Thomas Godoj Thread » week. Adam Gettis

Fernando Alonso believes the drivers that have had a chance to test Pirellis 2017 tyres this season will be at an advantage next year.Pirelli has conducted a series of tests with Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull between races this season in order to help develop its new wider tyres for 2017. The tests are blind for teams and drivers, with Pirelli acquiring the data before sharing it among all 11 teams to help them develop their cars for next year.So far Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Esteban Gutierrez, Pascal Wehrlein, Nico Rosberg and Red Bull test driver Sebastien Buemi have all tested the tyres, while Lewis Hamilton pulled out of this weeks test due to a foot injury McLaren opted not to take part in the tests so that it could focus on next years car, but Alonso rues not being able to try out the new tyres ahead of pre-season testing next year.I think its always nice, in terms of preparing yourself, to know exactly what to expect from the tyre behaviour the following year by having some test with the tyres, he said. In 2007 [when Alonso changed from Michelins at Renault to Bridgestones at McLaren], it was more or less a similar situation of an unknown tyre coming into play from one year to another, but we have also in the Pirelli era in 2011 the same conditions, switching from Bridgestone to Pirelli. At that time it was the same for everybody, but this time its only a few drivers and few teams having that possibility [to test]. Thats the thing that seems a little bit unfair this year.Alonso has been critical of Pirellis high-degradation tyres in recent years, but next year the Italian tyre manufacture has been given the freedom to produce faster, more resilient tyres.Asked if he was confident Pirelli will deliver a better tyre in 2017, Alonso said: I think they are in very early days in the tyre testing, so lets wait to see the final result. Unfortunately we are not able to test the tyres, only a few drivers will test the tyres, and it would be nice to all have the same opportunity after the last race or something like that, but I know that has some implications on the current [car] design and for the tyres as well.Lets hope for a good tyre. I know they are testing more than they did any other year, so before the quality of the tyre performance was not as good as it could be because of the lack of testing, but now they have a test programme in place, so I expect a fantastic tyre next year.Braden Holtby Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Womens Capitals Jerseys . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. 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The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning is one of the few players on the New York Giants who knows what it is like to make a playoff run.The previous time the Giants did it was in 2011 and Manning went on to lead New York to its second Super Bowl title in five seasons.The past four years have been dismal, including consecutive 6-10 seasons the past two years that forced Tom Coughlin out and led to the hiring of Ben McAdoo.New York (7-3) will head into this weekends game at Cleveland riding a five-game winning streak and in position to end a four-year playoff drought.It has the best record among NFC teams not leading a division, but the schedule will get tougher in the final six weeks.It feels good. Were winning football games and doing some things well, Manning said Tuesday. We just have to stay hungry and keep competing. Keep working on getting better each and every week. We just have to stay the course. Definitely room for improvement.If there is an area of concern for Manning, the offense just isnt putting up a lot of points. The Giants are averaging under 21 points and their seven wins have been by a total of 27 points.Winning close games was something the teams in 2007 and 11 did in their title runs.Thats what you have to do in this league, Manning said. Those teams, win the close games and on the line, we tend to play our best football. Thats a good thing. Thats a great quality to have.You have a confidence that when you get in the fourth quarter and in tthese close games, were going to be able to pull it out.ddddddddddddManning isnt worried about a letdown in a trap game against the winless Browns. He said the team has done a good job of focusing on the weekly task.For us, we have to understand and be prepared for every game and situation, the 13-year veteran said. If you dont go about and you dont prepare, youre going to lose.We have to have great preparation. Its not a team weve played a whole lot. We have to get familiar with the personnel, their scheme, have a great practice, go into a tough environment and win a football game.Winning also has created a loose locker room. There is a lot of work, but also a lot of kidding around.The locker room should be fun, Manning said. You win football games, five in a row, it should be fun. Youre enjoying that time and in contention to win a division. All of those things. Its an exciting time. There should be a lot of good energy around the locker room.Game notesThe big question mark this week will be who plays left guard. Justin Pugh sprained a knee two games ago. Backup Brett Jones had a calf injury two games ago and Marshall Newhouse sprained his knee last week. Adam Gettis, who was recently signed off the practice squad, finished against the Bears.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and -- http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '