Pirate Galaxy » losses, but inconsistency probably should have

One decade ago Lewis Hamilton was preparing for his first season in Formula One. Within motor racing circles his talent had been recognised, but away from the track he was still relatively unknown. His whole life up to that point had been about chasing his boyhood dream of racing in Formula One and, ultimately, emulating the achievements of his great hero Ayrton Senna. Ten years, 49 race wins and three world championships later, Hamilton has achieved his goals.For sure, I never imagined it would be like it is, he told ESPN in an exclusive interview which took place before the Japanese Grand Prix. I never imagined my life would be like this. Id sat watching the grands prix on TV and imagined what it would be like being in that garage like Ayrton Senna, Id try to imagine it, but my wildest imagination didnt sum up to what it is.Generally everything has turned out to be bigger and better ... but also different. When I was dreaming of being a racing driver I didnt think of all the things that came with it. Id only contemplated driving the car and being in that garage and being on track.It hadnt even entered my mind all the things that surround it outside the garage and the team -- maybe I wasnt smart enough back then, but I hadnt thought about those things. Those were probably more of a surprise when they came along.For Hamilton there was no real time to adapt to the changes that Formula One brought upon his life. He fought for the title in his very first year in the sport and the immediate success brought with it immediate fame. By the end of his first season, and at just 23 years of age, Hamilton released his first autobiography and became the public face of his teams many sponsors. In the space of a year he was suddenly a national sporting hero, and in the ten years since has gone on to become a global superstar.Life has changed a lot, he says. I went from being a little nobody-kid in Stevenage to people noticing me in places, so for sure things have changed a lot. I also went from being a very timid, more nervous person to a more confident, more assured and more successful person. Lots has changed but ultimately Im still the kid that I was back then.It just makes me smile because I think of all the people that said I wouldnt, said I couldnt, said I wasnt good enough. They sometimes pop up in the back of my mind and it makes me smile remembering what they made me feel like at the time in order to make themselves feel great, you know what I mean? They put someone down, said that Im nothing, and now, with what Ive turned into and who I am, it makes me smile and feel at peace. Whatever negative they put in and installed in me is at peace because Ive corrected it and balanced it.Inevitably, growing up in the media spotlight has generated both positive and negative headlines. Hamilton is a personality like no other in Formula One and increasingly his activities away from the race track have attracted as much interest as his performances on it. His extensive use of social media provides a window to his remarkable lifestyle, through which both fans and critics cant help but gaze.In the days following our interview, Hamilton took offence to the way certain publications reported his use of Snapchat during a routine press conference and at the next opportunity politely informed the media he would no longer be taking their questions. It was just the latest chapter in a turbulent relationship with the press that stretches back throughout his F1 career.Growing up in the public eye is a difficult thing and there are a lot of pitfalls, he says. Ive had great people around me who have tried to protect me from falling into them, but even today I still fall in them -- its just that I care less. If I do nowadays, it is what it is and its fun. As long as its light-hearted then its OK and you can still grow from it.Unlike many of his rivals, Hamilton has never attempted to guard his emotions in public. Speaking immediately after an engine failure cost him a crucial victory in Malaysia last month, his emotions appeared to get the better of him and he called on his Mercedes team to come up with an answer. He later clarified his remarks and pledged his support to the team, but by that time a large proportion of social media had donned its tin-foil hats and started work on conspiracy theories to explain the failure. The emotions that create such outbursts from Hamilton can be damaging, but he claims they are also linked to the very foundations of his talent.Every now and then Ive seen people have an opinion about how emotional I get; like I should be more happy even when Ive lost, he says. But I think people that comment on that forget how heavily