Niki Lauda says Mercedes could wait until the end of January before it decides on Nico Rosbergs replacement for 2017.The Mercedes chairman said his team faces a huge decision as it weighs up Mercedes junior driver Pascal Wehrlein and Williams Valtteri Bottas for the position. Mercedes would have to buy Bottas out of his current contract if it wanted to employ him next year and Lauda admitted the complex discussions are taking longer than expected.It could take until the end of January before we know which way we will go, he said in an interview alongside Red Bulls Helmut Marko on Servus TV. We are not yet that far and we dont know yet. We hoped to make it sooner, but they are quite complicated negotiations.Basically, there are just two ways to go: a young driver like Wehrlein, who could become a star or could not, or we an experienced man like Bottas. We are far from being ready with these considerations -- this is a huge discussion. Sat next to Lauda, Marko could not help but challenge his old friend and rival. Marko is the head of Red Bulls junior driver programme, which has seen the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen enter the sport, and he put it to Lauda that Mercedes, which has a long-term contract with Wehrlein and placed him at Manor this year, does not have enough trust in its driver development system.You have a junior programme and you have the highly regarded Mr. Wehrlein, Marko said. This guy Wehrlein does not look like he will get the drive. That means you do not trust your own junior programme. Lauda responded by saying: I must correct that. The junior programme is, as you say, a junior programme. Young pilots should gain experience.Clearly, we can discuss whether Wehrlein is ready or not, but Id like you to remember that Max Verstappen first started out at Toro Rosso this year until the Russian [Danill Kvyat] made a mistake and only then did you take him over to the senior team.Marko added: Well, Wehrlein is still very young -- but no risk, no fun. If you take Valtteri Bottas, you have to give a two-digit million amount in the form of a reduction in engine costs to Williams. Well, you have a budget of 22 million now that you are not paying Rosberg, but you have to buy Wehrlein a drive at a team that drives a competitors engine [Sauber].Mercedes has not set a formal date for a decision other than confirming that it will not be announced before the start of the new year. Matt Bullard Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Clyde Drexler Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. https://www.cheaprocketsonline.com/1187z-james-harden-jersey-rockets.html . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Matt Maloney Jersey .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Elvin Hayes Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. A lot of NFL head coaches have a different standard for stars, subscribing to the philosophy of treating everyone equitably but not necessarily equally.Ron Rivera is not among those coaches.So, when reigning MVP Cam Newton boarded the team flight to Seattle without a dress shirt and necktie, Rivera decided to bench him for the first series Sunday night.The flap became an overbearing cloud hanging over Seattles 40-7 shellacking of the Panthers after Derek Andersons single snap resulted in an interception.Newton didnt express disagreement with Riveras decision after the game, explaining he realized just before the buses left to take the team to the airport that he hadnt packed a shirt and tie.We discussed it internally. Me and coach, were on the same page, I feel good about it, Newton said.I wore a similar outfit like this before and nothing was done. But he has rules in place and we have to abide by them and no person is greater than the next person.Rivera didnt announce his intention to punish his passer. Even after the game he wouldnt say anything beyond acknowledging his quarterback had committed a dress code violation.Right tackle Trai Turner said he didnt know what was up until the opening play, which ended up being a pass that deflected off Mike Tolberts hands and into the arms of linebacker Mike Morgan. That led to a Seattle field goal.The oddity of it all is that Newton is as fashionable as any player in the league.This is the guy who sported Zebra-print Versace pants on Super Bowl Sunday and who modeled nearly $30,000 worth of duds for his GQ photo shoot last summer, including $495 loafers, a $530 tank top, $1,200 sneakers and a $4,995 leather jacket.And nary a necktie.Aside from more than 500 players wearing custom cleats as part of the leagues My Cleats, My Cause initiative, Week 13 featured an abundance of curious calls and dubious decisions.Seattle star safety Earl Thomas broke his lower left leg when he collided with teammate Kam Chancellor as both tried to intercept a pass from Newton.While in the locker room, Thomas tweeted , This game has been so good to me no regrets. A lot is running through my mind including retirement thanks for all the prayers.Dallas escaped Minnesota with a 17-15 win on Thursday night when no flag was thrown on the Cowboys for hitting Sam Bradfords facemask on his overthrown 2-point conversion attempt with 25 seconds left.Im sick and tired of the reffing in this league right now, Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said.dddddddddddd Im sick and tired of it. Youve got holding calls all over the place that people dont want to call.Bradford gets hit in the face at the end of the game and you dont call it. Im not laying this loss on reffing, but at some point its got to get better.Officials cant see every infraction but it was astonishing that Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson got away with yanking the facemask of Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount right in front of an official.After making the tackle, Johnson reached up and jerked Blounts facemask, but head linesman Ed Camp never reached for his flag.I cannot believe an officials sitting right there watching and he wont make the call, NBC analyst Rodney Harrison said.Randall Cobb made a snow angel after scoring a touchdown in Green Bays win over the Texans at Lambeau Field.In Chicago, the 49ers were assessed a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty after rookie cornerback Rashard Robinson did a snow angel in the end zone because he mistakenly thought Dontae Johnson had scored on a blocked punt return, as did the rest of the 49ers.Johnson also did a snow angel and his was legal because it was a single-person celebration -- even though hed actually stepped out at the 4.Robinsons cost his team 15 yards, and the 49ers settled for a field goal on their way to extending their franchise-record losing streak to 11 games.In Atlanta, the Falcons were burned by Eric Berrys pick-6, then were done in by their own strategy in a 29-28 loss to Kansas City.After pulling within 27-22 with 12 minutes left, the Falcons went for 2 and failed.So, when they went ahead 28-27 with 4:34 remaining, they had to go for 2, and Berry took it back 99 yards for the first game-winning pick-2 in NFL history .My dad, he always told me the most important part of the game is the extra point, Berry said. So, a lot of people take that play off and like I said, its an opportunity to make something happen and Im going to make the most of it.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed. Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '
