News & Neuigkeiten » replacement surgery in September 2010.?

MONACO -- Finishing fastest in both of Thursdays practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix isnt enough to get Nico Rosberg too excited. He knows Mercedes has yet to prove it can last the pace on race day. The German driver clocked a time of 1 minute, 14.759 seconds to finish .318 in front of teammate Lewis Hamilton and .437 ahead of Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso in the second session. The times were generally faster than in the first session. But having taken pole position in the past two races and failed to finish in the top five, Rosberg is wary about reading too much into qualifying and practice speeds. Hamilton topped the grid at the Chinese GP three races ago, and Mercedes secured a 1-2 in qualifying two weeks ago in Spain -- but neither driver has won a race yet. "It seems that we are quick again on one lap, but we have been working hard again to make improvements to our race pace," said Rosberg, whose best result this season was fourth at the Malaysian GP. "It will be interesting to see where we are compared to the others over the weekend, as its not really representative today." Monaco is the hardest track for overtaking, and a repeat front-row performance in Saturdays qualifying will set up Mercedes to end that barren run -- but only if the car improves its durability. "The true test will come on Sunday, but Im pleased with the technical work that we covered in the two practice sessions today," team principal Ross Brawn said. "Both Nico and Lewis, along with our engineers, did a very good job working together through the program. A pleasing start to the weekend, and now we have to make the right decisions for Saturday and Sunday." Hamilton, the 2008 F1 champion, has two third-place finishes this season and feels Mercedes is close to getting that first win. "The car is almost there and the pace looks good," the Briton said. "Well look at the data tonight and work on those areas which can still be improved." Three-time defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel finished 10th in the morning session and ninth in the afternoon. "Unfortunately we lost quite a lot of time in the afternoon while we were making some changes," Vettel said. "Wed like to be a little bit more competitive, so we need to try and find some more lap time." Romain Grosjean was forced out of the second session after smashing into the barrier at Sainte Devote. He was unharmed and his car was lifted off the track by a crane. The session was briefly halted by a red flag as marshals removed some metal debris from the track. "I didnt have the grip I expected going into the corner, but there was nothing wrong with the car," Grosjean said. "My braking and entry speed were all wrong and I ended up hitting the barrier ... I was committed to the corner so that was it." Hamilton and Alonso both had narrow escapes, going perilously close to hitting barriers. Alonso won the Spanish GP, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second and Massa third. Finishing ahead of both Red Bulls was a boost for Ferrari, with Vettel coming fourth and teammate Mark Webber fifth. On Thursday, Webber was fifth quickest in the second run, ahead of Lotus driver Raikkonen. Rosberg finished ahead of Alonso and Grosjean in the first session. Ferraris brief in recent races has been to close the gap on Red Bull in qualifying, because neither Massa nor Alonso has been on pole. Alonso won in Spain from fifth on the grid, but that is unlikely to be good enough in Monaco. Only two drivers have won from outside of pole in the last 10 years on this track -- and they both started from third place. Red Bull has captured the past three races in Monaco, all from pole. Webber won last year and in 2010, and Vettel took the checkered flag in 2011.Alfredo Talavera Jersey . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Marco Fabian Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.mexiconationalshop.us/Hector-Moreno-Mexico-Jersey-Soccer/ . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Blank Mexico Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Candido Ramirez Mexico Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.The Washington Nationals have placed Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow soreness.The right-hander was willing to pitch through the pain for the National League East-leading Nationals, but manager Dusty Baker had other plans.I told him we hadnt won anything yet and that we had to look at the big picture, Baker said Monday. Hopefully hell be good in September and hopefully in October.Baker expected Strasburg (15-3, 3.59 ERA) to spend the minimum amount of time on the DL.He knows how bad we need him to pitch, the manager said. I had to explain to him that its not hero time.Washington recalled pitcher A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse. Cole will replace Strasburg as the Nationals starting pitcher Monday against the Baltimore Orioles.Asked if he considered it to be a precautionary move and if hell be back for the postseason, Strasburg said: A hundred percent I think I was good enough to go, but the recovery in between was becoming more of a challenge.I felt like I was losing range of motion and wasnt able to get that back in between starts, so Im trying to make it better than it ever was, I guess, he said. Hopefully thatll translate to some good performance down the road.After bolting to a 15-1 start this season, Strasburg was 0-3 with a 14.66 ERA over his past three outings.The recovery after each start started to get a little bit more difficult, the 28-year-old said.Strasburg missed 17 games from June 19 to July 3 while on the disabled list with an upper-back strain. Heed hoped to avoid another trip to the DL, but Baker and general manager Mike Rizzo decided it was the right thing to do.ddddddddddddWe put him on the DL, and hopefully he comes back in 15 days stronger than ever and can recharge and be really strong at the end, Rizzo said. The position that were in at this time in the season, better off getting him right now to fully strong for the tail end of the season.?Rizzo said Strasburg undergoing a precautionary MRI is is a possible option.We have one from when he signed his extension, so we feel we have our arms around whats going on, he said.Strasburgs right elbow has been a concern of the team -- and the pitcher -- ever since he underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery in September 2010.?Being a Tommy John guy, getting through the grind of a season, there is just a little more maintenance that has to go with it, he said.Strasburg said he might change his regimen between starts, opting to work less with weights and more on flexibility.Your arm works a little bit differently when you do have surgery like that, he said.Strasburgs performance recently suggested it was better just to take a seat for a couple of weeks or so.Hes going to be around for a long time ... Baker said. This is what I had to convince him, that the risk isnt worth the gain right now.ESPNs Eddie Matz and?The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '