ffice (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) between 9pm

Lewis Hamilton is dealing with the poor start in his attempt to claim a third consecutive title like a true champion, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The Briton has struggled due to reliability issues, poor starts and contact with other drivers during the opening three rounds of the F1 season and has yet to trouble team-mate Nico Rosberg, who has sealed an impressive hat-trick of victories.Rosberg is already 36 points clear in the Drivers Championship ahead of this weekends Russian GP but Hamilton, who admits he is out of jokers in 2016, has kept calm thus far with 18 races remaining. And Wolff says that he is impressed by the way both Mercedes drivers have handled their contrasting starts to the campaign, noting the adversity Hamilton has faced.Both drivers are in a good place mentally, the Mercedes head of motorsport said. Nico is on great form but keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Russian GP on Sky The Russian GP is live and exclusive on Sky Sports - and there are a host of ways you can watch it. Lewis would have every right to feel disheartened by his start to the season - but he is calm and confident, handling adversity like a true champion.Hamilton had to start the Chinese GP from the back of the grid due to a power unit failure in qualifying and Mercedes have confirmed that the MGU-H has now been repaired, with an insulation error thought to be the problem, and the unit will travel to Russia as a spare. Sky Sports F1’s Natalie Pinkham joined Lewis Hamilton for a live Facebook chat following his return from the Chinese GP The Sochi Autodrom has been a happy hunting ground for Hamilton, however, winning both of the previous grands prix at the venue, and he remains confident that his season will soon start to improve.He said: There was plenty going through my head after China, as youd expect. But, after all these years, experience has taught me to stay calm and keep pushing forwards when I get knocked back. Ive been here before a few times now. Russian GP tyre choices Mercedes have opted for softer tyres than Ferrari A lot can happen over the next 18 race weekends and I have the utmost confidence in this team. But adversity is part of the journey: it brings us closer, makes us stronger and I know that together well bounce back, so Im confident of better weekends to come.There are lots of positives to carry into the next battle. If nothing else, I know after these first few races that I can still overtake! Rosberg extended his winning streak to six in Shanghai but as well as fearing a comeback from his team-mate, he also believes Ferrari and Red Bull are hot on the Silver Arrows tail.I would never have expected the first three weekends to go the way they have, he added. Ive made the most of my opportunities and I have a bit of an advantage in the points right now - but we are only three races down and it would just take one bad weekend for that gap to disappear.Most consecutive F1 winsLewis is still the benchmark for me as he is the current champion, Ferrari havent shown what they can do yet and Red Bull also look like theyre getting stronger, so its going to be a good battle and Im looking forward to that. I wouldnt have it any other way.Dont miss the F1 Report on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1 for a preview of the Russian Grand Prix. Natalie Pinkham is joined in the studio by Marc Priestley and Dominic Harlow. Also See: Whens the Russian GP on Sky? Most consecutive F1 wins Justin Reid Youth Jersey . Head coach Corey Chamblin announced on Monday that Avon Cobourne had been hired as the defending Grey Cup champions new running backs coach. J.J. Watt Jersey . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Deandre-Hopkins-Jersey/ . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police. Cullen Gillaspia Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Deshaun Watson Texans Jersey . The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and boosted Cincinnatis struggling offence by hitting a double and scoring as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday night.Im going to write in defence of Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin, if only because there have been some recent attacks and, while I can certainly live with them being directed at Ovechkin, the analytical process ought to be better, particularly if its going to be a hit piece on the leagues leading goal-scorer. Yes, Im writing to defend a player that is on pace for a 59-goal season, when the second-best goal-scorer in the NHL this season, Torontos Phil Kessel, is on pace for 43. Naturally, I didnt think that Ovechkin would be a player that needed much defending, but hes taken some hits lately. Im going to largely ignore his contributions on the power play because its not in any dispute that Ovechkin is great with the man advantage and can make a difference even when he doesnt score. On one side of the discussion, we have the Toronto Star, with their Department of Hockey Analytics, and while there are plenty of flaws in Ovechkins game, they somehow determined that his goals-for/against percentage was the way to illustrate the problem. Never mind that goals for/against percentage is essentially measuring plus-minus. Ill get to that in a moment but, first, also peruse the Hockey News piece by Ken Campbell who, after Ovechkin was minus-5 against Columbus, decided that Ovechkin has to decide what kind of player he is. After all, Ovechkin was minus-17 