MELBOURNE, Australia - Sebastian Vettel has a warning for those already writing off his chances of a fifth-consecutive Formula One title — the season is long and the teams current engine problems wont last. The Red Bull driver has experienced a troubled off-season, with the team severely restricted in its testing because engine supplier Renault suffered a myriad of problems trying to make the sports new six-cylinder turbo hybrid powertrain function in anything approaching a reliable fashion. While Vettel acknowledged that Mercedes will be the team to beat in this weekends season-opening race in Australia — and Red Bull will likely be off the pace in early races — he was adamant another title was within his reach, even if it was not in the imperious style of 2013 when he won the last nine races. "We are not in the best position for this race, but its a different story when you talk about the championship," Vettel said Thursday. Vettel did not have far to look for inspiration about how to overcome early-season difficulties as he was speaking while sitting beside Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who found himself in a similar predicament in 2012. "Two years back Fernando was on the grid with 1.5 seconds to pole, and very close to beating us for the title at the very last race, so anything can happen," Vettel said. "We are a strong team. We have a lot of good people on board with a lot of strong resources. We should progress as the season goes on." Red Bull was not alone in suffering severe problems in the off-season. While the ongoing troubles are expected to particularly afflict the Renault-powered cars in the early races, all teams will be anxious heading into this Fridays practice sessions. The new computer-controlled engines must balance the power supply between the combustion engine, turbo charger, and the battery-stored electric power — the role of which is vastly greater than in previous years. Added to that is the need to reduce fuel use by about a third on last year to meet new rules, understand the altered aerodynamics and get used to new tires. Little wonder that F1 officials have relaxed the curfew restricting how many hours engineers and crew can spend in pit lane working on the cars. Some bleak forecasters are even predicting there will not be enough finishers on Sunday to fill the ten points positions, and race director Charlie Whiting on Thursday was asked questions about the contingency plans if no cars are running. Simple answer - the race will be stopped. While such doomsday scenarios are very unlikely, there was a strong possibility of several cars not getting within seven per cent of the pole sitters qualifying time and therefore being excluded from the race. Stewards have always had some discretion to exempt teams from that rule and Whiting said that Melbournes stewards will look upon such scenarios in Melbourne "very sympathetically." The men considered most likely to vie for that that pole-sitting yardstick are the Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg who, in contrast to most drivers, had enjoyed smooth and impressive testing sessions. The Mercedes drivers are old colleagues from their childhood days, and Hamilton said their friendship will not be tarnished if they end up fighting each other for race wins and perhaps even the championship as many expect. "It (the relationship) will be the same at the start as at the end," Hamilton said. "We have been racing together since we were 13. This is a stronger championship but I dont see any issues." Cheap Air Max Wholesale . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. Cheap Air Max China . The Raptors second-year forward has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the early-season trade, breaking out and becoming a vital part of his teams success on both ends of the floor. Around the league, teams are starting to take notice and feature Ross more predominately in their pre-game scouting reports but its not just the opposition that hes impressing. http://www.airmaxchinacheap.com/. The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Cheap Authentic Air Max .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer.ANAHEIM - The West Regional has played out just as planned, with top-seeded Arizona taking on second-seeded Wisconsin for the right to move on to the Final Four. You can watch all the action on TSN beginning at 8:45pm et/5:45pm pt. Arizona, which is now 51-27 officially in this event over the years and won it all in 1997 under Lute Olson, made it through the second and third rounds of the 76th NCAA Tournament with victories over Weber State (68-59) and Gonzaga (70-64) before going up against San Diego State in the round of 16 on Thursday night. The teams had met earlier this season, with the Wildcats pulling off a 69-60 win on the road, but this time around the Aztecs had a considerable fan base making the trip to Anaheim to support SDSU and while early on the local favorites appeared to be well on their way to advancing, Arizona came storming back in the second half to secure the 70-64 victory. Meanwhile the Badgers, winners of this tourney back in 1941 with a 39-34 decision against Washington State in Kansas City, Missouri, now have a mark of 28-18 in the event all-time. The second-round matchup with American was anything but a challenge, as Wisconsin breezed to a 75-35 win, but in the third round Oregon refused to go away quietly before suffering the 85-77 setback. Two nights ago, a powerful Baylor squad was brought to its knees as Wisconsin served up a 69-52 victory in order to advance to the Elite Eight yet again. In terms of an all-time series between these two programs, the Badgers cling to a 3-2 advantage thanks to three wins in four chances on a neutral floor. However, when it comes to competing against each other in the NCAA Tournament, the squads have split a pair of meetings. Back in 2000, they clashed in Salt Lake City during the postseason, with Wisconsin capturing a 66-59 win, while six years later it was Arizona with a massive 94-65 decision on St. Patricks Day in Philadelphia. The survivor in this regional final is headed to the Lone Star State next weekend where it will contend with the team representing the Midwest Regional (Kentucky/Michigan) next Saturday. It was a lows-scoring first half on both sides when Wisconsin hit the floor against the Bears Thursday, but Baylor looked particularly awful as it shot a mere 5-of-25 from the floor and 1-of-6 behind the 3-point line through the first 20 minutes of action. It was one of the worst performances before intermmission this season for the Bears and while they did improve in the second half, to 40.dddddddddddd6 percent from the field, they were just 1-of-9 out on the perimeter. Frank Kaminsky played a major role at both ends of the floor as he not only tallied a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but he also recorded all six of his teams blocked shots as well. Ben Brust checked in with 14 points and Nigel Hayes tallied 10 to go with six boards in only 18 minutes off the bench for a group that shot a disappointing 11-of-20 at the free-throw line. Kaminsky is far from a glamorous, household name, but for the Badgers he has become an essential piece of the puzzle in the paint, from scoring 13.7 ppg and clearing 6.2 rpg, to posting 64 blocked shots, just over half the teams total (124). Brust (13.0 ppg), Sam Dekker (12.5 ppg), Traevon Jackson (10.7 ppg) and Josh Gasser (9.1 ppg), all of whom have started every game this season, have put forth a strong effort at the defensive end as well where opponents have been limited to just 63.8 ppg. The 2013-14 Pac-12 Player of the Year was invisible for the first 37 minutes of the game against San Diego State, missing his first 10 field goal attempts, although he did have a mid-court prayer answered at the end of the first half that was waved off because it was released after the buzzer. However, in the final 2:45 Nick Johnson came alive with all 15 of his points in the win against the Aztecs, converting all 10 of his free throws and finishing with eight rebounds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Aaron Gordon both tallied 15 points as well for the Wildcats, followed by T.J. McConnell who dropped in 11 points as the team held SDSU to just 38.9 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-14 behind the 3-point line. Despite the rough start on Thursday, Johnson still closed in on his season scoring average of 16.3 ppg and doubled his efforts on the glass, which now stands at 4.1 rpg. Gordon (12.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Kaleb Tarczewski (9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) are still doing all they can to fill the void left by Brandon Ashley (11.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) who has been watching from the sidelines after having surgery performed on his right foot last month. San Diego State was one of the top defensive teams in the nation, but of the remaining squads left in the tournament that title belongs to Florida (57.8 ppg), although Arizona (58.4 ppg) isnt far off the pace. ' ' '