invested I am in this sport. Its the same for anyone whatever they are doing, its about how much investment they have put in, and my heart has been invested in this for 23 years.This has been part of my life since I was eight and it is literally an extension of my life and my body. Its really odd, but I feel it. I guess thats why Im good at what I do, because I dont just drive with my head, I feel it in my heart, I feel it my chest, I feel it in my abs, I feel it in my butt, I feel it in my neck, I feel everything. Thats why I love it, because there is nothing else that I do that feeds all that and I can get those feelings from.Prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton had shown impressive control over his emotions. At the opening five rounds of the season two MGU-H failures and two poor starts saw him fall 43 points behind teammate Nico Rosberg in the drivers standings, only to fight back over the following seven races to score six wins and take a 19-point lead ahead of the summer break. Had it not been for a mammoth grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix -- a hangover from the earlier reliability issues -- he may have continued his winning streak after the summer break and be leading the championship, but instead he has been unable to regain his momentum.People talk about getting on a roll and stuff and undoubtedly its true, but when you do it you try not to think about that -- its just like youre going from one positive to another. Its like rock climbing, every time you make the next step and got to the next one its like a confidence thing that builds inside you. Sometimes you miss the next one and you cant get further up the wall, but the important thing is you always try again. When Im on that wall thats what I do, I always shake it off and try again.You can use so many different metaphors in life to describe the way I attack these things, but in the past I would often leave a race like Malaysia and struggle a lot more with dealing with it and generally dwelling on things. Its the same as when you are in a relationship and if you dwell on an argument, its similar emotions. But eventually you just learn to take the positives from it and leave the s--- behind. If anything, its benefitted my life a huge amount.Its also about trying not to waste days, because we only have a certain amount of days in our lives and every day you spend moping around is one less day you have. We take it for granted how many days we have, but I was listening to a song the other day, I think it was Alicia Keys, and it said the average days we have is 28,000 or something like that. I calculated how many days I had lived and it was nearly half of that! I was like Shoot! I need to get living!In the last ten years alone Hamilton has lived a remarkable life. Hes earned his millions, travelled the world and reached the prime of his Formula One career. But it is the journey that has taken him to that point that Hamilton says he values most.We are all faced with adversity at some stage in our life and its how you deal with it that counts. I think for people who have just started tuning into Formula One or have just started following me, they probably have no idea about the grassroots of the sport that I came up through, they probably just think I drive for a top team, have a great car and they wont know the foundation on which I perform. But really what I do today is almost minuscule compared to the journey that I took to get here. That was Mount Everest and now Im at the top and dancing around.A.J. Brown Womens Jersey . 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In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Curley Culp Titans Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career.Thanksgiving weekend is filled with the rivalries and season-ending drama. The first weekend in December will determine just about every conference championship.This weekend in college football looks like it has limited potential to shake up the rankings and College Football Playoff chase. But thats also what last weekend looked like and we all know how that turned out.For once, the Big 12 is in the spotlight. The conferences best hopes for making a late push to the College Football Playoff will meet in Morgantown, West Virginia, when the No. 10 Mountaineers face No. 8 Oklahoma.The Sooners (8-2) have the higher ranking but West Virginia, with its 8-1 record, probably has a better path to the playoff. Both teams will need some help as the College Football Playoff committee has not shown itself to be particularly impressed with the conferences best teams.Another game to watch in the Big 12 this week is in Fort Worth, Texas, when No. 13 Oklahoma State faces TCU. The Cowboys are the longest of playoff long shots, weighed down by a loss to Central Michigan that was aided by a blown call by officials. Oklahoma State has already beaten West Virginia and finishes the season against rival Oklahoma.The picks:THURSDAY NIGHT THROWDOWNSNo. 