terms of the up and down and expectations, manager

Focus on... A rollercoaster 12 monthsLast years U.S. Grand Prix seems like a lifetime ago -- Lewis Hamilton was on the crest of a wave, a newly-crowned three time world champion, while teammate Nico Rosberg cut a beaten figure having lost a second straight title to his teammate and boyhood friend. After losing the race win and the championship with a late mistake in Austin, having had it thrown in his direction by Hamilton, a visibly frustrated Rosberg threw his cap back at his teammate in a moment which went viral immediately afterwards.Some pundits said Rosberg was dead and buried, that his hopes of ever beating Hamilton were in ruins.Reflecting on his emotions, Rosberg wrote in his next BILD column: I was just p---ed off. At myself, at Lewis, at the whole situation. Everything!At the moment it feels as though there is something invisible stopping me from succeeding. An enemy that is so hard to combat. Some call it fate, others bad luck.Fast-forward 12 months to the next U.S. Grand Prix and that second paragraph could perhaps better describe Hamiltons fortunes as Rosberg stands on the cusp of a maiden world championship. Rosberg is 33 points up, with 100 to play for from the final four rounds of the season. Hamilton, plagued with engine issues and poor starts throughout 2016, is in the rare position of being the underdog -- an image he has actively tried to cultivate for much of the season.But Rosbergs strong championship position can be traced back further than recent form. After his heartbreaking setback in Austin 12 months ago, Rosberg looked rejuvenated. He won the next three races, though Hamilton, who had a minor late-night car crash ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, seemed to have taken his eye off the ball having emulated boyhood idol Ayrton Sennas three titles.Rosberg started 2016 as he had finished 2015, with four more victories. He faced little challenge from Hamilton in any of them: the world champion had slow getaways in Australia and Bahrain, before qualifying engine drama in China and Russia forced him into recovery drives at both races. Rosbergs drives to victory were not spectacular but they were faultless and they gave him a 43-point buffer over Hamilton, putting the world champion into chase mode for the rest of the season.Even when Hamiltons mid-season resurgence saw him go into the summer break 19 points up he still admitted it felt like he was chasing Rosbergs big lead at the start of the season, wary of imminent engine penalties from those earlier failures. It was a wise outlook -- a tactical engine switch in Belgium led to a hefty penalty which snapped his momentum. He hasnt won since.By contrast, Rosberg has looked stronger than ever, with the invisible enemy which he complained of last year now apparently residing in the other half of the Mercedes garage. But in a championship fight which has twisted and turned all season, it would be foolish to declare the German the champion-elect with 100 points still at stake. This weekends race seems to be the perfect place for Hamilton to regain some form of momentum: hes won three of the four races of COTA and clearly gets a buzz from being in the United States.If you are thinking the championship is done and dusted, think again. To quote the immortal words of Murray Walker: A lot can happen in Formula One... And it usually does.In need of a winLewis Hamilton has to win each race from here until the end of the season to keep his championship chances alive. That still wont guarantee him the title, as Rosberg can still win it by finishing second at each of the remaining rounds, but will put him in pole position to capitalise on any misfortune for his teammate.Hamilton has not won since Julys German Grand Prix and the momentum is firmly in Rosbergs side of the garage. What better place to get back on form than the U.S. Grand Prix he has won three times in its four years on the calendar?In need of pointsEveryone will be supporting Haas this weekend at its home race. The American team has not scored points since the Austrian Grand Prix and will look to turn around its fortunes in front of a passionate American crowd, something which would do wonders for exposure of the race and the sport in a country yet to fully fall in love with F1.ESPN predictionHamilton is the king of Austin and looked calm in his dealings with the media on Thursday. He brushed off any notion of controversy from the Suzuka weekend. We are backing the world champion to return to the top step of the podium.WeatherThere is no chance of the storms which hit last years U.S. Grand Prix, with F1 weather service Ubimet predicting no showers through the weekend. Temperature should be around the 25 degrees Celisus-mark for Friday and Saturday, before peaking around 28 degrees for the grand prix on Saturday afternoon.A lap with... Romain GrosjeanFirst you brake on the very wide track uphill into turn one. You then have tricky traction going downhill through sector one. Its very high speed -- very similar to Silverstone. Here you try to carry some good speed. Then you go to the hairpin before the back straight, again you want good traction here. Theres very big braking at the end.Then theres a very tight section with a double right corner. After that its a long left hairpin, with tricky braking, then a full right-hand side corner, almost flat out in qualifying. Then its the two mid-speed final turns, which are pretty interesting, going down into the first one, and the second one going up again before you finish the lap.TyresTyre choices: Medium, soft, super-softTyre facts:?? The anti-clockwise track has a unique design, borrowing elements of other famous F1 corners.? Turn 1 is a tricky left-hand hairpin approached uphill, where its hard to judge the braking point.? Turn 11 is another key hairpin, where the cars are braking and turning in at the same time.?The asphalt is still quite new (from 2012) but has offered more grip recently as it matures.? Cars tend to run medium downforce in Austin: overtaking is very possible -- particularly in the sequence of corners after Turn 2 -- which opens up a number of strategy options.? There are three long and fast straights: these cool the tyres, making the braking areas tricky. Yannick Ngakoue Youth Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Jawaan Taylor Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. http://www.authenticjaguarslockroom.com/Youth-Jawaan-Taylor-Elite-Jersey/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Marqise Lee Jaguars Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Josh Oliver Youth Jersey .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. NEW YORK -- Curtis Grandersons upbeat personality aided the Mets in navigating a difficult day at the ballpark.A couple of big swings in extra innings helped, too.Granderson hit a solo home run with two outs in the 12th inning after also connecting for a tying shot in the 11th, lifting New York over the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Saturday night, hours after it announced star right-hander Jacob deGrom is likely done for the season.The Mets moved into a tie with San Francisco atop the NL wild-card standings, with St. Louis two games behind them.Granderson is the first Met ever to homer twice in extra innings in the same game, according to ESPN Stats and Info. He was in a 1-for-26 slump before his first shot.He never gets down, manager Terry Collins said. Hes never down. Hes the same guy every day. Hes dangerous.Granderson pulled a 3-2 pitch from left-hander Ryan ORourke (0-1) down the right-field line to win it, getting mobbed at home plate by teammates.After Minnesotas Byron Buxton hit a soaring homer for a 2-1 lead in the 11th, Granderson tied it 2-all leading off the bottom half against closer Brandon Kintzler.Grandersons second homer was the 201st by the Mets this season, breaking the team record set in 2006. It was his 28th home run this year and third career game-ender, including one on May 27 against the Dodgers.DeGrom was scratched from his scheduled start Sunday and will probably miss the rest of the year because of an injury to the ulnar nerve in his right elbow.Obviously to miss a guy like that in the rotation is going to be tough for us, Granderson said. But weve had some great guys step in even in the time hes been gone.Collins said the Mets will turn to a plethora of relievers to get through Sundays game against the Twins.I dont know what the lineup is going to look like tomorrow, Collins said. We have a lot of guys that are tired and a lot of guys that are banged up.The Mets moved a season-high 10 games over .500 and have won 10 of their last 13. Nine of New Yorks last 14 wins have come after trailing, and it has won six straight against the Twins dating to 2010.Josh Edgin (1-0) pitched a scoreless 12th and got his first victory since June 1, 2014.Twins starter Ervin Santana struck out nine, walked two and allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings.Rookie Seth Lugo labored tthrough five innings of four-hit ball to again support the Mets decimated rotation.ddddddddddddHe walked four but stranded them all, allowing his only run on a homer by Eddie Rosario in the fourth.HAIRY SITUATIONMets general manager Sandy Alderson announced deGroms prognosis hours before New York began giving away Jacob deGrom Hair Hats at the gate.DeGrom has been out since Sept. 1 because of elbow pain. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year felt fine while throwing a bullpen Friday but sensed a twinge after tossing a baseball in from the outfield during batting practice about 15 minutes later.DeGrom will need surgery but has not decided whether he will wait until the end of the season. Regardless, the 28-year-old will be ready for spring training.BUXTONS BREAKOUTBuxtons homer was the latest sign that the former hyped prospect may be finding his way in the majors. Since being recalled Sept. 1, Buxton is batting .333 with six homers and 15 RBI, a huge spike from his .193 average and 16 RBI in 63 games earlier in the year.I think hes had to deal with a lot in terms of the up and down and expectations, manager Paul Molitor said. And hes just kind of learning to trust his ability a bit more.TC ON NYCCollins began his postgame media conference by sending his prayers and best wishes to victims of an explosion in Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood Saturday night. The blast left 29 injured.Theyre in our hearts and prayers tonight, Collins said. It kind of brings things back to reality.TRAINERS ROOMTWINS: Rosario injured his left hand diving into first base trying to beat out a grounder in the 10th inning. He was replaced in left field by Logan Schafer. Molitor said it didnt look too good.Mets: LHP Steven Matz threw a 30-pitch bullpen and could return soon after already missing a month with left shoulder tightness. ... 1B Lucas Duda was activated off the disabled list prior to the game. He missed nearly four months recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back. To make space, the Mets transferred LHP Jonathon Niese to the 60-day disabled list.UP NEXTGabriel Ynoa gets the start in what should be a bullpen game for New York. Kyle Gibson (6-9, 5.08) will throw for the Twins. ' ' '