Offtopic/fun » the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

After signing a new contract to stay at the dominant Mercedes team for another two years, Nico Rosberg appears to be in his prime. He made a near-perfect start to the season, but at the halfway point has once again found himself behind on points to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. In an exclusive interview, the German sits down with ESPN to discuss the most difficult thing about being Hamiltons teammate, how being in the glare of the media impacts the battle and how he intends to deal with the situation. When your new contract expires in 2018, you will have been with Mercedes for nine years. The only driver who has stayed at one team for more consecutive years is Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, so what is it thats made you and Mercedes stick together? I think, going back, its because I started from day one [in 2010]. Ive been part of this process, I went through loads of downs that were pretty deep and then the up parts now as well. I think they appreciate that I make an effort towards my job and Im really passionate about the whole thing and I always try to be very respectful to all my colleagues. But why does it work? I think its because its a successful partnership, you know? We have been very successful together, and crucial for me was to beat Michael [Schumacher] at the time for my career going forward, and I managed to do that. From then on its been going well.Do you think your reputation in the paddock took a big step up when you beat Michael Schumacher between 2010 and 2012? I think its gone up every year. Its never gone down, its kept going up.But was beating Michael the one step that really made a big difference? Of course -- to beat the best of all time.How much did Lewis Hamiltons arrival at Mercedes in 2013 change the team dynamic? I think it raised the game for all of us. Lewis is a great driver, very competitive and one of the best out there. The two of us against each other, we really push each other more and more, and that does raise the bar a good step again.Media influenceDid things change again when you started to fight for titles in 2014? It changed a lot, yeah. Being able to win every race is a totally different situation, but its just amazing and awesome -- and it is awesome still. Its been going for so long now, which is pretty unreal. Its a great experience. But the pressure is always the same, because the pressure is massive when you are driving to 11th and 12th also, because that is not acceptable. OK, theres a bit more interest and ... well, the media changes a lot, because all of a sudden you guys [in the media] are interested, and when you are finishing 11th and 12th theres just no interest. Funnily enough, you guys do have power, even on us insiders.Does the media have that big an impact? Whats an example? What you write affects my engineers who sit next to me. They could just ask me when Im sitting right next to them, but no, they are affected by what they are reading on their computers and with what you write.Do you ever think of applying a strategy to your answers to the press to gain an advantage -- to start playing the media? Play the media? I want to drive fast in a race car, thats what I want to do. But of course, yes, I do need to take you guys seriously and you do have an influence. That is something we discuss internally and prepare for, and we have media briefings to plan for what to expect and things like that.Being Lewis Hamiltons teammateSo whats the toughest thing about going up against Lewis? The toughest thing? Its his speed -- thats it!Does he have the edge on you in general? I dont think about in such a sense. The fact is I can beat him when I have a good weekend, but the fact is also that hes beaten me the last two years over a championship year, and he is now ahead of me at the moment. That means up to now he has done a better job. But there is still a long way to go and its very close, we have done half the season and we are very close on points, so it will keep being a good battle all the way to the end. I just want to beat him in as many races as possible and then we will see where we are.In the past youve said you have a neutral relationship with Lewis, how is it now? Its up and down. Its always going to be difficult, there is always so much going on and always so much at stake. We have the necessary respect and its a good battle.Talking about respect, how did you feel about Lewis going to see race director Charlie Whiting to seek clarification about your pole position lap in Hungary? I didnt know about it first of all, and even now I dont think to myself about such details. Im easy going about it, I just think its interesting to see how hes become such a safety freak all of a sudden. That right after a double-yellow flag he decides to go to the people in charge and discuss it.It sounds like there is subtext to what you are saying? Wheres the subtext?Youre saying that because its a situation where you had pole, he changed the way he usually approaches those things... No, I just said it was interesting.What interests you about it then? Well, hes not known for being such a safety freak.Then why do you think he was in that instance? Youd have to ask him.Living in the momentThere will be some big regulations changes in 2017, can you see that upsetting Mercedes dominance? We are such an awesome team now, you know? Yes, it could upset our dominance, but we will be there or there abouts at least. Maybe not as dominant now, thats possible because its a huge change, but well do well.Does it put any extra pressure on this years title fight knowing that this could be the last year of dominance? No. I dont think about that, thats so far ahead. Just be in the moment, make the most of it, because next year we could be even more dominant, because we could make the most of the new rules! Who knows?!You often say you like to live in the moment... No, thats what I do. Thats not what I like, thats what I do.Okay, but is that the same approach you have in life in general? Is it a philosophy of yours? It is the best approach, even for life in general. For well-being, thats the way to go, be in the moment. Dont think about your hopes, desires or past experiences -- but thats the most difficult thing to do.Where did you learn that approach from? I like to read about such stuff -- in general stuff about the way we are and the way we think.Going back many years to the early part of your career, you had a seat to go to university at Imperial College but you decided to race in GP2 instead. Do you remember what was going through your mind when you chose racing over university? All my friends that I went to school with were going to university -- that was the next step in life -- but my next step was completely at a T-junction and went in the other direction. That felt a bit weird and I thought that university could be cool anyway, so I wanted to do that. Then I thought maybe I could do that and racing, but it was never realistic and I was a bit of a dreamer. I went, took a gap year, and never went to university of course because it doesnt work to do both. It was never realistic, but I dreamt I could maybe do it.Clearly you have a desire to learn, but what can you do in Formula One to learn so that you have an edge over other drivers? In Formula One you learn so much! At a very young age you are straight into one of the worlds leading companies and you go straight to the top of it, or just below, so you are speaking with the bosses and you are responsible for the motivation of the whole team, respecting everybody and the human interactions that go with that. You have a huge responsibility and you learn so much as a young guy in the sport and Im really grateful for that because I have made such a lot of progress as human being as a result. Its very obvious to me.So when you compare yourself now to how you were when you first entered the sport, how big a change has there been? Its huge. Self-confidence, for example, how to interact with other human beings, especially your colleagues, how to push them with it sounding like a positive rather than a negative, and also how to receive pushes yourself -- to take them positively rather than negatively. Its all so difficult to do, because when you get criticised everybody goes straight into a negative state of mind and blocks it off and says no, Im not having that. To use it as a positive is a big challenge, but for sure I do that better now than I used to.To be a world champion is also a psychological challenge, isnt it? The mind plays a big role always in sport, for sure.Do you feel you now have everything you need in that regard to be a world champion now? Time will tell.Air Max Tn Plus Livraison Gratuite . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Air Max 720 Pas Cher Noir . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/ .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Air Max 96 Noir et Blanche . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Destockage Nike Air Max . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. The new general manager of the Edmonton Eskimos says theyve checked most of the items off their must-do list as they prepare for the 2013 CFL season. "Retaining the services of coach Kavis Reed was the No. 1 factor on that list," said Hervey, who got the nod after former general manager Eric Tillman got the boot in 2012. Hervey also pointed to steps made to bolster an offence that left the Eskimos last in the West last season. One of the first was to obtain the services of quarterback Mike Reilly from the B.C. Lions before he hit the free-agent market. After Tillman traded Ricky Ray to Toronto, the Eskimos struggled at quarterback with Stephen Jyles, Kerry Joseph and Matt Nichols rotating through the position. Reilly isnt guaranteed the starters spot, Hervey emphasized, and must go head-to-head with Nichols to win that right, but he gives the team more options. "We felt by obtaining Mike Reilly it would give us depth at that position which has (also) now created, in our opinion, a fine quarterback battle between he and Matt Nichols." Hervey also says theyve complemented the explosive scatback style of Hugh Charles with signings like that of import John White, better suited to take over should Charles go down again. Theyre the same size and the team will be able to maintain the same style of ground game, said Hervey. Edmonton did make the playoffs thanks to weak Eastern teams that allowed for a crossover but fell victim to Ray and the Toronto Argonauts in the East semifinal. Hervey said theyve worked to bolster the offensive line with moves such as a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the services of non-import Carson Rockhill. "We felt that ourr need (was) to get bigger, more physical and more athletic on the offensive line.dddddddddddd (It) was an area we needed to improve." He said they made it a priority to retain key free agents such as linebacker J.C. Sherritt and defensive end Marcus Howard and locked up slotback Fred Stamps early. They also nabbed free agent Odell Willis from under the nose of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, minutes after he supposedly hit the market, which earned them a $10,000 fine from the CFL for tampering. "We feel the need to get to the quarterback was important," said Hervey. Willis has a talent for sacking quarterbacks but he also has a reputation for off-field behaviour that cost him his job with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Unlike the Bombers, the Eskimos arent getting a new stadium this season, but President Len Rhodes says fans will be getting new seats. All 58,000 will be replaced at Commonwealth as the season progresses but the last wont go into until the fall, he said. Hervey says the team not only wanted to improve its roster for 2013, it wanted to improve its draft position. The Eskimos couldnt get into the first round but did acquire defensive end Stefan Charles with the 10th pick. Like a lot of top draft picks this season, hes still trying chances in the NFL but Hervey says good players are worth the wait. The Eskimos have made some coaching changes for 2013 with the return of CFL veterans Greg Marshall and Doug Sams. Marshall has taken over as defensive co-ordinator while Sams is the new offensive co-ordinator. Marshall goes back to the early part of the last decade with the Eskimos but Sams dates back to the 1987 Grey Cup-winning edition. ' ' '