Strategiebereich » getting better.On hosting Alabama, which ups

MONZA, Italy -- Lewis Hamilton took the all-important pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday, beating Mercedes teammate Nico Rosbergs time by nearly half a second in a commanding performance.Since 2000, the pole sitter has won 13 of 16 races in Monza and each of the past six years -- with Hamilton himself taking three of those victories.That means the pole has been more important in Italy recently than Monaco, where the top qualifier has won only 11 of the last 17 years.Featuring long straights and the highest speeds in F1 -- up to 355 kph (220 mph) -- theres plenty of space to overtake but aerodynamics make it a challenge.It is obviously a track you can overtake on but for some reason you need a second advantage (of speed) on the car in front to be able to really put the overtaking maneuver into action, Hamilton said of the storied Monza track, which has hosted more F1 racing than any other circuit.With these long straights the turbulence lasts for a long time and the closer you get, the less downforce you have.Hamilton finished 0.478 ahead of Rosberg.That last lap felt incredible, Hamilton said. Ive got it right in the sweet spot and was able to do an exceptional time with it.The Ferraris followed, with Sebastian Vettel eight tenths back in third and Kimi Raikkonen nearly a second behind in fourth.Were just not quick enough yet, Vettel said, after Ferrari finished further behind Mercedes than in last years qualifying. Its up to us to catch up.Hamilton joined F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna with a record five poles at Monza.I feel incredibly proud and honored to be up amongst Senna and Juan Manuel -- incredible drivers -- and I never thought my name would be mentioned in the same sentence as theirs, Hamilton said. So Im very proud of that.It was Hamiltons 56th career pole and the British driver also ended Rosbergs run of three straight poles this season.I had a decent weekend until now and got some good laps in today and (was) just not quick enough, Rosberg said. The problem was that I think (Hamilton) had his best qualifying in a long time.Hamiltons championship lead over Rosberg was cut to nine points after Rosberg won last weekends Belgian GP.On Sunday, Hamilton will be aiming to become the first driver since Fangio in 1955 to win at Monza three consecutive years.Valtteri Bottas in a Williams qualified fifth, followed by the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.Conditions were sticky, with the track at 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and the air at 29 C (84 F).Williams Felipe Massa -- who announced Thursday he will retire at the end of this season -- and McLarens Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were among those eliminated in Q2.I didnt feel the power, losing on the straights unfortunately, Alonso said.Esteban Ocons Manor car stopped at the first chicane in Q1 and Kevin Magnussens Renault was again all over the track, as both were eliminated early on.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Lucas Digne France Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Dimitri Payet France Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/customized/ . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Eliaquim Mangala France Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Zinedine Zidane France Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Texas A&M began the second half of its Southeastern Conference schedule with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 victory over South Carolina today at the Carolina Volleyball Center.It was the eighth victory over the last nine matches for the Aggies, who improve to 14-7 overall and 8-2 in SEC matches. South Carolina falls to 15-7, including 3-7 in SEC play.Texas A&M All-American and redshirt senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers tied for match-high honors with 12 kills while hitting .524 as the Aggies outhit the Gamecocks, .317 to .167 for the match. Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee pitched in 11 kills while hitting at a .320 clip, and freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans also reached double-figure kills with 10 while junior setter Stephanie Aiple distributed 34 assists.Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, who leads the SEC in blocks per set, led the Aggies with four blocks, and Babers added three to give her 449 block assists for her career and move her within seven block assists of the school all-time career record of 456 held by Cindy Lothspeich (1994-97).Senior defensive specialist Victoria Arenas took match-high honors in digs with 16, and junior libero Amy Nettles had eight digs, putting her within 18 of the 1,000-career digs milestone.Texas A&M led the first set from start to finish, building its largest advantage at 16-8 following back-to-back errors by the Gamecocks. South Carolina, which was outhit .433 to .297 in the frame, later used a 3-0 run to get within 20-17 before McGee caromed a kill off the block to thwart the Gamecocks rally. The teams began to trade points before McGee put down her fifth kill and Babers and Aiple followed with a block to put the Aggies at set point. South Carolina got a kill to stave off one set