06-13-2019, 02:26 AM
TORONTO -- Ryan Briscoe knows all about Toronto hospitals. Vita Vea Jersey . Briscoe broke his wrist in the first race of the doubleheader at the Honda Indy Toronto last year, an injury that kept him from competing in the second race and later led to surgery. Three years ago Briscoe also made a visit to a local hospital, albeit with a less serious injury, after a wheel-to-wheel incident with Tony Kanaan. "Ive still got a little lump on my hand from that," said Briscoe. Just finishing the claustrophobic 85-lap, 2.81-kilometre street course at Exhibition Place in one piece is difficult enough for IndyCar drivers. Surviving two races, which run Saturday and Sunday, on a crash-prone track requires plenty of strategy and a bit of luck. Briscoe has seen a bit of everything at the race. The 32-year-old Australian driver for Chip Ganassi Racing finished second when the race returned from a hiatus in 2009. But the following year he was bumped off the track by Graham Rahal and finished two laps off the pace in 18th. In 2011 Briscoe finished seventh and earned his first hospital visit for the trouble. A collision in 2012 with Dario Franchitti ended Briscoes day, and last year he broke his wrist after failing to let go of the steering wheel when Justin Wilson bounced off a wall and smacked into Briscoe and Charlie Kimball. Like most drivers, Briscoe is still trying to figure out how to win Toronto. "You never know," he said. "Everyone will say qualifying at the front of the track position is very important, but the way these races have been working out this year you really just got to be heads up all the time, get that strategy right, work the tires the right way, especially the red soft compound tires. "And then, with a track where accidents are going to happen, you dont want to be caught out on track when the yellow comes out because the pits close and then youre hosed." There are plenty of spots for potential accidents on the 11-turn track. Two in particular stand out to Briscoe: a tight right at Turn 1 and a deceptive Turn 3 hairpin where drivers often think they have more room than they do at the end of a long straight. Briscoe has been guilty in the past of being one of those drivers. His first injury in 2011 came at Turn 3 when he tried to pass Kanaan on the inside and bounced the Brazilian out of the race. "I think if theres any track where you just have to give a little extra room its there in Toronto," said Briscoe. For Marco Andretti, who finished fourth and ninth last year, the final four turns are just as hard to get out of. A bumpy Turn 8 leads into three final high-speed turns. IndyCar teams set up their vehicles differently depending on the track and weather conditions, and the high speeds of Turns 9-11 dont mix well with the street-car setup usually employed in Toronto. "You normally just have to hang onto the car thats probably not going to do what you want through there, so that normally makes it tough, but its character, its fun," said Andretti. Complicating matters is a gruelling weekend set in the middle of a busy schedule. Toronto caps a set of races that has been going on at least once every weekend since June 28. Drivers get just two 45-minute practice sessions Friday. The weekend is much busier, with qualifying held in the morning before the afternoon race Saturday and Sunday. Briscoe, who is juggling the IndyCar season with life as a new father since daughter Finley was born in December, said the event can be unforgiving and require hard work. "I mean these races are so physical," he said. "Especially in the middle of summer when its so hot. ... You just really need to be on it, and on it quickly, and on the physical side its just all about staying hydrated, really." Unlike most street races, however, a good qualifying result in Toronto doesnt guarantee a checkered flag. Andretti describes the race as "attrition." "Its not as track-position dependent, meaning you dont have to lead right from the start to win at the end," he said. "If you have something happen, if you qualify bad, which unfortunately I have in the past, it gives you a shot at it because theres just so much carnage that goes on." Even some legendary family experience isnt much of an advantage for Andretti in Toronto. His father and boss, Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti, won Toronto an unmatched seven times during his career. But his fathers victories between 1989 and 2001 dont give Marco Andretti an upper hand. He has yet to step onto the podium in Toronto. "Ive been strong at other places, I dont have seven wins at one place, but you cant explain why. It just happened that way," said Marco Andretti. "If you look at his track record, he was probably more dominant at Indianapolis and he has no wins there. "So sometimes it just clicks, sometimes it doesnt. He did nothing different here than he did anywhere else. Thats the tough part. A lot of it I just have to learn by going out and doing it." Winning both races in Toronto will be crucial to the overall championship. Last year Scott Dixon swept the doubleheader en route to winning the series title. This year, Helio Castroneves holds a slim lead at the top heading into the race with 471 points. There are at least 100 points available in Toronto, meaning the championship wont be won but could be lost this weekend as the season draws to a close Aug. 31. Andretti, who is seventh overall with 337 points, said his season will be decided in Toronto. "For me in particular this is the weekend if I want to win a championship. This is the make or break," he said. "You know, if I come out of here fourth in points then Im still in striking distance but if something goes wrong then Im done. This weekends huge for me, for sure. "Im good with the top fives, but I need the W." Mike Alstott Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No. Warren Sapp Jersey . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/ .