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JEREZ, Spain - With six weeks to go before the start of the Formula One championship, the first pre-season testing session in Jerez will offer early clues as to whether any team can stop Mercedes from crushing its rivals again.Although last season was thrilling, that was due to the rivalry within Mercedes between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, with Hamilton sealing his second F1 title on the last day in the much-hyped double-points race in Abu Dhabi.In the first year of the V6 turbo hybrid engines, Mercedes triumphed in 16 of 19 races and finished nearly 300 points clear in the constructors championship. Red Bull won the other three races.In the two months since Abu Dhabi, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren have been frantically trying to figure out how to close the gap.Teams have been reshuffled, too, with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel quitting Red Bull after a miserable year to join struggling Ferrari, which saw two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Spain leaving to join a revamped and ambitious McLaren.Energized by Alonsos arrival, using Honda engines for the first time since 1992, and with chief executive Ron Dennis back at the helm, McLaren hopes the MP4-30 car can bring back the glory days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the late 1980s.Such aspirations are far-fetched, but a first GP win since 2012 is realistic given the highly experienced pairing of Alonso and Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 champion.Were prepared for a steep learning curve, said Alonso, who had an unhappy spell at McLaren in 2007. But its clear to see that inside McLaren-Honda, theres total commitment, and a real change in feeling.The home fans will be cheering on the 33-year-old Alonso when the 2015 F1 cars make their track debuts Sunday in southern Spain, and he will take the start line in Melbourne on March 15 more fired up than ever.My motivation could not be stronger for the new season, said Alonso, who finished sixth last year. Ive done a lot of training during the winter break, to reach my peak physical fitness.Alonso has not won a GP since winning at the Spanish GP in May 2013, and Ferrari failed to win a race last year for the first time since 1993.Vettel has little room for error, and much will be expected of the 27-year-old German.Ferrari will hope that the post-season break did Vettel some good because things got so bad last year at Red Bull that he even considered retiring, according to Red Bulls team principal Christian Horner.Williams drivers Felipe Massa — the 2008 F1 runner-up — and Valtteri Bottas will be feeling confident after finishing last season strongly.Elsewhere, all eyes will be on 17-year-old Max Verstappen as F1s youngest ever driver begins his career with Toro Rosso alongside newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr of Spain — the son of two-time rally world champion Carlos Sainz.Daniil Kvyat has the task of replacing Vettel at Red Bull, although given his speed and confidence that is a challenge the 20-year-old Russian driver will relish.Eight teams will take part in testing, which ends on Wednesday. Caterham and Marussia have folded and Force India wont run until the second pre-season testing session in Barcelona from Feb. 19-22.The final session will be held a week later, also in Barcelona. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . LOUIS -- Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks won the matchup of unbeaten teams. Klim Kostin Jersey . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. http://www.officialbluesnhlshop.com/sco ... ll-jersey/. The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night. Zach Sanford Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. Patrik Berglund Jersey . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before.GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Carmelo Anthony knows the easiest path to a title probably isnt in New York.Had he gone to play with Derrick Rose in Chicago, or joined Dwight Howard and James Harden in Houston, he could have gone into this season with a real chance at a championship. Yet when it came time to decide who he wanted to be with, Anthony passed on those partnerships and chose Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher.He believes they will fix the Knicks and wants to be a part of it a€” even if it doesnt happen right away.So that right there just goes to show you that it wasnt all about running and jumping ship and trying to get something in the immediate future, Anthony said Monday. Im willing to be patient. Now how long Im willing to be patient? I cant really tell you that, but Im willing to be patient. Im willing to take risks, Im willing to take that chance. And for me to just get up and leave like that, now that I look back at it, leading up to my decision, I wouldnt have felt right within myself.Anthony could have left as a free agent, and there were plenty of reasons to go. The Knicks went 37-45 last season, the first time Anthony had missed the playoffs in his 11 NBA seasons, and salary cap woes left little ability to upgrade the team quickly. He met with the Bulls, Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers in July, and all of them offered better cores, or at least had another superstar in place. The Knicks couldnt offer much beyond the highest possible salary.From a basketball standpoint it probably wouldve been maybe the greatest thing to do, but for me personally I wouldnt have felt right with myself, Anthony said, knowing that I wanted to come here, I kind of forced my way here to New York and I have some unfinished business to take care of.He will get started on that Tuesday at West Point, when the Knicks open their first training camp under rookie coach Fisher. Anthony, appearing confident and at ease,, said he feels great physically after some off-season weight loss and ready to fill his role within the triangle offence, having spoken to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant about it.ddddddddddddMy big thing is I want to embrace what Phil and what Derek is doing. I want them to know that Im in, Im embracing this challenge, Anthony said. I know from a being a student of the game and watching, and knowing the history, that it will work. It takes time, nothing happens overnight, but it will work.That could depend on how much Anthonys teammates contribute. He was at times the Knicks only offence last season, when his 27.4 points per game nearly doubled runner-up J.R. Smiths 14.5.I think we have to make him feel the most comfortable possible out there with all of us. Try to make him not have to force it every time, new point guard Jose Calderon said. We cannot just let him do everything, so weve got to be able and ready to help him in every position so its easier for him.Smith could bounce back after saying he didnt feel fully healthy until around the final 30 games last season following knee surgery. Same with Andrea Bargnani, the former No. 1 overall pick who was limited to just 42 games by an elbow injury after being acquired from Toronto.Last year was disappointing for everybody, so everybody wants to come back this year stronger and have a very good season, Bargnani said.The Knicks nearly made the post-season even during their miserable 2013-14, finishing a game behind eighth-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference. Jackson thinks it will take more victories to secure a spot this season in what appears to be a stronger East.As far as putting a number on games, on wins this season, I cant tell you how many wins were going to have, Anthony said. I mean, we havent even opened our first practice yet. But I will tell you that we will have a better season than what we had last year. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '