impact of this incident on the players from both teams

Twenty-four-year-old Jacques Villeneuve drives out of the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the world at his feet. It is the Monday after the day before, a day that forever changed the life of the young Canadian. That day Villeneuve, fittingly driving the number 27 that become so synonymous with his father Gilles at Ferrari, comes from two laps down to win the 1995 Indianapolis 500. He had spent the day smiling and posing for hundreds of photographs that are beamed all across the world. By the end of the year he has a multi-year contract in his pocket at the best team in Formula One, Williams-Renault. Within two years Villeneuve is World Champion and is a star everywhere he goes. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis 500 continues on without him. As Villeneuve departed for Europe, IndyCar split in two and has never fully recovered from the bitter divorce. The Indy 500s list of drivers in the late 90s lacked real star power and it lost a grip on being the biggest race in the world. Slowly the giant teams like Penske, Ganassi and Andretti returned and with them came world class, elite drivers. For some ten years now, the Indy 500 is back to what it once was, testing some of the greatest single-seater drivers the world has to offer. It is the second Sunday in May and Jacques Villeneuve, now 43, drives back inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dressed in a yellow race suit with Dollar General written all over it he looks nothing like what many would expect a former F1 World Champion to look. He doesnt have the amount of hair he once had but he is back at Indy as a driver, the first time in 19 years. He stops to sign autographs and pose for photographs as he makes that famous walk, paved by greatness, that the likes of A.J. Foyt, Jim Clark, Rick Mears and other stars have taken, alongside Gasoline Alley to the pit lane. The diehard fans stare and flock towards him but he is far from the main attraction at the Speedway. Villeneuve, not a regular on the IndyCar circuit, does remarkably well with attention but here he is just another driver, one that doesnt travel in packs with fellow drivers. He is a man from past glories back to recreate new memories of his own. "I hardly know anyone to be honest. I know (Takuma) Sato, but I never raced against him and I have never raced against anyone who is a regular in this series. That is weird because I dont know what to expect, I dont know how they race. Which one is clean? Dirty? Crazy? So its definitely a bit strange, yes." The answer is typical Jacques. He talks of not knowing anyone but immediately he means as drivers, not as men. Our conversation immediately turns to scenarios that can take place on the track. Villeneuve doesnt talk in clichés and for someone who has done as much media as he has in his life, he remains a refreshingly deep-thinker who can take you on the same journey as his mind. We talk about this upcoming Sunday and the Indy 500, and the point when he will be travelling in excess of 230 miles per hour with cars all around him. His eyes squint as he dictates word-for-word his precise thoughts as he gets set to compete in what he describes as the biggest race in the world. "The complexity of this race now is running in traffic. The cars have two hundred horsepower less than 19 years ago and much more grip and to be able to stay super close to the cars, while everyone is running flat out, the key is to stay close to someone else, (ready for) when he has to lift, back out a little bit because of the traffic in front of him, then you steal his momentum. "Thats really tough, as you get in the turbulent air behind someone, your whole car is shaking and thats when the car starts sliding and you can lose the front end or the rear end a little bit and, at that point, do you have the guts to keep your foot down or not and is your car working in that situation?" This is a world he has little control in, a frightening thought for even the greatest of race drivers. Villeneuve, who will start, fittingly, in the 27th spot for Sundays race, continues: "I will be surrounded by guys who respect the danger and others who think its a video game and, at those speeds, its risky and thats what I still dont know, who to trust and who not to trust out there. With more grip and less horsepower, the cars are very forgiving. I have got sideways a few times already this month and if I did that 19 years ago I would have been in the wall. "I think they give a false sense of security for some of the drivers and thats why you see kids coming in and, within three laps, they are flat out because I dont think they respect how dangerous it is. Once you get caught out, then you start respecting it and at Indianapolis there are two kinds of drivers, the ones who have hit the wall and the ones who havent hit the wall." It is clear Villeneuve is almost as concerned about those who havent hit the wall than hitting the wall himself. "This is not a track where you want to make a mistake. The speeds we go is exciting, it is unparalleled. It is a long race and my approach (in the past) was to mind your own business and it will come to you. You have to know when to take a risk and when not to. Normally in the first half, the idiots will crash themselves out so if you can stay clean to 100 laps then that can be useful!" There arent too many drivers in IndyCar who will refer to some of the colleagues as idiots but this is what comes with the honest, direct Villeneuve who survived the world of Formula One without turning into a robot, something very few have done in recent years. He admits he still watches Formula One but not the same way he once did: "I dont like or understand the reason behind the new rules but we have had some amazing races this year. Why? Only because the teammates have been allowed to fight. When you had Prost and Senna (at McLaren in the late 80s) they would lap the field but everyone was happy so we have a bit of that now with Lewis (Hamilton) and Nico (Rosberg). "The rules themselves, though, are not F1. The sport should be out of this world, not reality. You should look at it and say thats crazy how do these guys manage to drive these kinds of cars at those speeds. In