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SUZUKA, Japan -- After Lewis Hamilton suffered another slow start at the Japanese Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has admitted the cars clutch has its flaws.The British driver took the blame for his poor getaway at Suzuka, but after three other similarly poor starts this year, Wolff was willing to admit the problem was not entirely Hamiltons.The clutch, obviously, is not perfect. We are giving it to them and it is difficult to handle, he said. We have tried to optimise that but our first assessment was that it didnt function well on the clutch release -- dumping the clutch -- but that is obviously an oversimplification. It is a complex system to deploy and that didnt function today.New clutch regulations were introduced at the start of the year to make starts more unpredictable, but teams have all worked on ways to improve consistency. Mercedes poor starts have often been more obvious than others because at least one of its cars has started from the front row at every round this season.Wolff confirmed the clutch is bespoke to the Mercedes -- even Force India which uses the same gearbox has a different one -- and admits that the system, although good when it works, has its pitfalls.I have never driven the clutch, so I can only tell you what we analyse. It is difficult to handle the clutch in the right way and both drivers have worked on that, going as far as changing the way the glove has been done to release it.This is just one aspect on how it goes, how you release it and how you build the revs, and that is very complicated, then there is the random factor of getting all of that right and that is not always very easy with the clutch.The poor start could not have come at a worse time for Hamilton after he retired from the lead of last weekends Malaysian Grand Prix and missed out on pole position by 0.013s to teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg in Japan. By starting second, Hamilton was on the damp side of the track and Wolff said that may have also played some part in the poor start.The damp line was of course a problem for anyone who was on the right side [of the grid], you can see that also Daniel Ricciardo also didnt get the start right, he lost a position. Position one, three and five went ahead to the first couple of corners, so that was a problem and it was a shame that the circuit doesnt dry out after it has rained overnight, its bizarre. . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo watched Sundays game against the New York Giants from the sidelines. More importantly, he has seen improvement in the compression fracture in his back.Romo had X-rays last week, according to owner and general manager Jerry Jones, and the results were encouraging.Everything is fine, not fine, but is on go, Jones said. Nothing that would in any way get in the area of a setback.Romo had spent two weeks in a back brace after getting hurt Aug. 25 against the Seattle Seahawks. He did not appear to be in a brace at all Sunday.The Cowboys are carrying Romo on the active roster as he recovers. The hope is that he could return in mid- to late October, depending on how the Cowboys are performing. At the time of his injury, sources said he would need six to 10 weeks to recover. The Cowboys play at the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 16, followed by their bye week and aan Oct.dddddddddddd30 meeting against the Philadelphia Eagles.Had the Cowboys put Romo on injured reserve last week, the earliest he could have played would have been Nov. 6 against the Cleveland Browns.Jones was unsure when Romo will be able to start any conditioning work.I think that has to do with his sense of how he feels, Jones said.Dak Prescott, who started in Romos absence and completed 25 of 45 passes for 227 yards without a touchdown or interception in a 20-19 loss to the Giants, said the veteran quarterbacks presence was a benefit Sunday.Hes a vet, hes a guy that sees and just talks to me on how to go out there and think about the play or something the defense may be giving me, Prescott said. But he definitely helped me out, him, Kellen [Moore], Mark [Sanchez] as well. ' ' '
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