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INDIANAPOLIS -- James Hinchcliffe will have to wait a little bit longer before he can return to the track. Manny Lawson Bills Jersey . The Oakville, Ont., driver was evaluated Tuesday and IndyCars medical team has yet to clear Hinchcliffe to begin Indianapolis 500 practice. He was progressing well and is now cleared to begin light training with a another evaluation set for Thursday. The 27-year old driver was diagnosed with a concussion Saturday when he was hit in the head by debris in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He was taken on a stretcher to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical centre and was later transported to a hospital. Hinchcliffe hasnt been made available to the media since. "Pretty much the doctors said he should be a little bit disconnected," E.J. Viso said. "Just pretty much trying to stay in his room and rest." Filling in for Hinchcliffe for the third consecutive day, Viso shot straight to the top of the speed chart on the third day of practice. He reached 224.488 mph within the first 20 minutes of the start of practice. Kurt Busch was second fastest at 224.159 and Colombias Juan Pablo Montoya was third at 224.115. Just before a yellow flag for rain, Montoya pulled off the track and required a tow. The rookie reported an electrical problem with the car. "Thats why I stopped in the grass," Montoya said. "We ran a lot of laps yesterday in preparation for it, so its nothing major and it gives the guys time to catch up on the car." Meanwhile, Viso is spending each practice session with the intent to qualify and even race Hinchcliffes No. 27 car in this years Indy 500. That kind of focus, Viso believes, will have him best prepared should have be called on for the May 25 race. "I just put myself into the drivers role," he said. "I believe that its the best scenario that I could put myself in right now is with that mindset." Theres still a chance that Hinchcliffe could return in time for IndyCars signature race. Nothing has been offered to the Venezuelan, but if thats the case, Viso hasnt ruled out stepping into another car to race in the Indy 500. "If its a competitive ride, I will of course take it," he said. "Trust me, theres nothing worse than being lapped every two laps, so for that I truly dont know if its worth it. Its not like Im dying to do it, but Im dying to do well and to have a chance to win." Four other things to know from Tuesdays practice session: FAST HONDA: Honda engines recorded some of the top speeds, with seven of the top 10 fastest cars. The three fastest Chevy cars on Tuesday were Montoya, Scott Dixon (223.235), and rookie Sage Karam (222.635). PRACTICE CANCELLED: Teams wasted no time getting on the track for practice. Twenty-six cars made their way to the pits within the first 20 minutes of the start of practice before rain and thunderstorms ended track activity early. Teams have been pressed for time after a quick turnaround from Saturdays race. Rain is in the forecast for the remainder of the week. OPPORTUNITY TO RELAX: Josef Newgarden had no problem with Tuesdays practice being called early. The inclement weather that cut practice short gave the 23-year old and his crew a chance to relax after a busy stretch. By the third day of practice, Newgarden said many teams have made the full transformation of going from road course to oval racing in a short amount of time. "Most people by now are pretty sorted," Newgarden said. "Theres not a lot to do. Theres not big items you have to take off the list. Its all little things that youre looking for now." FIRST PRACTICE: Sebastian Saavedra returned to practice for the first time since wrecking at the start of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The pole-sitter for Saturdays race was clipped by Carlos Munoz before he was hit from behind by Mikhail Aleshin. Saavedra completed just seven laps and reached 208.985 mph on Tuesday. Cyrus Kouandjio Jersey . -- Kevin Pangos had 27 points and Drew Barham added 17 to lead No. Cyrus Kouandjio Blue Jersey . -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis.WASHINGTON -- With an emphasis on defence, Paul George, Roy Hibbert and the rest of the Indiana Pacers are suddenly performing the way they did at the start of the season. And they dont care how ugly the product might look. Playing precisely the way they did to earn the No. 1 seed -- before a late-season swoon -- the Pacers held the Wizards to a franchise-low scoring total Friday night to win 85-63 and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. "Listen, we dont worry about if were looking good for TV. The other teams can do that, can fill that void with fancy basketball. We dont worry about that," Indiana forward David West said. "Were OK with this. We can win games in the 80s." Set aside Georges 23 points, and neither team looked good on offence. Not at all. It was 17-all after the first quarter, and the Pacers led 34-33 at halftime, only the 13th time teams combined for 67 or fewer points in a playoff game in the shot-clock era, according to STATS. After allowing 102 points in Washingtons Game 1 victory, Indiana has won two in a row, including holding the Wizards to 82 in Game 2. Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Washington. "This was probably the ugliest game of the post-season thus far. This is our style of basketball," said George, who helped limit Bradley Beal to 6-for-19 shooting. "Thats what we do. Whether you like it or not, are a fan of watching our games or not, defence is what we hang our hats on." Washington made only 24 field goals, a team post-season worst, on 73 attempts, 32.9 per cent. That included 4 of 16 on 3s, and it didnt get much better on free throws, where the Wizards were 11 of 21. "A clunker," Wizards coach Randy Wittman called it. The Wizards never had scored fewer than 75 points in a playoff game -- the previous low came in a first-round series-ending victory against Chicago 1 1/2 weeks ago -- or fewer than 64 in a regular-season game. The 63 points also matched the fourth-lowest total by any club since 1954-55, according to STATS. "They took us out of our comfort zone offensively," Wizards forward Drew Gooden said. "We were overly confident. ... This is a humbling expperience for us. Thurman Thomas Womens Jersey. " So much for the bandwagon-hopping in Washington. There were boos on occasion, and most of the fans started heading to the exits after Georges 3 with 3 1/2 minutes left made it 75-58. The 7-foot-2 Hibbert was again a factor for Indiana at both ends, coming up with three blocks and forcing Washingtons players to alter other shots. He also contributed 14 points and five rebounds. Before tip-off Friday, Pacers coach Frank Vogel was asked if he sensed which version of Hibbert would show up -- the zero-point, zero-rebound disaster of Game 1 or the 28-point, nine-rebound dominator of Game 2. Vogels reply, offered with a smile: "Probably somewhere in the middle of Game 1 and Game 2." Turned out to be exactly right. "In the past two games," George said about the All-Star centre, "hes been great at just defending our basket." Beals perspective? "Im 6-3, 6-4. Hes 7-2," Beal said. "So you do the math." John Wall, Washingtons point guard, had five turnovers in his previous four games, but he had seven Friday, to go along with 15 points and six assists. Trevor Ariza had 12 points, but zero in the second half. Marcin Gortat scored four points one game after having 21. And Nene had eight points on 3-of-14 shooting and only three rebounds. "Johns got to go out and play aggressive," Wittman said. "I thought he had some indecision in transition -- Do I go? Do I dont go? -- which gets you caught up in the air and some turnovers that way." Washingtons woes shouldnt have been too surprising, given that the Pacers ranked No. 2 in the 30-team NBA in team defence during the regular season, allowing only 92.3 points per game. Not only that, but Washingtons two lowest-scoring games all season -- 66 points in one, 73 in the other -- came in losses to Indiana. And now that version of the Pacers might be back. "It feels like it," George said. "Gradually, were taking baby steps." NOTES: Pacers F Luis Scola was called for a technical foul for shoving Martell Webster in the back as the ball went out of bounds early in the second quarter. ... NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended the game. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
