Chinese GP: Vettel Leads Home Red Bull 1-2 at Wet Shanghai!!!!

The predicted rain arrived ahead of the start of the Chinese Grand Prix resulting in the race starting behind the safety car, very reminiscent to the Japanese Grand Prix of 2007. After claiming pole position yesterday in style, Sebastian Vettel took advantage of his position at the head of the field and went on to dominate the 56-lap race.

It was however a far from easy victory for Vettel, who led home team-mate Mark Webber to record Red Bull Renault’s first win, as the persistent rain ensured that the result was far from certain until the very second he took the chequered flag almost two hours after the race first began.

After eight laps behind the safety car the race got underway properly on lap nine with Fernando Alonso having already relinquished his second position with a very early pit stop. The Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber were quickly able to establish a gap over Jenson Button who passed his Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello early in the race.

With an 11 second advantage at the head of the field Vettel pitted on lap 15 and Webber shortly repeated the procedure leaving Button at the head of the field. Further back down the order Jarno Trulli was really struggling in the conditions and heading to the final turn on lap 18 was hit hard from behind by Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber. Trulli’s Toyota was extensively damaged and he was out of the race and the safety car was deployed.

Jenson Button’s 14 second lead at the head of the pack was immediately negated to nothing as he headed to the pits for this first stop. From that point onwards, Vettel and Webber dominated at the front as they traded fastest laps and eased away to a comfortable victory from Button. Webber finished 11 seconds behind Vettel and kept the pressure on his young team-mate and while he will be happy with the result for the team, having your team-mate record the team’s first victory will be tough to take.

Jenson Button took the chequered flag in third position, 34 seconds behind Vettel, while Rubens Barrichello had a low-key race in the second Brawn Mercedes and was never really on the pace of the front runners. The decision not to change his wet tyres in the second and final pit stop put him under pressure from those close behind, but the Brazilian veteran held on to retain the position.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090419110607.shtml

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Sebastien Vettel - Red Bull - Renault

2) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault

3) Jenson Button - Brawn GP - Mercedes

4) Rubens Barichello - Brawn GP - Mercedes

5) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes

6) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

7) Timo Glock - Toyota

8) Sebastien Buemi - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals Game 3: Capitals 4, Rangers 0; Rangers Lead Series 2-1

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers still have an All-Star in goal, but after the last 120 minutes of hockey played in this best-of-7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round series, it's safe to say they no longer have the edge over the Washington Capitals.

Simeon Varlamov is his name and at least in the last two games this 20-year-old Russian rookie goalie has done everything possible to even up the goaltending, an area in which the Rangers certainly thought they had an advantage heading into the series and definitely did after Game 1.

Varlamov stopped all 33 shots he faced Monday night in a pivotal Game 3 at a deafening Madison Square Garden, and the Capitals beat Lundqvist four times for a 4-0 victory to slice their deficit in this series to 2-1.

Game 4 is Wednesday night back at the Garden and Varlamov will bring a shutout streak of 112:16 into the game. The lone goal he has allowed was to Ryan Callahan just 7:44 into the first period of Game 2.

"It's very important that when you play in the playoffs that the goalie plays the best," Varlamov said through an interpreter. "If the goalie plays the best then the team feels more confident. I understand the value for my team in being a great goalie."

Varlamov was the surprise starter in Game 2 on Saturday for Jose Theodore, who allowed four goals on 21 shots in a 4-3 loss in Game 1. The Russian was good in stopping 23 of 24 shots, but the Caps couldn't beat Lundqvist and lost, 1-0.

Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, secretive about who he would start in goal all the way up to when the lineups were finally announced, sent Alex Ovechkin to tell Varlamov on Monday morning that he was going to start.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008030123

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals Game 2: Rangers 1, Capitals 0; Rangers Lead Series 2-0

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals may be getting the better of the territorial play, but the New York Rangers have shown through the first two games of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series that they are the more committed team.

After blocking 21 shots in Game 1, the Rangers blocked 29 more in Game 2 in front of another roaring red crowd at Verizon Center Saturday afternoon. An early goal from Ryan Callahan was all they needed for a 1-0 victory and a 2-0 lead in the series back to Madison Square Garden.

"It's huge to have a lot of guys to block shots and sacrifice their bodies in a series like this, especially when you face so many good players that can shoot the puck," said Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 35 saves for his fourth career postseason shutout. "We had a lot of blocks in the first game, especially after faceoffs, and (Saturday) again they came up big on a couple that they had a pretty good shot opportunity. We did a lot of good things.

"The Rangers scored the only goal they needed 7:44 into the game when Brandon Dubinsky's patience along the boards in the neutral zone resulted in a 2-on-1 for Markus Naslund and Callahan.

Capitals defenseman Mike Green pinched and forward Viktor Kozlov came too hard, allowing Dubinsky to send a pass to Naslund for a 2-on-1 against defenseman Tom Poti. Naslund cut through the left circle before slotting a pass to Callahan, who redirected it over rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov's glove.

