INFO » weekend on a circuit which, ironic

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Former FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas withdrew Friday from the RBC Heritage with a wrist injury. Haas was the first-round leader at the Masters a week ago after his opening 68. But he followed that up with a 78 and eventually wound up tied for 20th. At Harbour Town Golf Links, Haas opened with a 1-over 72 that left him six shots off the lead shared by Matt Kuchar, Steven Langley and William McGirt. Haas did not start his second round here. Haas is ranked 31st in the world. He has won at least one PGA Tour event in each of the past four seasons, the2011 Tour Championship that secured him that seasons FedEx Cup playoffs. Haas is the son of former PGA Tour and Champions Tour winner Jay Haas. Damon Severson Jersey . The roster changes have been constant and continuous since late last year, but even with their 46-man roster set for the start of the season, the banged-up Bombers will be kicking off Week 1 with a handful of fresh faces and back-ups in the starting lineup. Marcus Johansson Jersey . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-jesper-bratt-jersey . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Brian Gibbons Jersey . "Last year didnt go the way we wanted it to, but we need to look at what went well and what didnt go so well. Hopefully this year we will be better," Brendan Gallagher said after practice. This year, the Canadiens have a little more depth to work with by adding players like Daniel Briere, Dale Weise, Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray and arguably, the biggest addition to this playoff roster, Thomas Vanek, who the Canadiens were able to land at the trade deadline. Drew Stafford Jersey . Rockhold." Known as an aggressive striker, Belfort (23-10) instead paced himself as the engaged in the early going and showed restraint by not overcommitting against the larger Rockhold (10-2). But when the opportunity presented itself, Belfort delivered an incredible spinning heel kick that landed flush on Rockholds chin and sent him toppling to the floor.Nico Rosberg has beaten Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the Japanese GP by less than a tenth of a second. In one of the closest sessions of the year, Rosberg edged out Hamilton, ahead in their opening Q3 runs, by the slender margin of two hundredths of a second.Its the tenth time this year that Mercedes have locked out the front row for a race. Rosberg, who leads the world championship by 23 points, has appeared to hold a small advantage over Hamilton all weekend but had to deliver an inch-perfect lap to prevail in their battle for pole. Mercedes calculated the difference in lap time between their two drivers to be worth 82 centimeters of the legendary Suzuka circuit. I was going well the whole weekend, said Rosberg. Thats what allows me to put a lap in like that. Sky F1s Johnny Herbert got a rare opportunity to congratulate pole position winner Nico Rosberg in his car over team radio in Japan On the track and in the record books, Hamilton and Rosberg have never been closer. The pair have both claimed pole position eight times this year and Rosbergs latest success closes his overall qualifying deficit to Hamilton during their partnership at Mercedes to 29-31.But all is far from lost for Hamilton this weekend. The world champion has never qualified on pole position at Suzuka but on Sunday will be seeking to claim his third successive victory in Japan from second on the grid.Im happy with qualifying, said Hamilton. Its been a weekend a lot of work, getting the set-up right, some big changes went into qualifying.Considering that, to be that close, I was really happy with it. Sky F1s Anthony Davidson compares Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s laps in their battle for pole at the Japanese GP.dddddddddddd. Led by Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari beat Red Bull to the second row, although Sebastian Vettel will have to surrender his position to Max Verstappen, a tenth faster than team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, due to the grid penalty hanging over the four-time world champion from his clash with Rosberg at the start in Malaysia.The ever-impressive Sergio Perez was seventh for Force India but set an identical lap time in Q3 as the surprise package of Haas Romain Grosjean. Perez will be given the higher starting position courtesy of setting his lap before the Frenchman. When is the Japanese GP on Sky F1?Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez rounded off the top ten on a day when almost the entire grid qualified next to their team-mate and the biggest difference between sister cars amounted to just two grid slots.Of the 22 drivers on show, only Perez, Grosjean, Fernando Alonso and Jolyon Palmer, steadily improving at Renault, managed to put clear daylight between them and their team-mates. Jenson Button suffered the indignity of elimination at the first hurdle, exiting Q1 at McLaren-Hondas home race. Worse, it wasnt even a surprise: Button has struggled all weekend on a circuit which, ironically, highlights rather than disguises the weaknesses of the McLaren package. Alonso fared only slightly better, reaching the modest heights of 15th, two places ahead of Button. Japanese GP Qualifying1 Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:30.6472. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes + 0.013 3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, + 0.3024. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.381 *5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, + 0.5316. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 0.5937. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 1.3148. Romain Grosjean, Haas, + 1.3149. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, + 1.49510. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1.900Eliminated in Q211. Valtteri Bottas, Williams12. Felipe Massa, Williams13. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso14. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso15. Fernando Alonso, McLaren16. Jolyon Palmer, RenaultEliminated in Q117. Jenson Button, McLaren18. Kevin Magnussen, Renault19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber20. Felipe Nasr, Sauber21. Esteban Ocon, Manor22. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor* Vettel to take three-place penalty for causing a collision in the Malaysia GP Also See: The Formula 1 Gossip column Vettel must earn Ferrari stay Whens the Japanese GP on Sky F1? Get a Sky Sports weekend pass ' ' '