NFL Preseason: Giants vs Lions

Preseason Opener Looms Several Giants talk about the start of the 2008 Preseason
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

AUGUST 6, 2008

ALBANY, NY - The Giants will play their first game since Super Bowl XLII tomorrow night when they open their four-game preseason schedule against the Detroit Lions in Ford Field. Besides the fact that the Giants will be one of the two competing teams, little about tomorrow's game will resemble the Super Bowl. The latter, of course, was for the NFL championship and included the most exciting fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, one that will be remembered for as long as football is played. Tomorrow’s game will be played for much lower stakes, will be contested for the most part by backups and players who won’t be in uniform a month from now and the score will quickly recede from memory.

But to the Giants players and coaches, the game is important. Here is a sampling of what several of them had to say about the Giants’ first game of the 2008 preseason.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin:
“We are going to play a lot of people and see how they perform under game conditions, see how they do with the speed of the game, which I’m sure will be a surprise to a lot of these young guys. It’s a turf game, it’s an indoor game. See how they are under the pressure of having to execute assignments. How quickly they can react to what the opponent is doing. Be very conscious of who it is that is contributing on special teams and how they might be used going forward. (To) start on some of the objectives that were put forth in the offseason to our players in terms of our improvement. To assess, each and every time we play, but a big personnel-type of evaluation. I don’t think there will be any mystery about how we play. I’m not sure what Detroit will have in mind.”

Quarterback Eli Manning:
“Everybody is always looking forward to getting into a game situation. It’s good to kind of mix it up instead of going up against the same guys every day in practice. We’ve prepared for Detroit; we’ve watched a lot of film on them. I think everybody is looking forward to going over there and playing the game.

“I think you learn from every practice and every game that you play in. This game will help us get back into game speed and will help me get back to throwing under pressure, getting the ball off on time, and getting used to taking the hits. You know guys are coming after you and you’re going to get hit, knocked down, hopefully not too often, but it’s going to happen. It’s not a bad thing, because it will help you get back into form.”

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce:
“We’re tired of hitting each other. I’m tired of seeing Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, (Ahmad) Bradshaw and Eli. I want to hit someone else for once. You just want to get out there and compete and the only thing we’ve done at that kind of level was goal line and that’s not realistic. The offensive line has the ball at the two-yard line and they didn’t have to do any work for it. It will be good to go out there against another team. Detroit has a lot of weapons and we’re excited to go out there and play. We’ve got new faces on the defense, so it’ll be good to see the guys working well together in a game situation.”

Defensive end Justin Tuck, who will start his first game on the left side as the replacement for the recently-retired Michael Strahan:

“I don’t get bogged down with all that. It’s just a little asterisk next to your name that says you’re a starter now. Other than that, you continue to go out there and do what you did up until now. It’s still the same.

“Obviously we won’t play a whole game, but for the plays we are out there, we're going to take it like it’s the Super Bowl. We’re going to try and get our timing down and get a feeling for playing with one another again in a real live situation and work on the little things we didn’t do well last season.

http://www.giants.com/news/headlines/story.asp?story_id=27931

Yankees 5, Rangers 3

From MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- Lest the rest of the season speed on by them, the Yankees have no choice but to look ahead. There's no use in looking back at Joba Chamberlain, a pitcher who might not return to the team this season. No use in looking back at Chien-Ming Wang or Phil Hughes or Jorge Posada. Call it bad luck; call it baseball. The Yankees call it an excuse.

And they won't taint their season by relying on excuses.

So the Yankees made none on Wednesday, and wound up needing none. Their 5-3 win over the Rangers was complete and comprehensive, drawing from a patched-up rotation and a taxed bullpen and a cyclical offense. The Yankees showcased the finest traits of all three areas on Wednesday, and so they left Rangers Ballpark with a win.

They did not escape with a win, but they earned one instead.

"It was good to win," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "I don't really care who was pitching, to be honest with you."

But he knew it was Sidney Ponson, a former rotation stopgap who has bullied his way into a regular job with the Yankees. Despite allowing a two-run single to Chris Davis in the second inning Wednesday, and despite serving up a solo homer to Michael Young in the sixth, Ponson handled his former team as efficiently as the Yankees might have hoped.

His final line wasn't quite as sparkling as the one he produced against the Angels last week, but his process was perhaps even more impressive. Ponson recorded eight ground-ball outs and only five flyouts -- one-third the amount he had against the Angels. That's no small detail, considering how fly balls tend to rocket over walls in this Texas heat. Ponson knew that coming in, so he took extra care to throw a sharp sinker.

RECAP:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20080806&content_id=3266059&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&team=away

Hungarian GP: Heartbreak for Massa Gives Kovalainen 1st GP Win!

From f1-Live.com

As a race, the 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix is always somewhat processional and this year was no exception. However, the race was spiced up by some unexpected issues that took both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa out of contention and handed Heikki Kovalainen the race win in the very final stages of the race.

Felipe Massa made an electric getaway from third position on the grid passing Kovalainen on the run to turn one and then braking late, passed Lewis Hamilton for the lead around the outside of turn one. It was a tremendous aggressive move and showing that his record breaking pace in the second round of qualifying yesterday was no fluke, the Brazilian was able to pull out a small advantage from Hamilton, a gap of four to five seconds he retained though the first round of pits stops.