Varlamov was the surprise starter in favor of veteran Jose Theodore, who allowed four goals on 21 shots in Game 1. The 20-year-old Russian played well, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

"We just have to score goals," said Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin, who had six shots on goal but took another seven that were blocked. "We made one mistake in the first period, they used it and we didn't score goals."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008030122

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals Game 1: Rangers 4, Capitals 3; Rangers Lead Series 1-0

WASHINGTON -- Nobody in the New York Rangers dressing room ever said they were going to completely stymie the Washington Capitals' powerful offense. It would have been ludicrous even to think that.

The Rangers knew heading into Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series on Wednesday night that Alex Ovechkin and Co. were going to get chances and score some goals. However, they felt that if they were able to weather the storm, all could be well in the end.

That's exactly what happened in Game 1 as the Rangers stole home-ice advantage in the series by escaping a dreadful first period still locked in a scoreless tie and beating Washington 4-3 on Brandon Dubinsky's game-winner with 8:17 left in regulation.

Game 2 isn't until Saturday (NBC, 1 p.m. ET).

"That team is going to surge," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "It's a matter of reclaiming your momentum with some simple plays, maybe your forecheck, holding on to the puck. It's not about scoring a goal right away. It's about getting your game back.

"Washington totally dominated the first period. The Caps held a 14-4 advantage in shots, a 16-11 advantage in hits and an 11-4 advantage in faceoffs. Ovechkin had 11 shot attempts, including six that went on net, and was credited with six hits. There were times when it seemed he was everywhere.

All that dominance didn't matter. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist kept the game scoreless.

"We knew as the game went on we would improve our game," said Lundqvist, who came up with 32 saves.

The Capitals were fearful of just that after coming away empty after the first period.

What's worse is Washington goalie Jose Theodore didn't get much action in the first period -- and he looked shaky in the second.

Caps' coach Bruce Boudreau said he didn't think about pulling Theodore during the second intermission even though he allowed three goals on 11 shots in the middle period -- not one of which was scored through a screen or off a deflection or a rebound -- because he didn't want to show any signs of panic.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008030121

Malaysian GP: Button Makes It Two In a Row for Brawn GP at Rain Drenched Sepang!!!

From F1-Live.com:

Jenson Button won a shortened 31 lap Malaysian Grand Prix from Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock on a day when heavy rain forced the race to be halted well ahead of the scheduled 56 laps.

Monsoon rains are common-place late in the afternoon and it was therefore of little surprise that the weather created problems and much confusion for the Formula One circus.

Until the very heavy rain began to fall, the second round of the championship proved to be a thriller with Nico Rosberg storming into the lead from fourth position on the grid at the start and controlling the race in his Williams Toyota from Jarno Trulli’s Toyota until the first round of pitstops.

Button meanwhile bided his time during the first stint well aware he had more fuel on board than his rivals and as the others pitted, picked up the pace to ensure he exited the puts following his first stop in the lead.

Light rain began to fall on lap 22 with Kimi Raikkonen already having gambled and switched to full wet tyres some three laps earlier. The gamble did not pay off for Raikkonen as he burned through the tyres on the dry circuit, but all of the front runners soon began to pit as light rain started to fall.

Timo Glock had not made the best start to the race and had dropped towards the bottom of the top ten but he and the Toyota team opted to switch to intermediate tyres and not the full wets. This decision paid off as he carved his way through the field to run third when the really heavy rain fell.

While Glock made progress through the field the other drivers opted to change from full wet tyres to intermediate tyres but the switch was only suitable for a few laps as by lap 28 the heavy rain forced them all back onto the full wet tyres, shuffling the race order behind Button yet again.

Conditions then deteriorated significantly forcing first the safety car out and then the red flags bringing a halt to proceedings for over 50 minutes before the result was declared.

As the FIA fumbled around before making a decision to declare the race, it became clear that Nick Heidfeld had worked his way up to second position in his BMW Sauber having made just the one pitstop compared to the three or four made by the rest of the field. A gamble from the team certainly paid dividends after a difficult weekend to date.

Jarno Trulli finished fourth in the second Toyota losing time in the wet conditions, while Rubens Barrichello was fifth when the race came to its premature conclusion.

Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton had a fantastic battle ahead of the red flag with Webber much faster in the twisty mid-field and Hamilton leaning on KERS heavily to retake the position on the long Sepang straights on at least three occasions. Webber finished in sixth position ahead of the defending champion.

After his fast start Nico Rosberg lost ground in the pit stop shuffle and finished eighth for Williams while Ferrari leave the second round of the championship still without any points with Massa ninth and Raikkonen parking his F60 when the red flags came out with an unidentified KERS issue.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090405131608.shtml

FINAL RESULTS: Note, 1/2 points awarded for rain shortened race

1) Jenson Button - Brawn GP - Mercedes

2) Nick Heidfeld - BMW

3) Timo Glock - Toyota

4) Jarno Trulli - Toyota

5) Rubens Barichello - Brawn GP - Mercedes

6) Mark Webber- Red Bull - Renault

7) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

8) Nico Rosberg - Williams - Toyota

Austrailian GP: Button Wins Maiden Race for Brawn GP!!!

