INDIANAPOLIS -- The orange and brown glasses slide down the bridge of Jacques Villeneuves nose. Along with the greying hair and growing bald spot, they give the Canadian driver a professorial vibe. Its only reinforced when he begins to speak. In clear, crisp sentences spiced by that unmistakable French-Canadian accent, Villeneuve lays out his opinion on just about anything -- especially when it comes to the Indy 500. He will talk about the latest generation of cars, lament the fact there is only one chassis manufacturer, and argue that spotters who are supposed to make the race safer have often had the opposite effect. Then hell talk about the speed and the danger. "Some younger drivers didnt grow up seeing racing as being dangerous," said Villeneuve, who is back at the Indianapolis 500 after a 19-year absence. "They break their little finger and they are surprised. Its like, Be happy its only that." Of course, Villeneuve forgets many of those younger drivers grew up watching him. James Hinchcliffe, a fellow Canadian, said his earliest memory of watching a race was 1995, when Villeneuve took advantage of a late penalty on Scott Goodyear to win the Indy 500. That was also the last time Villeneuve stepped into an Indy car at the iconic racetrack. At least, it was until this year. "Its cool to have him back," Hinchcliffe said, "because hes obviously one of the guys I looked up to as a young driver, and one of the guys I never thought Id have a chance to race." Villeneuve spent nearly two decades driving just about everything but an IndyCar. He won a Formula One title, tried his hand at NASCAR and drove at Le Mans. He dabbled in RallyCross and even raced V8 Supercars around the street circuits of Australia. But the lure of Indy started to tug him back. Villeneuve, who will start 27th on Sunday, watched with rapt attention last year as Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag. He was intrigued by the record number of lead changes, the way cars moved through the field and how stiff the competition had become. Villeneuve managed to land a ride with team owners Sam Schmidt and Rick Peterson, and will be part of a stable that includes Mikhail Aleshin and Simon Pagenaud on Sunday. "If I jumped from F-1 to this again, it wouldnt be an issue," Villeneuve said of the return to open-wheel racing, "but the first 20 laps, your eyes, your brain -- its not used to those speeds, so it is a big shock. You have to get out, breath again, and then get back in and its like, All right. Business as usual." His team may be an underfunded underdog, at least compared to heavyweights Penske, Ganassi and Andretti Autosport, and he may have struggled Friday in the final practice on Carb Day. But none of that will convince Villeneuve that he doesnt have a chance to win. "When I won here we were two laps down and we spent the whole race minding our own business," he said. "Thats the key: You should mind your own business. Figure out what is happening with everyone else at the end. You need a little bit of luck, and then you need to see how it pans out. I just hope Im not one of those people who does something stupid." Pagenaud was surprised to see his new teammate prepare for the race the moment he arrived in Indianapolis. Qualifying was almost an afterthought as Villeneuve gazed ahead to Sunday. "It actually makes me wonder why he focused so much on the race," Pagenaud said with a wry grin. "Im sure hell come up with something in the race and Ill learn then." If he does come up with something, Villeneuve could make history. The 43-year-old would break Al Unsers record of 17 years between victories that has stood since 1987. Even if he doesnt win, though, a good showing could prove invaluable. Villeneuve has dropped hints that he may be try to run the IndyCar series full-time next year, and that would turn the Indy 500 into quite an audition. "I had an opportunity to spend half an hour with Jacques in the garage area a week ago," said Goodyear, now an analyst for ABC. "Through all the questions I was asking him, catching up with him, I asked him, Why come back to something that youve won, have great memories with? "He said, Racing is my oxygen. I need to race something." Cheap Jose Fernandez Jersey . CNN and Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Tancredi Palmeri broke the news via Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Italian Football Association President Giancarlo Abete has also resigned, according to Palmeri. Wholesale Marlins Jerseys . Starters, when they struggle, have to live with it for five days. For Sergio Santos and Steve Delabar, two of the three men who authored one of the ugliest pitched innings in Blue Jays franchise history on Thursday night, the bounce-back chance came right away. http://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.com/. The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. Cheap Marlins Jerseys China . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Cheap Miami Marlins Jerseys . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres.LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds during three thunderous quarters by the Los Angeles Clippers, who routed the Lakers again 142-94 Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-best six games. It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. This was the Clippers largest victory margin over their longtime tormentors, and their sixth victory in the last seven meetings -- including a four-game sweep last season. The last time the teams met on Jan. 10, the Clips won 123-87. The Clippers are 35-98 against the Lakers since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego for the 1984-85 season, including 19-39 during their 15 seasons at Staples Center. Pau Gasol had 21 points for the Lakers, the home team for the third of four meetings this season between the Staples Center co-tenants. They also faced each other in the season opener, which the Lakers won 116-103. The Clippers had a 64-33 rebounding advantage and increased their lead in the Pacific Division to 4 1-2 games over Golden State. Theyre 21 1-2 ahead of the last-place Lakers (21-441).dddddddddddd The Lakers are one defeat away from clinching the franchises first losing season since 2004-05 -- when newly hired coach Rudy Tomjanovich resigned midway through the teams 34-48 season. This one reached blowout proportions early. The Clippers stormed to a 73-40 halftime lead with the help of a 21-1. The arena started emptying after the third quarter ended 109-60. Griffin notched his 36th double-double and is riding a career-best streak of 21 games with 20 or more points. Crawford (left calf strain) sat out for the third straight game. Forward Jared Dudley (back spasms) missed his first of the season. Jordan Hill didnt play for the Lakers because of a sore right knee. NOTES: Renowned sports medicine specialist Dr. Frank Jobe, who died Thursday at age 88, was a consultant for many years with the Lakers in addition to his groundbreaking work with his innovative Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery. ... Griffin is averaging 21.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 51.5 per cent from the field in 14 career games against the Lakers; the Clippers have won eight of them. ... Danny Granger, playing his second game with the Clippers after signing as a free agent last Friday, picked up his first three fouls during a 2 1-2 minute span early in the second quarter. He finished with 10 points in 19 minutes. ... The season series concludes on April 6 with a nationally televised matinee. ' ' '