the original turbo engine era they would do qualifying and then throw the engine in the garbage. Thats F1. It should be so extreme that when you are at home, and you are not a racer, you know thats another world. Now you are at home and think I could do that. There is nothing special about it anymore." The man who won 11 Grand Prix races has never been one to focus too much on the past but it is clear he knows those eras were far superior to modern day F1. He smiles when asked about the 1997 season but moves off from it as quickly as it comes up. "It was fun but I dont dwell on the past, I never have and thats why I want my kids to see me drive. I dont want to be for my kids, the guy that used to race that they can see in books." Those books tell a remarkable tale of one of the finest Canadians to ever compete in any sport. On Sunday at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing another chapter is to be written. New England Patriots Pro Shop .com) - Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson each registered a pair of goals, as Washington spoiled the head coaching debut of Peter Horachek by picking up a 6-2 victory in Toronto on Wednesday. Cheap Patriots Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. New England Patriots Shirts . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen. Patriots Jerseys 2020 . According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the deal will pay Schenn $2.25 million in the first year and $2.75 million in the second year. In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, Love reading your columns every day. I wanted to ask you about Mondays incident in Dallas, where Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench and the game was eventually postponed. Whats the protocol from the refs perspective when a game gets postponed? Does he make that call on the ice or does he have to call the NHL front office? Have you ever experienced something similar to Mondays incident in your reffing career? Thanks,Dave VieiraMilton, ON Dave: We must continue to offer prayers for Rich Peverley, his family, teammates, the Dallas Stars management and his fans throughout the hockey world. When a tragedy like this occurs it certainly transcends the game and causes us to reflect on what is most important in life; namely our health and that of our family. In many dealings I had with Rich Peverley on the ice, I know him to be an exceptional young man beyond just his obvious talent as a player. We need look no further than the reaction (and swift action) demonstrated by the Dallas Stars players and coaching staff last night to recognize what an important member of their extended family Rich Peverley truly is! Coach Lindy Ruff, while visibly shaken, addressed the media and commended the outstanding response provided by the medical team; without their efforts his remarks, admittedly might have been much more somber. Quick medical response similar to that mentioned by Lindy Ruff last night in Dallas has also been credited with averting potential tragedies involving Jiri Fischer (cardiac arrest), in addition to Richard Zednik and Clint Malarchuk (both of which suffered a potentially fatal throat slash from a skate during separate games in Buffalo). The unsung heroes from the medical staffs throughout the entire National Hockey League deserve our utmost respect, appreciation and admiration. The referees expected protocol that you enquired about, Dave, is to first kill the play immediately whenever a serious injury/incident is witnessed or, as was the case last night, he is made aware of one taking place. If an official is the first responder to an on-ice injury he should remain calm and attempt to provide comfort and assistance to the injured player until the medical team arrives and then get out of the way. The decision to suspend a game is exclusively entrusted to Commissioner Gary Bettman and/or through his designate, Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.dddddddddddd Since every minute of every game is monitored in the Situation Room in Toronto, all hands would have been on deck once the game was stopped in Dallas and it became apparent that Rich Peverley was in distress. Telephone conversations from team personnel and the officiating crew would have been initiated as soon as possible to provide eyes on the scene and continually update the Commissioner and Colin Campbell with information as it became available. The game officials have a telephone in their dressing room that can connect with the Situation Room in Toronto. The primary information on the players status would come via Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill and Blue Jackets President John Davidson who were on the scene. The first and most obvious concern would be for the health and well-being of the athlete. All energy and assets went in that direction last night. Once it was learned that Rich Peverley had regained consciousness, was aware of his surroundings and even alert to the point that he wanted to know how much time was remaining in the period, a huge sigh of relief was felt by everyone. With Rich Peverley stabilized and being transported to the hospital, the decision then had to be made as to whether the game should continue. For that to happen, the impact of this incident on the players from both teams would have to be evaluated and considered. Both coaches would have been consulted as to the emotional status of their players after witnessing this shocking and disturbing incident. The Commissioner and Colin Campbell did what was in the best interest of everyone involved; the players, coaches, and the fans in the building and those watching on television when they made the decision to postpone the game. Even though I witnessed many injured players carried from the ice on a stretcher during my officiating career, I count myself fortunate not to have experienced, first-hand, a potentially life threatening incident like we saw last night in Dallas or the others I mentioned. I felt physically ill just watching the incident last night on television and cant imagine the emotion one would experience at ice level. I am sure everyone will join me in offering best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Rich Peverley and to his family. ' ' '