e momentum-changing sequence, putting up seven more points

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. 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 Rodions Kurucs Nets Jersey . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season. Spencer Dinwiddie Nets Jersey . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Kyrie-Irving-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. David Nwaba Jersey . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. Dzanan Musa Nets Jersey .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.Joel Embiid scored a career-high 18 points and keyed a pair of big second-half runs that propelled No. 13 Kansas to an 80-63 victory over New Mexico at the Sprint Center. The Jayhawks (7-3) were coming off back-to-back road losses to Colorado and Florida, but got back on track behind big efforts from Embiid and Perry Ellis, who had a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added nine rebounds. Embiid tallied 16 of his points after halftime. Cameron Bairstow and Kendall Williams each finished with 24 points for the Lobos (7-2), who shot just 27.3 percent (6-for-22) in the second half en route to having a four-game win streak halted. Kansas owned a slim 41-40 edge early in the second half until Ellis and Embiid led a 14-2 run to create some distance. The two dropped in seven points apiece during the surge, with Ellis layup off a Wayne Selden feed putting the Jayhawks up 55-42 with under 13 1/2 minutes left. New Mexico netted six straight points later on to cut the deficit to 60-54 midway through the final frame, and Williams was fouled by Andrew Wiggins while burying a deep triple shortly afterward. He promptly sank the bonus attempt to pull the Lobos within 63-58 with 8:03 remaining. That was as close as New Mexico would get, as Kansas responded by embarking on a 12-1 tear to put the conntest out of reach.dddddddddddd Embiid again had a big hand in the momentum-changing sequence, putting up seven more points as the Jayhawks built a comfortable 75-59 advantage with under three minutes to play. Behind 16 points from Bairstow and 12 from Williams, the Lobos were able to hang right with the Jayhawks all throughout a tightly-contested opening half that contained six lead changes and saw neither team ahead by more than six points. Wiggins tipped in teammate Naadir Tharpes miss with 1:16 to go in the period to snap a 34-34 tie, then later hit two free throws to put Kansas ahead by a 39-36 score in the closing seconds. New Mexico trailed by just one at intermission, though, after Arthur Edwards second-chance bucket just prior to the buzzer. Game Notes Wiggins recorded 11 points but went only 3-of-11 from the field ... Embiids previous career high was 16 points, which the freshman center posted against Iona on Nov. 19 ... The teams were meeting for the first time since a 59-40 KU win in Lawrence on Dec. 3, 1964 ... New Mexico finished 25-of-29 from the foul line but made good on just 2-of-14 attempts from 3-point range ... Kansas improved to 23-4 all-time at the Sprint Center, which includes victories in the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 Big 12 Tournament Championship. ' ' '