Kritik und Lob » held out of the first 30 minutes of Cup Series pract

The womens season finale begins Sunday, and Serena Williams second-straight withdrawal from the WTA Finals could give the field much more hope.So who will prevail? Our experts answer a few pressing questions heading into Singapore (coverage begins Sunday on ESPN3).Is Angelique Kerber ready to win a first WTA Finals title?Peter Bodo: Theres no doubt that after winning two majors and becoming the world No. 1 shes a different player this year. But she has to be mentally drained, and her game has never been very effective on the indoor court in Singapore. (Kerber failed to make it out of the round-robin stage in three previous appearances and goes into this year with a 3-7 overall match record.)Greg Garber: Based on the events of 2016, I think not. She followed up her breakthrough win in Melbourne by losing in the first round at Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros -- to Kiki Bertens. Her Asia swing after winning the US Open has been underwhelming.Johnette Howard: Yes. Shes played only two tournaments since mid-September, so she should be fresh. Also, whatever crisis of confidence she had between winning the Australian Open and US Open should be gone. Two slams and the top-ranking proves youre not a one-shot wonder.Melissa Isaacson: Absolutely. Particularly with Serena out of the picture, Kerber should begin winning the big tournaments with some consistency -- a bugaboo before this year -- even when the others, like the recent Asian swing, arent yielding titles.Which player will most likely surprise you?Bodo: The heart of the batting order are the women ranked Nos. 3-5. Agnieszka Radwanska, the defending champion, is playing well again. Former finalist Simona Halep is opportunistic and can salvage a so-so year with a strong performance. But the surface suits US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskovas serve-based game, and if shes on, its going to be tough to stop her.Garber: Radwanska is your defending champion and she typically finishes the Asian swing with a flourish. But Halep, who has improved under coach Darren Cahill, made the final two years ago and she could finish the season with a strong run at Singapore.Howard: Madison Keys had to play her way into the WTA Finals while being on the bubble. She should be match sharp and the courts suit her fast-paced game.Isaacson: Radwanska advances to the quarters or better in all four Slams this year, and she was the WTA Finals champ last year. Let us not forget that the world No. 3 was in position to take the top spot going into the US Open. She has also been the best player on tour since the US Open.What does it say about Serena Williams that she pulled out of the year-end championships for the second straight year?Bodo: If ever proof was required that Serena Williams cares only about Grand Slam titles and her personal comfort zone when it comes to scheduling, we now have it. And at the age of 35, with her record, she really is entitled to do anything she pleases, even if the WTA Tour is disappointed by her indifference to all but the majors.Garber: You could see this one coming. There was a general feeling last year that shutting it down after the US Open stalled Serenas momentum into 2016. Well, it looks like it will happen again, giving the rest of the womens field an advantage.Howard: Serena claims shes still suffering from a shoulder injury and she seems to be following up on her remarks that shes tired of playing hurt and -- the insinuation is -- losing to people that shouldnt beat her. When, and if, she comes back healthy, we can better judge whether age is creeping up on her or shes just been physically compromised.Isaacson: This is what happens to most athletes at the end of their careers, even when they are superhuman athletes with unprecedented longevity like Serena. The injuries are more frequent or simply harder from which to recover. She said her doctor insisted on it. Good move.So, who will win the Singapore title?Bodo: Kerber is probably spent, and with the No. 1 ranking locked up, there is no great incentive for her to finish with a flourish. In round-robin play, you can afford to have an off day, which is a great advantage for an erratic newbie like Keys, who will go on to win it all.Garber: Im going with Pliskova, the revelation at the US Open. Like her game and poise.Howard: Radwanska has been the tours hottest player on the Asian Tour, but shell likely have to get by Kerber, who should be fresher than shes been in months.Isaacson: Kerber, not because she is the hottest player, but because she is the best. Assured the year-end No. 1 ranking after Serena withdrew, there should be no pressure other than to establish herself as the top player in the womens game. Jeff Francis Jersey Online .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. John Gerak Jersey Online . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. https://www.cheapjerseysatwholesale.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Jeff Sevy Jersey Online . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. 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The 2017 rear spoiler will measure 2-3/8 inches by 61 inches.NASCAR ran Sprint Cup Series races this summer at Michigan International Speedway and Kentucky Speedway using a 2? inch by 53-inch spoiler in an effort to simulate the 2017 aero package, but the competition was not as close as hoped.Our objective here is to get more off-throttle time for the drivers, said Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR senior vice president of innovation and racing development. If we take downforce off, the corner speed will slow down and the driver will be off-throttle more. The splitter and the spoiler reduction was done in concert because we wanted to retain the same balance in the car.We tried a 53-inch wide spoiler but went back to the 61 after we got some feedback from the drivers, he added. They just needed a bit more in the rear, so we fine-tuned it that way. It gives the car a bit more stability.Drivers were generally positive in their reaction to the new rules.I believe anything we can do to take aerodynamic dependency away from these cars makes the racing better, makes it more fun and showcases the drivers talent and the crew chiefs ability to change, said Carl Edwards of Joe Gibbs Racing.?Thats good stuff.We are all wanting slower center of corner speeds, added six-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will remain at Kansas on Monday to test the 2017 package in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.We all feel that will put on a better race. Directionally, that is the way the sport is going and I think the smaller spoiler is going to help us.For restrictor plate races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the plate openings have been decreased by 1/64 of an inch in an effort to reduce horsepower and contain speeds.NASCAR will also reduce the number of tiires allotted to competitors on race weekends and will require drivers to start races with the tires used for qualifying.dddddddddddd.Safety changes include a strengthened floor section near the pedals and modifications to the steering column to prevent the steering wheel from pushing back into the cockpit in a frontal impact. Roof hatches will be mandatory at restrictor plate tracks and optional elsewhere.We work on safety on an ongoing basis and agree as an industry that there is no compromise when it comes to safety, Stefanyshyn said. When we do find something and its significant and needs to be handled, we will handle it in a proper way.NASCAR continues to crack down on efforts to create a rear-steering effect by skewing the angle of the rear axle, and rules regarding chassis construction in the rear axle area have been tightened up for 2017.Friday at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson were held out of the first 30 minutes of Cup Series practice because they attempted to bring their cars back into rear axle angle compliance after last weeks race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by violently swerving during the cool-down lap.We asked them not to swerve and they swerved, so theyre in the garage, said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice-president of competition. That was pretty specific. We told them [in September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway] that we would look at our resources after the races, and weve been doing that.Stefanyshyn and Miller added that while they hope the 2017 package forms a solid base for the long term, they would not rule out NASCAR selectively testing out new ideas during races as it prepares for 2018.Nothing ever stays the same, so moving forward, we will look at more efficient ways to actually potentially test possible packages for the future, said Miller. I think we did a good job the last couple of times with the races. Thats really the best way to collect data - at an actual event.Hopefully we can get out in front of it a bit further with a bigger cross section of race tracks if we have some proposed new things in the future. ' ' '