "It has (to do with) what weve been doing to the race cars to go faster. ... I believe its cooler out, too. So I think between those two things, thats why we went faster again, but the racetrack itself isnt picking up speed. The racetrack, if anything, is maintaining to getting slower. But its widening out, so its becoming a better race." It was Gordons second pole of the season. He also qualified first last week at Watkins Glen but finished 34th, giving up the series points lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not everyone took advantage of the favourable conditions at MIS. Earnhardt and Johnson failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying. Earnhardt was 25th and Johnson 30th. Johnson, who won at Michigan in June, has finished out of the top 10 in the last five races — and 28th or lower in four of them. "Weve just had a vibration with our car, really a shake, a violent shake through the corner," Johnson said. "Weve been trying to get to the bottom of it. We made it better, and it certainly went faster, but just not enough. Well go back to the drawing board." Carl Edwards qualified third, followed by Brian Vickers and Brad Keselowski. "Its fast — thats the simplest way to describe it," Edwards said. "I wish you guys could ride in that car with me there. That is screaming." Cheap Adidas Superstar Free Shipping . "This isnt really the week you want to lose Chris Greaves," fellow lineman Glenn January said Wednesday after practice. Greaves is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a knee injury in last weeks 36-28 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. Adidas Superstar Wholesale China . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. http://www.cheapadidassuperstar.us/. The Goldeyes (10-7) lost 4-1 to the Saltdogs (8-9) Sunday afternoon before 5,834 sizzling fans at Shaw Park. The loss drops Winnipegs record to 3-4 during this past weeks seven-game homestand. Cheap Adidas Superstar .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Cheap Adidas Superstar China . According to bodog.ca, Cleveland moved up to grab the best odds to win the Larry OBrian trophy at 4-1 on Friday. By comparison, the Miami Heats odds plummeted from 3-1 favourites before LeBron left, to 50-1.KAPALUA, Hawaii -- On the golf course with the widest fairways on the PGA Tour, Zach Johnson believes that keeping the ball in the short grass is key to success. On a course that favours power players because the par 5s can be reached in two, Johnson didnt make birdie on any of them Saturday. Stranger still is that he matched the best score of the day and had a three-shot lead in the Tournament of Champions. The only explanation is that Johnson is playing some pretty good golf. "Am I surprised? No. Its only two days, so its halfway done for me," Johnson said after his 7-under 66 gave him a three-shot lead. "Im very comfortable as a competitor. One of my goals every year is those par 5s, and Im a little bitter about that right now. But Ill get over it." Defending champion Dustin Johnson birdied half of the holes at Kapalua for a 66 and was three shots behind, along with Matt Kuchar (68) and Jordan Spieth (70). Zach Johnson was at 13-under 133. Dustin Johnson approaches the Plantation Course differently. He birdied all the par 5s with his length, and only fell back with a pair of bogeys on the back nine when he missed short putts. Even so, he was in good position heading into the final two rounds of a tournament that ends Monday. "This golf course sets up well for me," Dustin Johnson said. "I can reach all the par 5s, and theres a few short holes where you can drive it up close to the green. So if I chip and it and putt it well, Im going to shoot a good score pretty much every time." So what does Zach Johnson make of that outlook? "I would say Im up by three gross, and by eight or nine net, based on that rationale," he said. Clearly, theres more than one way to get around a course built on a side of the mountain on the west end of Maui. Kuchar had his second straight round of 68 with some good birdies and a few bogeys. Spieth had said he shouldnt make too many bogeys on this course if he kept it in play, though he made one on No. 7 to lose some momentum. Even so, the 20-year-old Texan had few complaints after his opening two rounds of a new year. Webb Simpson and Michael Thompson, part of a four-way tie for the lead after the opening round, each had a 71 and were four shots behind. Masters champion Adam Scott, who can get within range of No.dddddddddddd 1 in the world depending on his two weeks in Hawaii, had a 70 and was seven shots behind. The Australian was in dire need to a low round to at least have chance going into Monday. Zach Johnson is going after his second straight win. The last one was unofficial, yet no less memorable. Johnson was four shots behind Tiger Woods in the World Challenge on the back nine and rallied to catch him, holed out from the drop zone on the 18th hole to force a playoff and then won on the first extra hole. Except for his Masters win in 2007, it might be the most famous of his 11 victories worldwide. "When youre talking about a guy thats done what hes done and raised the bar, any time you beat him -- especially if youre playing with him and come back from four shots with eight holes to go, its going to happen. So I can deal with that." Dustin Johnson has the power that is suited for Kapalua, and even though he had to withdraw from the pro-am with a sore neck, he appears to be hitting his stride. He twice had a batch of three straight birdies on the front nine to go out in 30 and claim a share of the lead, and even after missing the short putts on the 11th and 13th, he made three more birdies in the final five holes. Two of them were par 5s. Both times he had a look at eagle, missing from 20 feet on No. 15 and becoming the first player all week to reach the 689-yard, downhill closing hole in two shots. He two-putted from about 35 feet for one last birdie. That could be attributed to a slightly more typical trade wind, though Johnson still had to give it two pretty good pops with a driver and a 3-wood. The course played about a stroke harder than the opening round. Zach Johnson is starting his 11th year on the PGA Tour. He has won a major (Woods tied for second), played on three Ryder Cup teams and knows his limitation. He said while in awe of what Woods can do, he is past the stage of intimidation. And the same goes for Dustin Johnson. "Ive played with him a number of times, too," Zach Johnson said. "I like watching him hit driver. Hes not a whole lot different than a lot of the other guys I play with because they all hit it a lot further than me it seems like. ... I dont know. Dustin does not intimidate me." ' ' '