3 Louisville (minus 14) at HoustonLikely the last big-stage game for Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals to show off their stuff to Heisman voters and the selection committee ... HOUSTON 35-28, UPSET SPECIAL.Arkansas State (plus 8+) at No. 25 TroyThe newly ranked Trojans are looking to make it two straight victories in games for first-place in the Sun Belt ... TROY 35-21.FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSUNLV (plus 28+) at No. 22 Boise StateThe Rebels helped the Broncos a bunch last week by beating Wyoming ... BOISE STATE 45-28.MARQUEE MATCHUPS.No. 8 Oklahoma (minus 2+) at No. 10 West VirginiaThe Mountaineers defense has been solid, but with one major concern: Not much pass rush (17 sacks) ... OKLAHOMA 40-34.No. 20 Washington State (plus 4+) at No. 12 ColoradoMaybe the most unlikely game of the season with playoff implications ... COLORADO 28-27.No. 21 Florida (plus 13+) at No. 16 LSUThe Gators can clinch the SEC East by winning this hurricane-postponed game. The Tigers can give Tennessee the inside track to the division with a win ... LSU 28-12.PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONSNo. 2 Ohio State (minus 22+) at Michigan StateIt has been such a horrible season for the Spartans, but they have Ohio State and Penn State in the next two weeks with a chance to pull a season-salvaging upset. OHIO STATE 35-17.Indiana (plus 23) at No. 4 MichiganThe Wolverines are not built to be quarterback-dependent, which should serve them well against the Hoosiers ... MICHIGAN 42-17.No. 5 Clemson (minus 22+) at Wake ForestThe Demon Deacons defense mucked up both Louisville and Florida State, so the Tigers take Wake seriously ... CLEMSON 28-10.No. 6 Wisconsin (minus 28) at PurdueThe Badgers can win tthe Big Ten West by winning out .dddddddddddd... WISCONSIN 35-13.Arizona State (plus 27) at No. 7 WashingtonThe ideal way for QB Jake Browning and the Huskies to bounce back from their worst game of the season? A home game against the worst pass defense in the Pac-12 ... WASHINGTON 50-21.CONFERENCE CALLSNo. 9 Penn State (minus 28) at RutgersNittany Lions RB Saquon Barkley against the worst rushing defense in the Big Ten ... PENN STATE 45-14.Oregon (plus 14) at No. 11 UtahTwo more games for Mark Helfrich to show he should remain the Ducks coach ... UTAH 46-30.No. 13 Oklahoma State (plus 4) at TCUThe Cowboys have had consecutive great-escape victories to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive ... TCU 35-28.No. 15 Southern California (minus 11) at UCLAThe Trojans are rolling into the rivalry game while the Bruins are just trying to salvage a season ... USC 42-21, BEST BET.No. 17 Florida State (minus 21) at SyracuseIf Clemson and Louisville can make the playoff, Florida State could end up in the Orange Bowl ... FLORIDA STATE 38-24.Maryland (plus 14) at No. 19 NebraskaThe Terps are still looking for win No. 6 for bowl eligibility. Probably not this week, though the Cornhuskers could be without QB Tommy Armstrong ... NEBRASKA 33-17.No. 24 San Diego State (minus 10) at WyomingA victory by Donnel Pumphrey and the Aztecs would help set up a San Diego State-Boise State Mountain West title game, which would help the conferences chances to get a New Years Six bowl bid ... SAN DIEGO STATE 28-17.LATE-SEASON NONCONFERENCEUTSA (plus 27+) at No. 23 Texas A&MThe Aggies look to build a little confidence before a Thanksgiving night game against LSU ... TEXAS A&M 49-21.TWITTER REQUESTSStanford (minus 11) at California -- (at)scurrynChristian McCaffrey against the Bears defense (equals) so many missed tackles ... STANFORD 42-24.Mississippi (minus 10) at Vanderbilt -- (at)jeremiah8712The Rebels can get bowl eligible with a win; the Commodores need to win their last two to get to six victories ... MISSISSIPPI 34-17.Notre Dame (pickem) at Virginia Tech -- (at)hokiesmashThe Hokies have had some perplexing losses, but inconsistency probably should have been expected in their first season with a new coach ... NOTRE DAME 28-27.UConn (plus 7+) at Boston College -- (at)LicatacsThe Eagles can still get bowl-eligible by winning out -- which is remarkable considering how poorly they have played against good competition ... BOSTON COLLEGE 14-10.Harvard (minus 12+) at Yale -- (at)MattSmithCFBThe Crimson need help to win the Ivy League ... HARVARD 34-17.---Record: Last week 14-12 straight; 12-14 vs. points.Season: 163-69; 105-122-3.Upset specials: 3-8.Best bets: 2-9.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '