k most people would say its been a fantastic year. Weve had 13 wins out of 13 and Dylan has made a huge contribution and he should be allowed to continue that.Dylan Hartleys

LONG POND, Pa. -- After the last car sped past the finish line at Pocono Raceway, Mikhail Aleshin raised his arms in triumph.Fastest in morning practice on the tricky 2.5-mile triangular track, Aleshin was fastest in qualifying to win the IndyCar pole on Saturday. He turned a fast lap of 220.454 mph in his No. 7 Honda to edge Josef Newgarden for the top spot.Its the first career pole for the Russian, who drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.I had two good laps. I knew I couldnt do better, Aleshin said. I just kept it flat. Obviously, it worked this time. I just knew that we couldnt do any better. I was just happy for the team. From the first lap, the car was just at the edge of what we needed.Its the third time this season Newgarden has qualified second. He was on the front row at the Indy 500 and at Iowa, just missing the top spot Saturday with a lap of 220.195 mph.Hes pretty daring. Not a lot spooks him, Newgarden said of Aleshin. He gets better and better the more seat time he has. I think youre seeing that.Takuma Sato qualified third, followed by Helio Castroneves, Carlos Munoz, Aleshins teammate James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter.Points leader Simon Pagenaud qualified 14th in windy conditions. Defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed in morning practice and did not qualify.Aleshin led 33 laps at Mid-Ohio in the previous race but was caught up in a late pit road crash with Newgarden and finished 17th.Still, its a team on the rise. He finished fifth at Iowa and was sixth at Toronto in July.We have some new team members. We needed some work together, Aleshin said. We came to this point and now we can see progress in the last couple of races. I hope this pole position is not all that we can show you.For Newgarden, it was a step in the right direction. Hes fourth in points behind the Penske trio of Pagenaud, Power and Castroneves.The pressure is not on us, Newgarden said. The pressure is on Simon and Will. Theyre in a tougher spot. We can afford to get a little more aggressive than those guys. I feel pretty cool going into these races.Pocono Raceway painted the letters JW on the track at the finish line and Union Jacks flew at half-staff in honor of Englishman Justin Wilson, who died a year ago after being struck by debris in the closing laps of the IndyCar race here.Other things to note in qualifying at Pocono:PRACTICE WOESHunter-Reay crashed early in the first practice. His No. 28 broke free in Turn 1, spun around and slammed the outside wall hard before caroming back across the track and coming to rest along the inside wall. Hunter-Reay wasnt injured, but the left front of the Honda was demolished, forcing his Andretti Autosport team to switch to a backup car.The rear all of a sudden just snapped, said Hunter-Reay, who won this race a year ago. Its a setback. This is really unfortunate that we have to reset. We have a lot of oval wins in that car. Well have to deal with it.Later in the morning practice, Charlie Kimballs No. 83 also slammed into the same wall, his steering wheel flying out of the cockpit onto the track as the Chevrolet bounced along the wall and rolled to a stop, its left side severely damaged.Late in the session, Juan Pablo Montoya also crashed, hitting the wall coming out of Turn 2. IndyCar halted the session with just under five minutes left on the clock.TRIBUTE DRIVERSDale Coyne Racing announced earlier in the week that Conor Daly would drive the No. 88 in Sundays race to honor 27-year-old open-wheel driver Bryan Clauson, who was killed two weeks ago at a Kansas race. DCR also announced that Pippa Mann would drive the No. 19, and her helmet sported a logo in Clausons honor.Daly qualified 20th in his first appearance at Pocono and Mann will start 21st.Mann was initially all smiles afterward, then was overcome with emotion as she thought about Clauson and Wilson, a former teammate.Its probably the hardest race Ive ever done, she said after a pause to collect her thoughts, tears welling in her eyes. Im very grateful to be here.SMILING SATOTakuma Sato couldnt stop smiling after his best qualifying effort of the season. His fourth at Texas and eighth at Long Beach are his only other top-10 starts this season.It means a lot, said Sato, whose AJ Foyt Racing Honda is sponsored by ABC Supply, also the sponsor for Sundays race. Last year we were very strong in the race. Hopefully, this qualifying performance gives us another competitive race tomorrow.Foyt won a record four IndyCar races at Pocono in his heyday.A.J. was very happy. He had a big smile, Sato said. Hopefully, we can keep him smiling tomorrow.---AP Auto Racing Website: www.racing.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947Discount MLB Jerseys . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. MLB Jerseys Outlet . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. http://www.jerseysmlbwholesale.com/ .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . 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Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars.England captain Dylan Hartley will be available for the entire RBS 6 Nations campaign after being given a six-week ban for striking Leinsters Sean OBrien.Hartley appeared before an independent disciplinary hearing in London to be sanctioned for the third red card of his career, received in Northamptons Champions Cup defeat by Leinster on Friday.The length of the suspension means he is free to play from January 23, enabling him to lead England when they open their Six Nations defence against France at Twickenham on February 4.Hartley had only been on the pitch for six minutes as a second-half replacement when he struck OBrien with a swinging right arm from behind, resulting in the Ireland flanker failing a head injury assessment.The thee-man hearing upheld the decision of referee Jerome Garces to issue a red card and found that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugbys sanctions, selecting a five-week suspension for the offence.Two weeks were added due to Hartleys poor disciplinary record before it was reduced by one week because of his guilty plea.Before this latest red card, Hartley had amassed 54 weeks work of suspensions for offences including biting, gouging and butting and the total for his chequered career now stands at 60 weeks.It is the best possible outcome England could have wished for, realising a substantial lay-off was certain but now able to plan for the Six Nations knowing the skipper for all 13 victories this year will be at the helm right from the start.ddddddddddddThe Rugby Football Union outlined its position on Tuesday, stating that Hartley had the full backing of Twickenham and head coach Eddie Jones regardless of the outcome of the hearing.I think Dylans got credit in the bank, RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie said. I think most people would say its been a fantastic year. Weve had 13 wins out of 13 and Dylan has made a huge contribution and he should be allowed to continue that.Dylan Hartleys six-week ban means he will be available for Englands entire RBS 6 Nations campaign, but he will miss another large chunk of Northamptons season.He will be sidelined for fixtures against:Leinster, December 17, Champions Cup, Aviva StadiumSale, December 23, Aviva Premiership, Franklins GardensGloucester, January 1, Aviva Premiership, KingsholmBristol, January 7, Aviva Premiership, Franklins GardensCastres, January 13/14/15, Champions Cup, Franklins GardensMontpellier, January 20/21/22, Champions Cup, Altrad Stadium ' ' '