#1

ty. The Leafs and th

in Regeln und Informationen 09.07.2018 10:45
von jokergreen0220 • Halb Gott | 2.085 Beiträge

PARIS -- At last, Formula One has a heated rivalry again. Yasiel Puig Jersey . Better still, its in the same team and there are 13 races left for it to develop. The dominance of Mercedes, which has swept all six races and all six pole positions so far, prompted fears that this season was becoming even more predictable than the last, when Sebastian Vettel won the final nine races and Red Bull crushed everyone. Then, at last weekends Monaco GP, a feud erupted out of nowhere between Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to add some much-needed spice to a dull campaign. Hamilton has won four races this season, but Rosberg captured Sundays race from pole for his second victory and reclaimed the overall championship lead with 122 points to 118 for his teammate. "Were fierce competitors, so you can never expect us to be best friends and compete as fiercely as we do," Hamilton said after the Monaco GP. "But I will try to remain respectful." Hamilton ignited the row by taking the brash step of publicly claiming that Rosberg, the son of former F1 champ Keke Rosberg, has less hunger than him after growing up in the luxurious environment of Monaco. Rosberg didnt respond to those claims verbally, but in the eyes of Hamilton he responded to them on the track by making a surprising last-gasp mistake in qualifying that led to a yellow flag. The session was abruptly halted, ending any hopes that Hamilton, at full throttle just behind, had of winning pole. The fallout escalated quickly. An incensed Hamilton insinuated that Rosberg -- cleared by stewards of any wrongdoing -- had done it on purpose, suggesting he would watch his own back the way the late Ayrton Senna did when he fell out with Alain Prost when they drove for McLaren in the late 1980s. With tensions running high, the two Mercedes drivers were not in the post-qualifying team meeting together and were at opposite ends for the traditional pre-race jaunt around the circuit. After Rosbergs win, there was no handshake from Hamilton, who came in second to give Mercedes a fifth straight 1-2 finish. There have been fiery team rivalries before, notably the one between Vettel and Mark Webber at Red Bull. That got very bitter, with each driver ignoring team orders to let the other one pass and making blunt comments about the other. But the crucial difference is that, apart from 2010 when Webber challenged for the title, the four-time defending champion Vettel was always winning. Relations were ice-cold, but there also seemed to be a mutual acceptance they would never get along and the professional working environment within Red Bull continued to operate smoothly. The matter is more delicate for Rosberg and Hamilton because theyve known each other for such a long time, racing karts against each other and even going on holiday together -- something that was never going to happen with Webber and Vettel, and even less so with Senna and Prost. Rosberg is less experienced than Hamilton, with five GP wins compared to Hamiltons 26, but the German has shown real consistency with top-two finishes in all six races. Hamilton would still be ahead, though, but for the engine failure that forced the British driver to retire in the season opener at Melbourne. That technical glitch, on what is the most reliable car in F1, likely still rankles him. After several frustrating seasons with McLaren, Hamilton has a great chance to win his second F1 title six years on. But standing in his way is his childhood friend. That relationship is going to be severely tested and the spotlight will be beaming straight in the face of both drivers at the Canadian GP in two weeks time. Custom Dodgers Jerseys . -- Terry Francona likened the atmosphere at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to a playoff game in October. Kenley Jansen Jersey . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played. http://www.baseballdodgersproshop.com/ . LeBron James believes hes a major reason for their early failures.When you grew up in Ottawa, back in the days before the Sens, you really had just two choices when it came to NHL teams to cheer for: the Habs and the Leafs. If I could afford a therapist, I imagine the good doctor would tell be that my affection for the Leafs was part of an ongoing and pathological need to be alone and unhappy. Though, quite simply, its more likely that its because thats what was on local TV in Ottawa. I admit I could be wrong. I dont have a PhD. Thats right. I was a Leafs fan. I had a Leafs sweater that I slept in, that my dad bought me after some endless whining in the aisles of a Canadian Tire. An Allan Bester poster hung above my bed. I wore number 9 in Little League because of Russ Courtnall, and I may have cried when he was traded to the dreaded Habs for John Kordic. My parents werent sports fans, but they let me bring an old black and white TV into my room to watch Hockey Night in Canada, to fall asleep to the third period charms of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. I cant often remember my postal code, or where I lived in 2009, or the name of that girl, but I easily recall the names of Dale Degray, Peter Ing, Brad Smith, Ken Yaremchuk, and Dan Daoust, forgettable Leafs from a forgettable era.The arrival of the Ottawa Senators coincided with the arrival of my first love. Well, the first reciprocated love. Fittingly I used this sea change to shift my affections to the Sens, whose losing was familiar but who provided a new hope, a virginal slate upon which to build a new love. The Sens got better, but love did not. Like it tends to, it left, mostly my doing, as I had found affections for all sorts of other things one does as they enter their 20s.The Sens and I remained true to each other, even though I carried the relationship. I lived in Vancouver for a few years, but never felt any connection to the Canucks, nor for any West coast girl. Well, there was one girl, but she left me for my best friend. In that manner, she was not unlike the Sens. All kinds of promise, ending in sure disappointment; the better looking, more mature Leafs beating the Sens in the playoffs year after year.With both the Sens and the Leafs the pain was the same: expectations were crushed by reality. No matter what I did, season after season they hurt me. They left me alone in June, as other teams and their fans moved on to full playoff beards, Cup parades, and what I can only assume is happiness.Years passed. I moved back to Ottawa. I watched hockey less. I dated seldom. I grew a playoff beard in January. My mother worried. She had nightmares that I was floating through life without RRSPs, without a mortgage, without a wife, and without kids. My dad seemed to understand, even though he wasnt much for hockey. I moved to Costa Rica. My beard got longer. My tan was superb. Televised hockey was difficult to find. Beer was cheap. There was no fear of commitment, because everyone was transient, moving on, moving forward, or at least sideways.But the rains came and I returned to Canada, but this time to Montreal, a city that truly appreciates the lovelesss. Joc Pederson Jersey. A city where the bars are open late, and life exists only in the present. And I found myself watching hockey again, with people who didnt know about my past, about the Leafs and the Sens, who didnt know of my failings in my mothers eyes. And I found myself cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the longtime enemy of both the Leafs and the Sens. Outwardly I was a fan, but inside I was in turmoil. I felt like I was cheating on myself, as if I was committing hockey adultery, even though I was single and every team I ever loved sucked.And then came 2010. And a magical run through to the Conference Finals. And Halak signs. And PK Subban. And overtime wins. And there was a girl. A girl I loved. And for a brief moment I thought about breeding, about ceremony, pageantry, making my mum happy, a parade down Ste. Catherine, about my dad in a tuxedo, about rings.But, as hockey and love have taught me, all good things end in horrible, crushing, debilitating disappointment sometime in June. The Habs lost to the Flyers, and someone else won the Cup, and Halak was traded, and the girl left because I was afraid she might not, and summer arrived with condolence beers and late nights on terrasses and waiting for next year. Always next year. My mum didnt say anything, but I could see her deleting imaginary grandchildren in her mind, and transferring familial hope to my sister and her young family.And life went on. Seasons changed, both on the calendar and the NHL schedule. I still rocked a playoff beard, out of both laziness and hope, so Id be prepared in case of victory. The Habs sunk back to middle-of-the-pack mediocrity. The Leafs and the Sens lived in that same ether. My mum would send me promotional materials for post-graduate programs and ask how my married friends were doing. My dads tuxedo remained in the back of his closet, dry-cleaned and at the ready. I still watched Habs games, but my interest has waned, my commitment faltered.Then, two weekends ago, I was having a few adult beverages and watching the Sens and Habs battling each other in an important late-season game. It was like watching the past fight for your affections. With just under four minutes left, it looked like the Sens had the game won. But the Habs scored once, twice, and a third time with only .3 seconds left to tie it, before winning it in overtime.So buoyed by the victory, and spirited by the spirits, I headed out to the local to meet a friend and celebrate the victory. And in the back of the bar, a bar cheered by the win and the hour, was the girl from 2010. And we talked for a bit. And she asked about my folks. And we smiled when youre supposed to smile. And we spoke longingly about spring coming. And after a silence, and a pause, she had to leave, and as she did she looked back and said, "Maybe Ill see you soon." Maybe. And maybe the Habs will make a run, and my mum will stop worrying about matrimony, and my dads tuxedo will be content in its stasis, and maybe I will see her soon. That wouldnt be so bad. Better than being a Leafs fan. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys Online Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap Wholesale NFL Hoodies ' ' '

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