MELBOURNE, Australia - Mercedes confirmed its status as favourite to win the Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix by setting the fastest two times in Fridays practice sessions, with Lewis Hamilton edging his teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton failed to complete a lap in the opening practice session due to a malfunctioning oil pressure sensor that shut down his engine, but recovered to set a time of 1 minute 29.625 seconds in the second session around the Albert Park circuit, 0.157 seconds ahead of Rosberg. "That was quite satisfying. On one lap the pace was good, and on the long run, as well," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. He added, however, that Hamiltons early problem meant there is still cause for concern. "You need to be very careful because its enough to have a little problem and the race or qualifying could be finished." Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fastest in the first session but dropped to third in the second, half a second off Hamiltons time. Kimi Raikkonen was only seventh fastest in his return to the Italian team after suffering some problems, including failing to select first gear when trying a practice start. "Were still not on top of all the things we need to resolve," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "The negative sides have to be addressed very quickly because the competition is strong and the time available is not very much." The gaps at the top of the timesheets were reasonably close, which points toward a competitive qualifying session on Saturday and race on Sunday, rather than the Mercedes dominance that many had predicted. Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel was tipped to struggle in his campaign for a fifth straight drivers championship due to his teams preseason struggles with Renaults new V6 turbo engine, but he put in an encouraging performance to finish fourth fastest in practice. Vettel and new teammate Daniel Ricciardo — who was sixth fastest — completed a total of 115 laps, which will provide valuable data on the car and engines performance. "Its been a very strong first day for us," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. "Weve had a very difficult preseason with numerous issues so it was refreshing to get some laps in and get a first proper feel for the car. "We can see there is quite a gap to the Mercedes and the Ferrari, but we are starting to feel what that gap is and by the end of the weekend we will have a clearer idea." By contrast, fellow Renault-powered teams Lotus and Caterham did very little running due to a succession of technical problems, coupled with some spins into the gravel traps by Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. There has been concern that these two teams, and perhaps others, will sit out Saturdays final practice session to avoid encountering a problem that takes a long time to fix — as many do with these new complex engines — and therefore having to miss both qualifying and the race. Renault deputy managing director Rob White admitted the company was way behind schedule in integrating the complex new powertrains to its four customer teams. "Its completely unacceptable to come to the first race as relatively unprepared as we are," White said. McLaren driver Jenson Button was fifth fastest in Fridays practice, while his rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen was ninth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was eighth, four places above his experienced new teammate Felipe Massa in 12th. Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten. Air Max 720 Outlet Italia . The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately. Scarpe Outlet Italia .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scontate-air-max-90-outlet-italia-c2566.html . Better still, its in the same team and there are 13 races left for it to develop. Air Max 90 Scontate Uomo . Defenceman Tessa Bonhomme was among three players released from the team Tuesday morning along with defenceman Brigette Lacquette of Waterhen, Man. Scarpe Nike Scontate On Line . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons.(SportsNetwork.com) - Fresh off earning his second Olympic gold medal, Sidney Crosby will get back to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens at CONSOL Energy Center.Crosby famously delivered the overtime game-winner for Team Canada in the 2010 gold medal game against the United States, but unlike four years ago in Vancouver the Canadians didnt need a dramatic finish to repeat as Olympic champions.Canada won all six of its games at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and earned shutout victories in the last two outings, beating the U.S. 1-0 in the semifinals before downing Sweden 3-0 in the battle for gold. Crosby, who captained Canada in Sochi, posted a goal and two assists en route to another Olympic title.Crosbys fellow Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and Team Russia did not fare nearly as well at the 2014 Olympics, as the host country was eliminated by Finland in the quarterfinals.Sochi didnt end in glory for Pens head coach Dan Bylsma either. He had Team USA off to a 3-0 start in the tournament before the loss to Canada in the semifinals and a subsequent defeat at the hands of Finland kept the Americans off the podium.You have to put (the Olympics) behind you, Bylsma recently told the Pens official website. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Penguins. Thats the best way to put it behind you.Pittsburgh returns from the break with a healthy 16-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division, but the club still has injury concerns to deal with. Defenseman Kris Letang is still out due to a stroke suffered prior to the Olympics. Fellow blueliner Paul Martin is out for at least a month after injuring his hand while representing thee U.ddddddddddddS. in Sochi.The Pens were 4-1-1 in their final six outings before the Olympics. The clubs next game will be played outdoors when Pittsburgh visits the Chicago Blackhawks for Saturdays game at Soldier Field, home of the NFLs Chicago Bears.Montreal will try to bounce back from a loss in its first game after the Olympics. The Canadiens were handed a 2-1 overtime loss by visiting Detroit on Wednesday to have a three-game winning streak halted.The Habs did not have No. 1 goaltender Carey Price for their first game back after he suffered a lower-body injury at practice on Wednesday morning. Price, who also will miss tonights game, anchored Team Canada in its gold medal run in Sochi, posting a 5-0 record, a 0.59 goals against average and .972 save percentage.Peter Budaj started on Wednesday and he stopped 28 shots before allowing Detroits Gustav Nyquist to score with just 27.3 seconds remaining in OT.The Canadiens still managed to notch a point thanks to Brian Giontas game- tying tally with just 28.7 seconds left in regulation.In the third we started to pressure their D a little more and it paid off in the end, Gionta said. In the first two periods, they were able to come through out of their zone quite easily.Budaj could get another start tonight for the Habs. Montreal also recalled Dustin Tokarski from its AHL affiliate in Hamilton on Wednesday to take Prices place on the roster.The Canadiens and Penguins have split a pair of games so far this season, but Pittsburgh has won four of five and seven of its last nine meetings with Montreal.The Habs, who are playing five of their next six games on the road, have dropped five straight in the Steel City. ' ' '