ff the drivers within twoo seconds of the world champions.dddddddddddd Felipe Massa, who spun in an identical manner to Hamilton

Neil Dexters decision to leave a county that finished runners-up in Division One last season to join the one that had finished bottom of Division Two for three seasons in a row might have seemed somewhat perverse looking from the outside.At 31, he could not afford to make the wrong choice, but he says he felt confident from the outset and after half a season in his new surroundings nothing has happened to make him question his wisdom. His contribution already includes two centuries, the second against Gloucestershire this week.Leicestershires tight grip on the wooden spoon did not loosen despite the euphoria last June of ending their extraordinary 37-match winless streak in four-day cricket, but they have metamorphosed this season into potential promotion contenders - 15 points off the top with a game in hand and a bedraggled season still to take shape.It was a hard decision to leave Middlesex, Dexter admitted. Things were always good at Middlesex. I enjoyed my time there working with good people.But I wanted to bat higher up the order than I had been doing with Middlesex and when I sat down with Wasim Khan and Andrew McDonald to discuss coming here they were very clear in their plans and about what they wanted to achieve.It is a club with clear direction and I was confident that it was going to be a good move. And so far Ive enjoyed every minute of it here.Khan and McDonald sold their vision, too, to Essexs Mark Pettini and Lancashires Paul Horton as they moved to add quality, experience and a vital winning mentality to the squad. All three have had a positive impact on the dressing room environment.We are quite a tight knit bunch already, Dexter said. In terms of where we are heading and what we are trying to achieve over the next few years we are already on the right lines.If anything we have got to where we are as a team and a club a bit quicker than I thought.There are times when things are tough. The T20 has tested us a team but it shows how strong we are the way the team is bouncing back in the four-day stuff on the back of disappointment.In cricketing terms, then, it has been a good move. Where Middlesex felt they could make no guarantees of a regular first-team place - even though managing director of cricket Angus Fraser was willing to talk about a new contract - Leicestershire see him as just the right fit.For Dexter, moreover, there has been an unexpected bonus in moving out of the hustle and bustle of live in London. It has reminded how much he appreciates a less frenetic way of life.I wont lie, I struggled at times with living in London, he said. I think it is a hard place, so busy from the moment you walk out of your front door and until you get out of it again you dont realise how tough a place it is to live.Maybe it is the way Ive been brought up. And I started in Kent, too, where the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed.Ive got a young family now and having a bit more of a relaxed life and a bit more family time, time when you can get away and it actually feels like you are away from cricket - its really good.Whats more, he says, Grace Road feels like a proper home ground, something that Lords, for all its history and its status as the home of cricket, can never really be for a Middlesex player. Dont get me wrong, I loved my time at Middlesex and to play at Lords every other week is a privilege I will never forget, he said. But Lords never really felt like home. When you dont own your own ground, you cant ever really call it home.Here, when you leave the ground you can leave stuff in the dressing room but at Lords, although the Middlesex players have lockers, you had to appreciate that the dressing rooms had to be cleaned, maybe for a charity match or something involving other teams and you couldnt just leave your gear behind.Inevitably, too, because the area around Lords isnt the cheapest, the players live some distance away, so if you needed something at short notice you couldnt just nip back to the ground to get it.And you didnt know from one day to the next where you were going to be training. Lords and MCC have worked really hard over the last few years to try to get the players more time in the Lords nets so we didnt have to go elsewhere but it was always going to happen that you sometimes had to.You have to accept that, though, and there are many advantages. The people at Lords and the Middlesex members were great to me. I left on very good terms, I still follow them closely and I wish them well.They remember him with affection, too, as the captain of the side that won promotion as Division Two champions in 2011, which is something on his CV, along with more than 6000 runs and over 100 wickets in his first-class career, that commands respect at Grace Road, where he is only too willing to share the benefits of his experience.People ask me about coaching and Im not sure, he said. I feel I have more to contribute as a player first. But I like working one-to-one with the younger guys, just chatting to them. I love being able to pass on some experience and knowledge and it would be great if I can help them move on to the next level because they are the future of the club.Leicestershire remain third, with the top two, Essex and Kent, about to meet at Chelmsford. Does he think their recovery can be so pronounced that in a season in which only the winners of Division Two go up they have a serious chance of promotion?When I was at captain at Middlesex I was never one to make predictions, he said. You can look too far ahead sometimes. You can talk but youve got to back it up with actions.All we can do is play good cricket and there are a lot of games to come. I wouldnt like to say we cant get promotion but Im not going to say we will.What is good is that as well as the matches we have won, we have been competitive most of the time and in the rain-affected games we have won a lot of sessions.It is what happens now that counts, at the business end of the season. If you can go on a winning streak at the right time you can be away.DeAndre Jordan Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Jalen Brunson Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. http://www.cheapmavericksjerseys.com/ . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Ray Spalding Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Luka Doncic Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament.YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi -- Lewis Hamilton kicked off the Abu Dhabi title showdown by beating Nico Rosberg in the weekends opening practice session with a margin of over 0.3s.Hamilton comes into the weekend trailing Mercedes teammate Rosberg by 12 points and needs the German to finish off the podium if he wants any chance of a fourth world championship. He kicked off his weekend in fine style, setting a 1:42.869 on the soft tyre -- improving on his previous best on the softer ultra-soft tyre. Rosbergs best was on the ultra-soft tyre but was 0.374s shy of his teammates benchmark.FP1 was far from perfect for the reigning champion, who spun on the exit of Turn 5 after a long stint on ultra-soft tyres, but his position at the top of the timing screen will give him confidence hes continued his form after three consecutive race wins.Rosberg finished second, something he can settle for on Sunday and win the championship, but will be wary of the close proximity of Red Bulls Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, who finished just 0.1s behind with times set on the soft tyre. Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari look a fair way off after the first hour and a half, with the No.5 car 1.1s behind Hamilton. However, it is worth noting that of the three practice sessions, FP1 and FP3 are the least representative as qualifying and the race take place later in the day at sunset.Sergio Perez split the Ferrari drivers to take sixth, albeit on the ultra-soft tyre compared to two soft tyre times. Raikkonen was seventh, half a second behind teammate Vettel. Carlos Sainz finished eighth to round off the drivers within twoo seconds of the world champions.dddddddddddd Felipe Massa, who spun in an identical manner to Hamilton on the exit of Turn 5, finished ninth ahead of Saubers Marcus Ericsson. Alfonso Celis, taking part in his final FP1 of the season, finished 11th, but a full 1.2s off Perez in the other Force India.On a weekend which has seen most teams load up on the soft and ultra-soft tyre, the super-soft, the middle compound in this weekends range, was the least popular of the opening 90 minutes. The only drivers to set their quickest time on it were 12th- and 13th-place drivers Romain Grosjean and Felipe Nasr, though the former spun out at Turn 1 during the session.Esteban Gutierrez finished 14th ahead of Williams Valtteri Bottas, who held firm with the teams usual practice of holding back on Fridays. Renault pair Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen finished 17th and 18th, with just 0.007s covering them. Fernando Alonso could only manage 18th for McLaren on a weekend he and the team expect to lead to a strong result. Manors Pascal Wehrlein separated Alonso and teammate Jenson Button, who only completed 10 laps after what looked like a power issue mid-way through the session.Jordan Kings second FP1 appearance of the season ended in 21st and included a spin on entry to Turn 5, which saw him lose the car mid-way through the chicane. Daniil Kvyats Toro Rosso rounded off the timesheet after suffering an early left-rear puncture, continuing the teams recent run of tyre issues. ' ' '