on the season after that game. Whats odd about using plus-minus to denigrate Ovechkins contributions is that anyone doing serious analytical work in hockey has been against using plus-minus because it involves so many factors beyond an individual players control (not least of which are the contributions of nine other skaters and two goaltenders when the game is 5-on-5) and, generally, involves small samples because goals are relatively rare events. Its funny to find myself in this position, because I can be a bit of an apologist for plus-minus. You spend enough time around the game and that thinking can be pretty common, and when the sample is large enough, you can get a pretty decent list of players at both ends of the spectrum. (For example, heres the list of players with the best cumulative plus-minus since 2000, and here are the worst.) But, Ive at least learned that there are many other factors that go into whether a player is a plus or minus player, and they must be considered if youre going to attempt to pass judgment on a single season or, especially, a portion of a season. So, lets take a look at some factors that are at play to make Alex Ovechkin a minus-17. First off, the shooting percentage of others on the ice with Ovechkin at 5-on-5 is ridiculously low. His 6.3% is only ahead of fourth-liners Aaron Volpatti and Jay Beagle among Capitals forwards. The suggestion could be made -- and of course it has been -- that Ovechkin isnt making those around him better, but here are the 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentages when Ovechkin has been on the ice for the past five seasons: 10.36%, 8.62%, 8.05%, 11.76%, 9.09%. Youre really going to have to dig for reasons, other than poor luck and ineffective shooters, to explain even-strength shooting effectiveness declining by 40% over last season, especially when Ovechkin himself is shooting 10.6% (18 goals, 170 shots) at 5-on-5. Taking away Ovechkins 18 goals on 170 shots, leaves the other Capitals to score eight goals on 242 shots (3.3%) with Ovechkin on the ice. Marcus Johansson, his most common left winger, has one goal on 51 shots. This undeniably effects plus-miinus, right? Of course it does.dddddddddddd Give Ovechkin an average on-ice shooting percentage (say, 8%) and that is a difference of about seven goals. At the other end of the rink, Ovechkin is getting burned with a .909 save percentage at 5-on-5. Naturally, the argument will be that Ovechkins defensive play is what leads to that low percentage. Keep in mind, that percentage is well below career norms for him (.922 over the past five seasons, including this one) and ranks near the bottom on the Capitals roster. Use that typical save percentage, on 439 shots against, and that becomes a difference of 5-6 goals. So, why not take a look at where the shots are coming from with Ovechkin on the ice? According to Some Kind of Ninjas Shot Tracker, shots against the Capitals with Ovechkin on the ice at even strength, come from an average distance of 34.5 feet. In the previous five seasons, it has been 34.2, 36.6, 35.8, 34.6 and 35.9 feet on average. There can be an argument made, based on those average shot distances, that Ovechkins most effective defensive performances were in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (the Dale Hunter season), but there really isnt a huge difference; goaltenders arent suddenly flummoxed by 34-foot shots when 36-footers are easy pickings. On top of that, best of luck trying to identify those particular seasons as anything close to Ovechkins best. Why? Because he scored 70 goals and 150 points in 157 games over those two seasons, producing the two lowest point scoring rates of his career. Yes, even lower than this season, when virtually no one else puts the puck in the net with him on the ice. Of course Ovechkin is not a defensive whiz, but that shouldnt stand as an indictment any more than it has for elite offensive players throughout the history of the game. Seriously, take a look at the Top 10 goal-scorers in the league, none of whom put the puck in the net like Ovechkin, and identify the ones that are notably strong backcheckers. Some are: Joe Pavelski, Alexander Steen, Patrick Sharp, but theres no reason to believe that right wingers Kessel or Corey Perry or Patrick Kane are doing brilliant work in the defensive end. Heres the thing: theyre all great players! Part of the trouble for Ovechkin is that the Capitals havent been able to win in the postseason, so he gets painted with the brush of failure for a whole host of team shortcomings. Thats what comes with being a superstar. This Capitals team is flawed. They rank in the bottom third of the league in Fenwick Close (measuring shot attempts, not including blocks, at even strength, with the score close), which is a good indication of team puck possession, yet Ovechkin has relatively solid possession numbers. If you want to break down a players overall contribution, and feel that you must use one statistic in order to do so (better yet, dont), then at least reduce the impact of others on the ice and look at the possession stats, because it wont matter that linemates arent finishing or that, for whatever reason, goaltenders arent stopping the puck. Shooting and save percentages fluctuate and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bozak -- they dont get to the bottom of a players on-ice contribution, and so it is with Ovechkin this year, who is having a fine season, no matter what his plus-minus says. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '