Who would be Charlie Whiting? Last Sunday he was damned if he did and damned if he didnt.The race director had to walk the fine line between providing a race for the bedraggled spectators around the track and an expectant audience sitting in the dry at home while, at the same time, carrying the can should something go terribly wrong.Take Kimi R?ikk?nens spin as one example. What if someone had speared through the spray and into the hapless Finn? What if that car had ridden up the nose of the Ferrari and struck the driver? What if bits of debris had flown into the pit lane or the grandstand?Hypothetical and pessimistic, I know. But its not difficult to imagine the headlines the following morning as the world - fed by a voracious media - demanded answers. In the event of a fatality or serious injury, the first question in these Health and Safety obsessed days would have been: Surely it was madness to allow the race to run in those conditions? Over to you, Mr. Whiting.As it happens, the race director and his team called it absolutely right. With one proviso. The second red flag was so much of a mystery at the time that Niki Lauda and TV commentators questioned it in public.In fact, the decision was driven by the fairly certain knowledge that the poor weather was set to continue, thus bringing further tedious safety car running as the clock ticked towards the two-hour cut-off. Far better, it was reasoned, to wait for an improvement and then get on with the racing. Which is exactly what happened. The single failure was not to relay such commendable logic to the waiting world and short-circuit the subsequent bad PR.Lauda did say that drivers should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to race. Its difficult to argue with the triple world champion on that one, particularly when he quit the teeming wet 1976 Japanese Grand Prix knowing that ballsy decision might assist James Hunt to the title.When discussing last Sundays fantastic motor race (to quote Christian Horner and many others), it is worth noting that the same sentiments might have been voiced post-race at Suzuka 2014 had Jules Bianchi not had his appalling accident. Without getting into a discussion about the reason behind it, the crash did highlight the difficulties facing the man with his finger hovering over the red button.Much has been written and tweeted about Max Verstappens drive (and lets not forget Lewis Hamiltons peerless performance at the front) with comparisons being made between the Red Bull drivers stunning commitment and that of Ayrton Senna at Monaco in 1984.On that day, 32 years ago, the responsibility for halting the wet race lay with Jacky Ickx, the Clerk of the Course. Here was a man who knew all about winning in the rain (think 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen) and yet he faced calls to have this one stopped. Ickx duly showed the red flag after 31 laps -- just as Senna, driving the cumbersome Toleman-Hart, had caught and was about to pass Alain Prosts leading McLaren-TAG.Sennas first F1 win denied by an official decision? Possibly not. A look at the lap times shows the leaders being caught hand-over fist by Stefan Bellof in the nimble non-turbo Tyrrell-Ford. Sennas fastest lap had been 1:54.334 on lap 24. His final three laps were 1:55.666, 1:59.008 and 1:59.433. Bellofs final three were 1:54.978 (his fastest), 1:58.949 and 1:59.219.You will not find Bellofs lap times on the FIAs official Olivetti/Longines results sheets for 1984. His name, and that of team-mate Martin Brundle, was surgically removed after Tyrrell had been thrown out of the championship later in the year.At least we wont have that to contend with when discussing what might have happened in the championship had different decisions been made last Sunday. Then again, given this roller-coaster season, anything could happen. Dalvin Tomlinson Giants Jersey . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Lawrence Taylor Youth Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Lawrence-Taylor-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=863 . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Carl Banks Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Michael Strahan Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Former Penn State President Graham Spanier testified Thursday that he issued a statement the day two of his top lieutenants were charged in the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, calling the allegations against them groundless, because he had developed deep trust in them.Spanier took the witness stand in former assistant coach Mike McQuearys lawsuit against the university. McQuearys lawsuit alleges the former presidents statement made it appear McQueary was a liar.Spanier said he came to trust vice president Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley after working closely with them for years.This was an unbelievable injustice, that these two guys, who are like Boy Scouts, would be charged with a crime, Spanier said. And thats what was in my head as I was giving this opinion.Spanier began drafting the statement about a week earlier. He said thats when the universitys then-general counsel got a tip through the attorney generals office that Sandusky, Curley and Schultz would be charged.At issue was how Curley and Schultz responded after McQueary described to them in 2001 that he saw Sandusky sexually abuse a boy in a team shower.Spanier told jurors he directed the lawyer to share a draft with Curleys lawyer as a courtesy before it was published.Two of the people holding among the most important leadership positions in the university were going to be charged, Spanier said. And with my belief that after working daily with these individuals for about 16 years, and knowing their honesty, their integrity, believing that they never withheld information from me, and recollecting rather clearly that meeting from 2001 ... and what they described to me at the time, that it merited my unconditional support.Spanier was forced out by the board of trustees a few days later, and the next year he also was charged over his handling of the Sandusky matteer.dddddddddddd A state appeals court this year threw out several of the charges against all three administrators, but they remain accused of failure to properly report suspected abuse and endangering the welfare of children. They await trial in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Spanier, who remains a Penn State faculty member, testified he had no knowledge of a 1998 police investigation into Sandusky showering with another boy on campus and had limited recollection of responding with Curley and Schultz to the 2001 incident McQueary said he witnessed.When the first set of charges was announced in November 2011, Spanier said he took the draft statement that day to about 30 of the universitys senior executives. He said he told them that if they were falsely accused of a crime, he would issue the same type of statement on their behalf.Everybody in the room worked with them for years and had exactly the same sentiment I had, Spanier testified.He said he wasnt thinking about McQueary when drafting the statement and didnt realize McQueary was a key figure in the investigation and an unnamed assistant described in the grand jury presentment used to help charge Sandusky.I was not casting aspersions on anybody else, because when that statement was drafted, I hadnt read the grand jury presentment, Spanier testified. My entire knowledge base was from a short conversation a decade earlier, and my focus was on these two individuals who I knew and worked with.McQuearys defamation, whistleblower and misrepresentation lawsuit is seeking more than $4 million in lost wages. The trial is expected to continue into next week.Sandusky was convicted of dozens of counts of child sexual abuse in 2012 and is serving a lengthy prison sentence but maintains hes innocent. ' ' '