From F1-Live.com

After the excitement and drama of qualifying, the 58-lap Australian Grand Prix lived up to all expectations as Jenson Button recorded his second career victory and the first for the brand new Brawn Mercedes team.

Out of the ashes of the Honda team, Brawn GP stunned its rivals as soon as they took to the tests tracks in Spain for pre-season testing. The form continued into practice and the team aced the front row in qualifying in Melbourne.

Race day saw Button make a perfect start to lead the first lap by five seconds as Rubens Barrichello slipped down the field as his anti-stall device kicked in. As the drama played out in the closing stages, Rubens Barrichello inherited second position to make it a famous Brawn GP one-two result.

While Button was rarely troubled at the front of the field, the battle for second position looked set to go down to the wire a Sebastian Vettel defended his position from the charging Robert Kubica. A small error on his worn option tyres from the Red Bull Renault driver at the first turn saw the German racer lose momentum allowing Kubica’s BMW Sauber alongside heading into turn three.

Vettel, obviously keen to retain the position was not going to give in without a fight but then went in too deep eliminating himself and Kubica within sight of the chequered flag.

This allowed the recovering Barrichello through into second position for a dream Brawn Mercedes result and cost Red Bull Renault at least six valuable championship points.

Following the disappointment post-qualifying yesterday, Jarno Trulli put in a great drive from the pit lane to finish third in his Toyota, while team-mate Glock took the chequered flag in fifth position after a long battle with double world champion Fernando Alonso. While the TF109 has proven rapid all weekend there was sting in the tail for the team for the second straight day...

Following the chequered flag and the podium celebrations, Trulli was found guilty of passing Lewis Hamilton whilst behind the safety car. The Italian veteran was handed a 12 second penalty dropping him from third position to 12th.

Hamilton started the 58-lap race from 18th position following his gearbox issues in qualifying and made great progress on the option tyre in the opening laps. As Ferrari, Vettel and Kubica slipped up the 2008 race winner and defending champion found himself in a sensational fourth position at the flag and then third in the record books.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090329094610.shtml

FINAL RESULTS: Note, as of 3/31/09, Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from this race for lying to stewards about his engine, thus moving everyone up below him one spot.

1) Jenson Button - Brawn GP - Mercedes

2) Rubens Barichello - Brawn GP - Mercedes

3) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

4) Timo Glock -Toyota

5) Fernando Alonso -Renault

6) Nico Rosberg - Williams - Toyota

7) Sebastien Buemi - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

8) Sebastien Bourdais - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23

Steelers earn sixth Super Bowl victory in thriller over Cardinals
Associated Press - From NFL.com

TAMPA, Fla. -- The winning play in Super Bowl XLIII was right out of a schoolyard.

Scamble right, scramble left, find someone open.

The perfect unscripted ending to a game of improbable swings.

Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes improvised the 6-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a record-setting sixth Super Bowl victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.

"Great players step up in big-time games to make plays," said Holmes, the game's MVP. He said he told Roethlisberger that he "wanted to be the guy to make the plays for this team."
And he was.

Holmes grabbed the ball with both arms stretched fully above his head in the back right corner of the end zone, his toes barely dragging inbounds. He fell, sat up and cradled the ball like the prize it was.

This thriller certainly matched last year's Super Bowl, which ended with New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress' TD catch -- with 35 seconds left, too.

But this one was even wilder. With the last tension-packed seconds ticking away, a kneeling Roethlisberger held Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's hand as Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner led one last, but futile, drive.

"These guys just don't blink," Tomlin said. "They deliver. It's never going to be pretty or perfect, if you will, but they have a great deal of resolve."

The Steelers (15-4), who won their second Super Bowl title in the last four seasons, led 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see Warner and the Cardinals stage a remarkable rally to go in front 23-20 with 2:37 remaining.

Warner hit Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in stride for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 left. Already owning a slew of playoff receiving marks this year, Fitzgerald sped down the middle of the field, watching himself outrun the Steelers' defense on the huge video screen.
But Fitzgerald could only watch from the sideline as Roethlisberger engineered a 78-yard drive to win the Super Bowl in what resembled Heinz Field South. With waves of twirling Terrible Towels turning Raymond James Stadium into a black-and-gold tableau -- Steelers fans supporting their beloved team, the economy be damned -- Pittsburgh's offense rescued the title.

"I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent," Holmes said, even though the play had to withstand a video review. "My feet never left the ground. All I did was stand up on my toes and extended my hands."

And hauled in the pass that punctuated another Pittsburgh championship, adding to those won in the 1974, '75, '78, '79 and 2005 seasons.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap?game_id=54465&displayPage=tab_recap&season=2008&week=POST21&override=true