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Carl Haas, who died on Thursday, has been described as an American auto racing impresario. It is a perfect description. Not only did Haas run successful teams in several branches of the sport, he also looked the part thanks to a large cigar permanently clamped between his teeth. In partnership with the actor Paul Newman, Indycar racing provided the most fertile ground for Newman/Haas Racing with no less than eight championships.The F1 fraternity got to know Haas when he ran the Beatrice/Haas team in association with Ford in 1985 and 1986, and several years later when Nigel Mansell crossed the Atlantic to win the Indycar title for Newman/Haas in 1993. Haas may have been an extremely tough negotiator but anyone who knew him had nothing but affection for the man and respect for an extremely professional team that strived to have the best in everything.Haas had his eccentricities to go with a keen sense of humour. I first became aware of him in Montreal in 1980. The Canadian Grand Prix back then was the penultimate race of the season and the championship had come down to a tough head-to-head between Alan Jones of Williams and Brabhams Nelson Piquet.On race morning, I stood in the pit lane and watched with bemusement as this strange figure with a cigar was moving around Joness car, touching every part of the FW07B. Joness number 1 mechanic, Wayne Eckersley, nearly had a fit but Frank restrained the straight-talking Aussie and quietly explained that this laying on of hands was a ritual carried out by Haas on his own cars before each race. There was no harm in it. Jones had won the Can-Am championship for Haas in 1978 and, if thats what Carl wanted to do for his former driver, let him go ahead.Strangely enough, within seconds of the start, Piquet and Jones collided. The Brabham was damaged. The Williams was not. The switch to the spare Brabham for the restart would be Piquets downfall while Jones raced on with his intact car to take the title.Many great names raced for Haas and every one of them has a kindly tale to tell. None more so than Mario Andretti, who won 18 races and the 1984 IndyCar title for the man from Chicago. Over dinner at Milwaukee one year, Andretti got into talking about Haas and recalled that his boss had a fetish for shoes. He had hundreds of pairs. At a party one year, a couple of mechanics were quietly exploring the house when they came across the room with row upon row of shoes neatly racked, many still in their boxes and never worn.Purloining a pair each, they carefully wrapped them and, for fun, presented them to the boss as Christmas presents. Haas was deeply moved by the fact that his guys had gone to trouble of not only finding the style and colours he liked but also the correct size. He was so close to tears, they didnt have the heart to tell him.Paying tribute yesterday, Andretti said: Carl had a heart of gold and a deep commitment to our sport. He earned the respect and admiration of his competitors and all those who drove for him through the years for being tenacious yet fair. Carl always sought the best equipment, the best drivers and the best team personnel. When I recall the joys of my whole career, I have to include my tenure at Newman/Haas because of the people. Spending 12 seasons with Carl and (wife) Berni and Paul Newman was amazing, triumphant, relentless work and heartwarming. All of it. The sport has lost a colorful character, but Carl Haas is unforgettable. Myself and so many others have lost a dear friend.Air Force 1 Norge . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Air Force 1 Hvit Norge . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. http://www.airforce1norge.com/air-force-1-herre-norge.html .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. Nike Juvenate Norge . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Nike Sf Air Force 1 Norge .Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Declaring that the global drug-testing system is damaged, Olympic leaders and anti-doping officials vowed Tuesday to fix the problems and prevent the type of scandal that has embroiled Russian athletes in the lead-up to the games in Rio de Janeiro.The IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency clashed again Tuesday over the allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia that have rattled the Olympic movement and created chaos ahead of Fridays opening ceremony in Rio.But both sides agreed on one thing -- the need to repair the international anti-doping system and restore trust and credibility in the fight against drugs.This is not about destroying structures, IOC President Thomas Bach said, referring to WADA. This is about improving significantly a system in order to have a robust and efficient anti-doping system so that such a situation that we face now cannot happen again.Bach spoke after a debate in which International Olympic Committee members overwhelmingly backed the executive boards decision not to take the nuclear option of banning Russias entire Olympic team. Bach and many members pointed fingers at WADA for failing to act sooner on evidence of state-run doping in Russia and for releasing its findings so close to the start of the games.I dont feel as if Ive been run under a bus, WADA chief Craig Reedie told reporters, insisting that both sides were in general accord on the need to find solutions for the future.Somebody said this system is broken, he said. I dont think all the system is broken. i think quite a lot of the system still works, but that certain parts of the system need revision.Reedie said he had received assurances from officials at high levels of the Russia government that they accept they have a problem and need to fix it.It is absolutely essential that we cannot have the biggest country in the world non-compliant on a permanent basis, he said.Bach opened the IOCs three-day general assembly by seeking formal backing for the boards decisions on the Russian crisis. After a debate lasting more than two hours, Bach asked for a show of hands, and only one of the 85 members -- Britains Adam Pengilly -- voted against his position.Despite evidence of a vast state-organized program involving Olympic sports in Russia, the IOC board rejected calls for a total ban and left it to international sports federations to decide on the entry of individual Russian athletes for the games.Bach said it would be wrong to make individual Russian athletes collateral damage for the wrongdoing of their government.Leaving aside that such a comparison is completely out of any proportion when it comes to the rules of sport, let us just for a moment consider the consequences of a `nuclear option, Bach said. The result is death and devastation. This is not what the Olympic Movement stands for. The cynical `collateral damage approoach is not what the Olympic movement stands for.ddddddddddddThe IOC has been roundly criticized by many anti-doping bodies, athletes groups and Western media for not applying a complete ban on the Russian team. Pressure for a full ban grew after WADA investigator Richard McLaren issued a report accusing Russias sports ministry of orchestrating doping program and cover-ups involving athletes across more than two dozen summer and winter Olympic sports.Natural justice does not allow us to deprive a human being of the right to prove their innocence, Bach said.Underlying the deep split between Olympic leaders and anti-doping officials, Bach and others put the responsibility on WADA.I think its not the reputation of the IOC that has to be restored, its the reputation of WADA, Israeli member Alex Gilady said.Argentine member Gerardo Werthein added: At times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator.Reedie said he spoke later with both men and addressed their concerns.IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Reedies positon was not compromised by the debate.We dont always agree on everything, he said. It wasnt a totally one-sided debate. We aired a lot of issues.Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov claimed there was a political campaign against Russia and cited discrimination against clean athletes not connected to doping.I urge you to resist this unprecedented pressure that is now on the entire Olympic movement and not to let this pressure to split the entire Olympic family, he said.U.S. member Larry Probst said it was wrong to attribute the problem to international politics.We have a doping problem, the U.S. Olympic Committee chairman said. And its not just Russia, its global. The current system is broken and we need to fix the problem.A few members did question the IOC decision to keep Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova -- an 800-meter runner who helped expose systematic doping in her homeland -- out of the games.If there was to be one exception, it should have been her, Richard Peterkin of St. Lucia said.The strongest criticism came from Canadian member Dick Pound, a former president of WADA who has been outspoken in calling for a complete ban on Russia -- something he had previously called the nuclear option. He said the reputation of the IOC was on the line.We need to do a lot more to show that we really do care about fair play, honest competition and clean athletes, he said.By the end, however, Pound was among the 84 members who voted in favor.The arrows left the bow, he said. The decision has been made, its not going to be changed between now and the start of the games.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade contributed to this report. ' ' '