point before Babers attack near the right-side pin ricocheted off the Gamecocks block for the set-ending kill.South Carolina took its first lead of the match by scoring the first two points to begin the second set. Aiple later set up McGee and Babers for back-to-back kills that gave A&M the lead, 4-3, and the Aggies would never trail for the remainder of the set. South Carolina tied the score at 4- and 5-all before A&M went on a 6-1 run to go up, 11-6. The Gamecocks then scored three unanswered points to get within 11-9 before Hans ended the rally with a kill, marking the start of a 5-0 spurt by the Aggies. South Carolina never got closer than five points for the reminder of the set and trailed 20-14 when McGee and Hans posted back-to-back kills, and sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser followed with her second of a career-high three aces in the match to put A&M up, 23-14. The Aggies took their largest lead on the next play as South Carolina had an attack error that put Texas A&M at set point, 24-14. The Gamecocks, who were outhit, .306 to .079 in the stanza, made a late rally, fighting off four set points before Hans closed out the set with a kill.The Aggies held an 11-9 lead in the third set when South Carolina gained the momentum, putting down three consecutive kills, including a kill after a lengthy rally to build a 12-10 lead. The home teams momentum quickly fizzled as the Gamecocks served long, and the Aggies took over with Houser stepping to the service line. A&M ran its scoring streak to eight consecutive points, with Babers contributing three kills during the surge. A service error temporarily ended the run, but Hans got a kill off the block to begin a 3-0 run that put the Aggies up, 22-13.The teams traded points, with A&M senior setter Kaysie Shebeneck entering the match for Aiple aand immediately setting up Blake for a kill that gave the Aggies a 23-14 lead.dddddddddddd South Carolina then made a last-ditch effort, rallying to get within 23-18, forcing A&M to call a timeout.Following the timeout, Shebeneck once again set up Blake for the kill to put the Aggies at match point. Dessaa Legros put down her team-leading 12th kill to keep the Gamecocks alive, but Blake and Emily Hardesty teamed for a block on the ensuing play to clinch the victory for the Aggies.For the match, Texas A&M led the Gamecocks in kills (48-24), assists (45-33), aces (5-4) and digs (50-34). South Carolina led in blocks, 9-7, marking the first time in six matches this season that A&M came out victorious despite trailing in blocks.Texas A&M returns home to Reed Arena on Thursday for a rematch against Alabama, which handed the Aggies a 3-2 loss in the SEC season opener in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The match, which begins at 6 p.m., marks the start of a season-high four-match homestand, which also includes contests against Tennessee (Nov. 6), Mississippi State (Nov. 11) and Georgia (Nov. 13).HEAD COACH LAURIE CORBELLI: On getting the sweep to start the second half of the conference schedule...It was really a fun team win. The focus from the beginning was really good. The big concern in this gym has always been our passing, and the team settled in and did a really nice job of passing. I thought the blocking today was really well formed and well timed, and it made our defense behind the block a lot smoother and a lot better. So overall, both from an offensive and defensive standpoints, it was one of our better performances.On getting out of Columbia in 3 sets instead of going 5 sets like A&M has done in the last two visits... I told the team after the match that this is maybe one of the most stressful places I have ever coached in the SEC. It is such a tough place to play, and they play so great at home. I was so relieved that we were able to close it out in three sets. I sat on the bench in the third set thinking Im probably going to cry at the end of this one because Im so relieved. They are ones of those teams that just plays so beautifully at home, and we were able to just contain what we wanted to contain and really get our side going. And we had much better serving than we have had lately, so I do think our serving is getting better.On hosting Alabama, which upset A&M in five sets in the SEC opener... That opening match against Alabama is a sore spot for us, and it is our chance to take another step towards our goal, and it is our chance to get a little bit of revenge, not that revenge is that huge because we know we just have to perform. It will be tough; there is no question. We match up with them really well, but it is always a battle. I think the team sees the goal is a little closer, and I think that the motivation is coming back around from them to being we made it through the rough stretch of the season and we are on the home stretch. They feel lighter. They feel like there is a really strong purpose; it is not as distant. We survived October for the most part, so now to be home, this early November is going to be really fun and really good for us.On starting a four-match homestand in front of the 12th Man It will be nice to have our home crowd know that we will be back in a few nights. We will be returning soon instead of in two weeks. Hopefully we can get some momentum going there, as well as with our fans. ' ' '