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32.TORONTO - Ten months after their previous general manager pulled the trigger on a franchise-altering trade, the Raptors are still searching for their identity offensively while working around the obstacles created by that roster shakeup. On Jan. 30 Bryan Colangelo acquired Rudy Gay in a three-team trade, jettisoning Ed Davis and the expiring contract of starting point guard Jose Calderon. Since then, Torontos most consistent area of weakness has been moving the ball. It has been a focus for Dwane Caseys team early this season after spending most of training camp emphasizing defensive principles. The Raptors coach has shouted it from the sidelines, preached it after games and drilled it in practice but still, sharing the ball appears to be an incurable allergy for this team, as its currently constructed. "Were 30th in the league in assists, so were trying to promote ball movement," Casey acknowledged after practice Tuesday afternoon. "Its something weve just got to stay on, harp on and try to do what fits our team." TSN 1050s Josh Lewenberg and Duane Watson weigh in on the teams ailing offence and ongoing ball movement concerns in this weeks Raptors Report podcast. Through 11 games, the Raptors are last in the NBA, averaging 16.5 assists per contest. Their offence has routinely looked stagnant, relying mostly on isolation sets and late-game hero ball. Its not necessarily for a lack of effort on the part of Casey and his coaching staff. "We do it every day," point guard Kyle Lowry admitted. Ball movement has been a daily focus in practice. "We have drills where you dont shoot it before [theres] five passes, so its nothing new," Casey has said. The problem boils down to personnel, a team - built primarily by Colangelo - that was not designed to front a fluid NBA offence. Caseys challenge is essentially to teach old dogs - by league standards - new tricks. "We want there to be movement," he said following Sundays overtime loss to Portland, a game in which only three of his players recorded an assist. "We have our limitations from that standpoint but we want to move the ball. Weve got to do a better job of that and thats where weve got to find ourselves offensively, in ball movement." For the most part those limitations can be traced back to last seasons trade and arent likely to be corrected as easily as they were created. In 45 games prior to the trade last year, Toronto ranked 10th in assists (22.7 per game) and was second among 30 teams in that category (25.1 per) during the 23 contests that Calderon started directly before he was moved. In 47 games since, the team is last in the Association averaging 19.2 assists. To put that in perspective, the Raptors recorded 20 or more assists in 22 of those 23 games Calderon started in succession. Theyve exceeded 19 dimes in just 19 of 47 games since, including one of 11 this season. Calderon, one of the most reliable distributors in the league, was a pllayer Casey trusted to run the pick and roll efficiently and with consistency. Ronde Barber Jersey. Replacing the long-time Raptors point guard - who may have bolted as a free agent during the summer anyway - continues to be a significant factor in the teams offensive identity crisis, but not the only factor. Its fair to argue that Lowry is an upgrade over Calderon - in many areas of the game he has been - but theres no denying hes a very different point guard than his predecessor, one who is less renowned for his work in the pick and roll. Then you add a high-volume scorer in Gay and pair him with a similar wing player in DeMar DeRozan. With Gay, the Raptors got what they paid for. Hes led them in scoring, become the face of the franchise and has played the role of a closer, for better or for worse. Hes also a player - like DeRozan - who takes a lot of shots, many of them outside the flow of a cohesive team offence. Simply put, theyre iso players. That duo has accounted for 46 per cent of the teams field goal attempts, shooting a combined 39 per cent to begin the season. Until Masai Ujiri takes his first stab at reconstructing this talented, albeit flawed roster, Casey has no choice but to work with the pieces he has. Therein lies the challenge. "To turn a guy into Pete Maravich at this stage in their career is very difficult," Casey pointed out. "Youve got to tailor your team according to your personnel and try to get movement out of that. A guys DNA is who he is. Weve got to tailor our offence to fit our players." Torontos best ball movement was achieved in the first half of its win over the Grizzlies in Memphis, also their most impressive outing; not a coincidence. In that game both Gay and DeRozan set the tone early by looking for their teammates. The Grizzlies put pressure on Torontos top scorers but they both passed out of double teams with poise and found cutters on the weak side, a focus for Caseys club in practice Tuesday. Not surprisingly, whenever the Raptors have moved the ball good things have happened. They just havent done it enough. "Believe me theres not a selfish bone, I dont think, in our players bodies," Casey said. "When the game starts guys will revert to what they do naturally, but what weve got to do is try to help them see their options, understand where their teammates are in certain sets and read it from there." Casey knows his team. He knows their strengths and he accepts their weaknesses. Still, masking one with the other is easier said than done. Defence is the great equalizer. Even if the Raptors offence can never function quite like Portlands - the team responsible for their most recent defeat - Casey knows they will remain competitive if they can defend with the ferocity of the Bulls, the team that handed them their previous loss. As long as the current core remains intact, these roadblocks will continue to stand in their way. How well they work around them will determine their success. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '