Off Topic » before the tournament was

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Preparations for the IndyCar Series opener began with a silly spat between the two top organizations over a perceived slight made by the president of Team Penske. The dig -- Tim Cindric compared Penske to the New York Yankees and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing to the Miami Marlins -- irritated the Ganassi camp and created some drama heading into the race Sunday. When the checkered flag waived, it was Penske driver Will Power in the winners circle. With teammate Helio Castroneves finishing third, Team Penske drivers claimed two spots on the podium and fired the opening salvo in the rivalry. "Ive only heard a little bit of that story, so I havent paid much attention," Power said. "Are the Marlins good? Do they win?" Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon, the defending series champion, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan was sixth in his debut for the team. So with Verizon-sponsored driver Power on top of the podium in the first race with Verizon on board as the series sponsor, and Castroneves on the podium with him, round one easily went to Team Penske. "We dont want to give an inch this year," said Castroneves, who lost the championship to Dixon last season. "We dont want to give any opportunity. We want to give the championship to Roger no matter what it takes." Ganassi has won five of the last six championships, and Penske last won in 2006. It was fitting that the win went to Power, who picked up right where he left off last season. He won three of the final five IndyCar races last season -- including the last two -- and his Sunday win at St. Pete gives the Australian four out of the last six victories. Power passed pole-sitter Takuma Sato for the lead with an outside move headed into the second turn on Lap 31, and was never really challenged again. He had to beat Castroneves off pit lane during stops under caution, and the only hiccup was on the first restart of the race. He was the leader and was slow to restart the field with 28 laps remaining. It caused traffic to stack-up behind him and led to a crash involving rookie Jack Hawksworth and Marco Andretti. Andretti got out of his car with a limp and was favouring his wrist following the accident. "Its hard to see because I was pretty far back, but Will just stopped. Once you go, you gotta go," he said. "It looked like an accordion effect. I had a good restart going, but we were junk all day, so what are you going to do?" Hawksworth blamed the accident on the leaders stopping at the front of the field. "We went when they said green, and all of a sudden the leaders stopped. I dont know what was going on at the front," the rookie said. Power said he never braked and was confused because the field went green earlier than it should. "They actually threw the green before I was even in the (restart) zone, so it was confusing to me," Power said. Castroneves didnt buy Powers version and said he was fooled by his teammate. "Will and I know each other for a long time. He knows my tricks," Castroneves said. "I didnt quite know that trick from him, and he got me." IndyCar said the restart in question was acceptable, but race control did review Powers second restart and issued him a warning for going too early. He was not penalized, but IndyCar said he will be if he does it again. Juan Pablo Montoya finished 15th in his return to IndyCar for the first time since he left for Formula One following his Indianapolis 500 win in 2000. He spent almost five seasons in F1 and seven in NASCAR before returning to open-wheel with Roger Penske. "I think it went pretty good," he said. "We will learn and pass some people and some people passed us. There are a few things we have to do better, but I didnt feel my pace was too bad there at the end. Its going to be a lot of work but I am very excited." China Jerseys Stitched .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. Cheap Jerseys From China . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/.com) - The NBA will be on display overseas Thursday with the New York Knicks taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at O2 Arena in London. China Jerseys Wholesale .Currently no, Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs deputy director of the competitions division and head of womens competitions, said Tuesday in an interview from Ottawa. China Jerseys Cheap . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order.NORTON, Mass. - Jordan Spieth has spent his second season going to PGA Tour courses he had seen only once, each of them filled with various memories. The best ones are in Boston. Spieth didnt win the Deutsche Bank Championship a year ago, though it sure felt like it. He played the final round on Labour Day with Phil Mickelson and turned in what he still calls the best round of his life. The 21-year-old Texan finished birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle for a 62. The round was stopped by storms, and with no golf being played, the TPC Boston was buzzing about Spieth. "This is the site the last time I was here of the best round of golf Ive ever played," Spieth said Thursday after his pro-am round. "Given the timing of it, what was at stake, the way I played that day ... being back draws some really good memories." Spieth could use another performance like that. He still hasnt won this year, though he played so consistently well and gave himself so many chances the first half of the season that he is No. 9 in the FedEx Cup going into the second playoff event, which starts Friday. Hunter Mahan now is the No. 1 seed after his win last week at The Barclays. Rory McIlroy is No. 2, followed by Jimmy Walker. Only the top 100 qualified for the Deutsche Bank Championship. The top 70 advance next week to the BMW Championship in Denver, and the top 30 go to the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship. Spieth couldnt help but remember some of the shots during his practice round this week — the long birdie putt on 15 to match Mickelson, another long birdie on the 16th. "On 17, I hooked a 3-wood and it was going in the junk," Spieth said. "It hit a rock and 340 yards in the middle. I had 50 yards to the hole. Johnny Miller I guess said on the air that he was surprised I was playing aggressively because I hit driver. I hit a 3-wood. Toe-hooked it." And then on the 18th in his practice round Tuesday, he had the same length of the eagle putt he made last year, but from the other side of the hole. "I remember exactly what the putt did — breaking slightly off to the right andd at the end curving back in," Spieth said.dddddddddddd Even better was how it ended. He already was 7-under for his round when he drilled his tee shot on the par-5 18th as clouds gathered and thunder began to rumble. It was his first time playing with Mickelson, and the kid was putting on quite a show. The Deutsche Bank was the final tournament before U.S. captain Fred Couples announced his two picks for the Presidents Cup. Spieth was being mentioned as a possibility, but this round clearly was an attention-getter. "Walking up the 18th fairway, Phil said, With what youve done today, you locked it up in my mind. Go ahead and finish strong. Dont that that for granted. Finish this round off," Spieth said. He finished in style, and Mickelson took over from there. Coming out of the scoring area, Mickelson sent a text to Couples that said, "Dude, youve got to pick this guy." Spieth was the clubhouse leader during the storm delay, though it was clear it would not hold up. Henrik Stenson, Steve Stricker and Sergio Garcia were among those with enough holes to play on a rain-softened course. Spieth wound in a tie for fourth, five shots behind. His family was in town, and he joined them on a drive to Providence, Rhode Island, to help brother Steven get moved it at Brown, where he plays basketball. Thats when Spieth got a text of his own — from Couples. "Freddie texted me before the tournament was over, on my drive to Providence," Spieth said. "He said, What a great round. Look forward to seeing you on the team. Dont say anything except to your family, but its looking good." Couples picked him. Spieth wound up at No. 7 in the FedEx Cup. He went 2-2 in the Presidents Cup. Six months later, he shared the 54-hole lead in the Masters. All because of Boston? Technically, no. Spieth would not have been in the FedEx Cup playoffs had he not won the John Deere Classic, which made him a PGA Tour member. Thats a pretty strong memory, too. "To have this experience was because of the Deere," he said. "Here is what sent it over the edge." ' ' '