Hamilton did not look to have an answer to Massa’s pace but the championship leader’s race took a further nose-dive as the front-left tyre failed on lap 42. Hamilton made his way slowly back to the pits and took the soft tyre for the remainder of the race.

Out front, Massa controlled the pace and allowed Kovalainen to slowly close the gap. It all looked to be perfectly under control until two laps from home when the Ferrari V8 failed in dramatic fashion handing the race win to Kovalainen and leaving Massa distraught.

It was certainly Kovalainen’s lucky day as he recorded his first Grand Prix victory. The Finn did not have the pace of McLaren Mercedes team-mate Hamilton nor Massa in the Ferrari. Still, it was an error free run which launches his championship tally to within striking distance of the BMW Sauber duo of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

Timo Glock drove what is by far the strongest race of his career to finish second for Toyota, Starting from fifth position, Glock made the jump on Kubica and ran with Kovalainen for much of the race and while second position was perhaps a little fortunate, he was a contender throughout the race on pure pace and not a safety car intervention or an abstract fuel strategy.

Kimi Raikkonen finished in third position having followed Fernando Alonso for two-thirds of the race without making much of an impression. Some rapid pit work from the Ferrari crew gave him the track position and he was then able to close the gap to Glock before backing off in the latter stages following team-mate Massa’s engine failure. The result moves Raikkonen ahead of his unfortunate team-mate in the championship race.


FINAL RESULTS:

1) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes

2) Timo Glock - Toyota

3) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

4) Fernando Alonso - Renault

5) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

6) Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault

7) Jarono Trulli - Toyota

8) Robert Kubica - BMW

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERS:

1) Lewis Hamilton - 62

2) Kimi Raikkonen - 57

3) Felipe Massa - 54

German GP: Hamilton Makes it Two in a Row with Brilliant Win!

From Formula1.com

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton scored the fourth victory of his 2008 season here at Hockenheim on Sunday - and he did it the hard way. For the first 34 laps he ran away and hid from his pursuers, led by Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, but then Timo Glock ran hard into the pit wall after the right-rear suspension of his Toyota appeared to fail, and all hell broke loose.

The safety car was deployed as the shards of debris were cleared, and the moment the pit lane opened there was a rush to refuel for the final stints. In came everyone, apart from Hamilton, BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Renault’s Nelson Piquet had just been in when Glock crashed.

Suddenly, the complexion of the race had changed totally, for Hamilton was still stuck behind the safety car and the rest had a clear run at him and a pit stop in hand. But his trump card was the presence of Heidfeld in second place and Piquet third, ahead of his sternest challenger, Massa.

By the 50th lap Hamilton had opened a lead of 15.7s over Massa in fourth place, but it was far from enough. He needed 23. As he finally refuelled he fell to fifth place, behind Heidfeld, Piquet, Massa and McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Kovalainen soon succumbed, on lap 52. Then Heidfeld stopped to refuel on lap 53. So now it was Piquet leading, with Hamilton thirsting after Massa. Down came the gap, from just under four seconds to virtually nothing, and on the 57th lap the Brazilian fell prey to the Englishman as they braked for the hairpin. He fought back valiantly two corners later, but Hamilton was not in any mood to be denied, and now only Piquet stood between him and victory.

Lap by lap he hunted down his old GP2 adversary, until the inevitable happened, again at the hairpin. By the flag he was 5.5s clear, and four points ahead of a resigned Massa in the title stakes - 58 to 54.

Piquet clung on to the place fortune had gifted him - for the first half of the race he was down in 14th place - and Massa fended off Heidfeld in the closing stages to take the final podium position.

Kovalainen clung on for fifth ahead of fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen, whose subdued sixth place earned him three points after he had overtaken BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica and left him third overall on 51 points. Kubica has 48, for fourth.

The final point went to Sebastian Vettel after a feisty run for Toro Rosso saw him see off the likes of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who were ninth and 11th after the latter spun at the hairpin late in the race. Nico Rosberg was 10th for Williams, embroiled in the fight late in the race.

Sebastien Bourdais was also close to Alonso by the finish in the second Toro Rosso, and the Frenchman was followed home by Red Bull’s David Coulthard, who made a poor start and later survived a brush with Rubens Barrichello which resulted in the Honda’s demise. Giancarlo Fisichella was 14th for Force India, ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Honda’s Jenson Button, who ran into mechanical trouble and finished last.

Mark Webber’s Red Bull lost its engine as the safety car was deployed, and Glock was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after his heavy backward impact with the pit wall, but is okay.

What had looked set to be a low key race literally exploded into life due to Glock’s crash and McLaren’s gamble in keeping Hamilton out when everyone else pitted. Luckily for McLaren, Hamilton had the ability to make sure the gamble paid off.

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

2) Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault

3) Felipe Massa - Ferrari

4) Nick Heidfeld - BMW

5) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes

6) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

7) Robert Kubica - BMW

8) Sebastian Vettel - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1) Lewis Hamilton - 58

2) Felipe Massa - 54

3) Kimi Raikkonen - 51

Bobby Murcer 1946 - 2008

BAMBINO: Once again, we have to pause and reflect on the life and times of one of the Yankee Family. When I heard the news about Bobby Murcer's death, I immediately thought about Thurman Munson's tragic death. Murcer had that huge game against the Orioles the day of Munson's funeral. I'll never forget the sadness I felt at the beginning of the game, then the euphoria when Murcer won the game in the bottom of the 9th. Bobby helped us all through that terrible time by making us happy for that one moment. He was a classy guy and a true Yankee.

Bobby was traded to the San Francisco Giants after the 1974 season for Bobby Bonds. Murcer was heartbroken, but would return to the Bombers in 1979. The Yankees then traded Bonds to the Angels for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa before the 1976 season. Murcer finished his career with the Yankees and retired in 1983. He had a very successful broadcasting career calling games for the Yanks. Him and Scooter were a riot together. Say hello Bobby.

British GP: Hamilton Wins Rain Soaked Home GP!!!!

From Formula1.com

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton gave his adoring fans exactly what they came to see at a sodden Silverstone on Sunday. A brilliant British Grand Prix victory in often treacherous conditions lifted him right back into contention for the world championship, on a day when Kimi Raikkonen failed to shine and Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica were the ones who came home pointless.

The race started on a damp track, with the promise of more rain to come. Hamilton touched wheels with pole-sitting team mate Heikki Kovalainen on lap one at Copse after making a terrific start, and edged ahead of him at Becketts on the fifth lap. Thereafter it was his race to lose, and the most crucial point came when both he and Raikkonen, an apparent threat at this stage, pitted on the 21st lap. But where McLaren gave their man another set of standard wet-weather Bridgestones, Ferrari kept theirs on the same set. Hamilton rocketed away from the red car, and Raikkonen slipped steadily down the order as strong mid-race performances from Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica put BMW Sauber into the frame for podium finishes.

Heavy rain in the middle of the race created further havoc, however, as driver after driver slipped and slid off the road. This was where clever strategic thinking by Ross Brawn at Honda saw the team risk bringing in both Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button for extreme wet tyres on the 35th lap. The Brazilian made great use of them and was able to push up into second place until a late switch back to intermediates. As Heidfeld clung on to a good second place, after making the right call for fresh intermediates at his first stop, Barrichello recovered to a podium finish that was a great boost to the Japanese team.

Behind them, Raikkonen finally fought his way out of a late-race battle with Renault’s Fernando Alonso and Kovalainen to finish fourth.

That means that Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen now lead the world championship fight with 48 points apiece, with Kubica fourth on 46!

Kovalainen fought his way past Alonso in the closing stages for fifth, as Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli closed in on them. On the last lap the Japanese racer’s attempts to pass the Spaniard dropped him a place, as Trulli saw an opening and pounced.

Nico Rosberg was ninth after a terrible race, in which he started from the pit lane and later damaged yet another nose and front wing after rear-ending Timo Glock’s Toyota. Mark Webber also had a terrible day, spinning on the opening lap after starting from the front row. He spun several more times on his way to 10th, ahead of Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais, Glock and Massa. All of them spun at least once, with Massa talking the award for the most spins (around six) and the dizziest driver by the end.

FINAL RESULT:

1) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

2) Nick Heidfeld - BMW

3) Rubens Barrichello - Honda

4) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

5) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes

6) Fernando Alonso - Renault

7) Jarno Trulli - Toyota

8) Kazulo Nakajima - Williams - Toyota

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERS:

1) Felipe Massa - 48

2) Kimi Raikkonen - 48

3) Lewis Hamilton - 48

4) Robert Kubica - 46

5) Nick Heidfeld - 36

French GP: Massa Wins His 3rd Race in a Ferrari 1-2 at Magny-Cours!

From F1-Live.com Kimi Raikkonen led away from pole position this afternoon in the 70-lap French Grand Prix and controlled the race from Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa for the first half of the race. However, a right hand side exhaust failure saw Raikkonen suddenly lose a second and a half a lap and Massa was able to cruise ahead and would go onto take a relatively easy third victory of the season.

Massa’s eighth career win moves him to the top of the championship standings with 48 points while Raikkonen was able to finish the race in second position - such was the advantage the Italian team enjoyed this weekend in France. Raikkonen looked fully in control of the race, but second position and the eight points moves him third in the championship standings just five points behind Massa.

While the battle for the race win was not much of a contest, third position remained very much in doubt right until the chequered flag fell. Jarno Trulli took the position in his Toyota, ten seconds behind Raikkonen and fended off an aggressive challenge from Heikki Kovalainen over the closing stages of the race.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080622160456.shtml

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
2) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
3) Jarno Trulli - Toyota
4) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes
5) Robert Kubica - BMW
6) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault
7) Nelson Piquet Jr. - Renault
8) Fernando Alonso - Renault

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS LEADERS:

1) Felipe Massa - 48
2) Robert Kubica - 46
3) Kimi Raikkonen - 43
4) Lewis Hamilton - 38
5) Nick Heidfeld - 28