Broken Wings » possession of the puck the referee maintained the expe

AUSTIN, Texas -- Once again, Sebastian Vettel got the better of Red Bull teammate and rival Mark Webber. Vettels late surge in qualifying allowed him to take the pole position from Webber for Sundays U.S. Grand Prix. That puts the four-time world champion in the prime spot to go after a record eighth consecutive victory this season and a title that escaped him last year. "Shake and bake!" the German and his crew shouted to each other, a humorous and quite American nod to the fictional NASCAR movie "Talladega Nights." Webber appeared set to earn his third pole position in the last four races until Vettel lapped the Circuit of the Americas in 1 minute, 36.338 seconds, pushing the Australian into second. Webber, who is leaving Formula One after this season to drive in the world endurance championship, was clearly frustrated by his late slip in the No. 2 spot. "At some point youre happy to be in the front row," Webber said. "It slipped through the fingers. Its not satisfying when you do that." Webber has nine victories in his career but none this year, with Vettel dominating the season in winning his fourth consecutive world championship. Hes had his chances. Webber started on the pole in Japan and Abu Dhabi only to finish second to Vettel both times. But no race created more animosity between the teammates than the Malaysian Grand Prix back in March that all but shattered an already tense relationship. Webber was cruising toward a victory in the closing stages in Malaysia when Vettel ignored team orders and passed him to win. Vettel got him again Saturday. "Both of us would like to have the upper hand," Vettel said. "Im happy we did the job today. Now we focus on the start." The start at the Circuit of the Americas can be treacherous with its 100-foot climb to a blind left turn that sends the cars straight back down. The traffic jam at the apex can be calamitous for cars stuck in the middle. Charging up the hill from the pole position last year, Vettel stayed in front of the potential danger and looked to be cruising toward a victory until Lewis Hamilton, then driving for McLaren, passed him with about 14 laps to go and won. "It was a tight battle with Lewis. He was a bit quicker," Vettel said. Romain Grosjean of Lotus will start third Sunday and Saubers Nico Hulkenberg will be fourth. Grosjean will have a chance to earn his fourth top-three finish of the season and third in two months. Hamilton, now with Mercedes, qualified fifth. "Well see what we can do. Its good to be here and show we are still in the front row," Grosjean said. Grosjeans temporary Lotus teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, qualified eighth despite having just three days to learn his new car. Kovalainen is driving the last two races of the season for Kimi Raikkonnen, who had back surgery. A Vettel victory would be his 12th of the season, keeping him on target to tie Michael Schumachers season record of 13 next week in the season finale in Brazil. On Saturday, Vettel shrugged off pursuit of records. "Its not the right mind set to go into the race," he said. "Weve done pretty well with that kind of approach." Cooper Kupp Jersey . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Bobby Evans Womens Jersey . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-jack-youngblood-rams-jersey/ . -- Max Domi scored twice and set up two more as the London Knights toppled the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 6-4 on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Joe Namath Rams Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Clay Matthews Rams Jersey . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, I wanted to say that I love reading your take on these questions and I loved your book. I have a question regarding the Montreal vs. Minnesota game the other night. Now I am a Habs fan so this may seem like a strange question but late in the third, Minnesotas Marco Scandella was called for hooking, clearly this was a good call but my concern is this - at this point the Canadiens were already winning 6-1 and I was thinking did the referee really need to make that call? I mean, there must come a point where the whistles have to be put away, no? There is nothing wrong with a decisive win, and if the offending player had say given a blatant head shot or high stick to the face call it, but to me the hooking just added insult to injury and maybe should not have been called. So my question is - does there come a time when you just put the whistle away and just let the game finish? Thanks as always,Dan Boucher Dan: Thank you for the kudos. Your philosophical question pertains to an area of officiating called "game management." Please understand that game management is not just about making a decision to call or not call a penalty. It goes much beyond that and pertains to a refs "feel" for the game as it is being played out in the moment. The most exciting and entertaining games are when the players are allowed to compete hard and on the edge where physicality is properly balanced with player safety. No different than a pot of water on a stove, the temperature of a game can intensify and will boil over if the chef does not turn down the heat at the appropriate time. A referees ability to appropriately manage the emotional element of the game (players and coaches) is crucial in this regard. That can include situations when player frustration results during an embarrassing blow-out game. The good referee knows when to impose his authority in a way that achieves a positive result. Former NHL Director of Officiating John McCauley, my mentor and current NHL referee Wes McCauleys late father, told me that "the very best game is one played with "controlled bedlam" and the most successful referee is the one that can get the players to play on his terms with laying the hammer down!" John was talking specifically about "game management." There are some fans that take the position that a penalty is a penalty regardless of the sccore or the time of the game.dddddddddddd Your question Dan highlights a more realistic and practical approach that balances a referees ability to enforce the rules (maintain integrity of the game) with common sense judgment through his feel for the game and what a game requires in the moment. The wide gap in the standard of rule enforcement from days of old has narrowed in the "new, newer NHL." The expectation from the majority of the hockey community is that a violation of the rules will (should) result in a penalty called by the referee. It is often hard to understand how a puck over the glass is an automatic penalty in overtime while an obvious hold might not be called? We know there is ongoing work to be done by the Officiating Dept. in the area of coaching and holding the refs accountable to the expected standard. As these theories pertain to your specific question Dan let me say that an obvious penalty must be called at any time in the game, regardless of the score or the time! In addition to maintaining player safety, all flagrant fouls, stick infractions, dangerous hits and fouls on scoring opportunities should never be overlooked by the referees. Marco Scandella of the Minnesota Wild hooked Max Pacioretty with a potential scoring opportunity after a turnover in the neutral zone. While Pacioretty did not lose possession of the puck the referee maintained the expected standard when Scandella hooked the hands of the Montreal player as he was cutting toward the Minnesota goal. A "must call" was made in spite of the 6-1 Montreal lead with 3:40 remaining. It is also important to note that the referees worked the game right to the end with a consistent standard when Daniel Briere was assessed a penalty for holding Mikael Granlund with 1:49 remaining in the game. The infraction occurred as Granlund carried the puck up the wall in the neutral zone and was stalled from behind with a tug-hook and eventual free-hand grab by Briere that forced a loss of puck possession. The proper standard was maintained with the holding penalty called against Daniel Briere and resulted in Danny Heatleys power play goal with two seconds remaining in the game. If the referee had missed, or worse yet avoided calling the infraction committed by Briere you can bet the game temperature would have spiked through Wild frustration during the final minute and a half. The timing of the Briere infraction allowed for excellent "game management" to be demonstrated by the referee. John McCauley would be proud. ' ' '