Inevitably, previews of this weekends Belgian Grand Prix contain nothing but praise for the circuit. And rightly so. Fifty years ago, drivers might not have been so openly enthusiastic had there been publicity machines churning out sound bites.Spa-Francorchamps was normal for the day, the fabulous road circuit sitting curve by corner with the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Rouen and Clermont Ferrand as your average Grand Prix venue. The problem with Spa was that it was quicker and more risky than others at a time when danger was talked about in the same way teams refer to tyre degradation today. It was something you dealt with; part of the game.Were talking here about the original 8.7-mile triangle, large traces of which you can still see today, parting company with the existing circuit at Les Combes and rejoining on the climb towards Blanchimont. The fast, sweeping journey through different postal districts on the far side of the hill meant climatic changes so diverse that, in 1966, the Grand Prix started in the dry and ran into a downpour on the run through Burnenville and on towards Stavelot.Jackie Stewarts scary adventure has passed into legend after his BRM spun off, demolished a woodcutters hut and landed upside down outside the basement of a house, the Scotsman trapped in the crumpled cockpit while a broken fuel line pumped 5-star all over him.The moral of the story is not so much that the car folded up or fuel leaked everywhere; that was state of the racing art five decades ago. The shocking message was that no one came to either get him out or take care of his injuries once two drivers had stopped, borrowed tools from a spectators car and extracted their mate - fortunately without the wreck catching fire. It was from this appalling experience that Stewarts unpopular campaigning formed the nucleus of safety as we understand it today.Tales of tragedy and terrible injury are as much a part of the original circuits history as heroic performances. In 1968, Brian Redman was driving for Cooper, a team on the way out a decade after winning the world championship. Braking from 160 mph for Les Combes, Redman felt something go wrong at the front, the Cooper spinning into the barrier, then up and over it before coming to a sudden halt courtesy of a marshals road car parked on the other side. Redman was trapped, the wreckage catching fire thanks to a marshals lit cigarette as the man tried to free the driver. Once pulled from the car, Redman was left to watch as the marshals tended to a badly injured colleague before returning to the Englishman and placing him on a stretcher.John Cooper, anxious to protect his companys integrity, insisted there was nothing wrong with the car and that Redman had made a mistake. Given the drivers state of confusion, the story might have become fact had Peter Burn, staff photographer for Autosport, not caught the moment, his image showing the lower right-front suspension snapping under load.Redman considered himself lucky on another front when he got away with a broken arm caused by the limb being trapped between the chassis and the barrier as the Cooper went in. The Englishman proved there was no psychological damage when he returned to score a couple of very impressive wins in sportscars. But to say he was not afraid of Spa would be far removed from a truth drivers rarely spoke about.In an extremely honest and fascinating *account of his career, Redman talks about the pressure of being expected to win at the wheel of a Porsche 917; a monster of a car standing still, never mind exceeding 200 mph on these Belgian roads.As a spectator, I had always felt a romantic attachment watching such a classy driver take the iconic 917 to the limit on a track such as this. But Redman dispatches such dreamy notions by describing this as a job that needed to be done - at maximum speed.In top gear, wrote Redman. I hammered into Malmedy and onto the Masta straight, that narrow 1.5-mile country road where I pushed the car to its top speed - 214 mph. I tried not to think about this as I neared the Masta kink, probably the most intimidated turn in all of motor racing. At that velocity, I couldnt indulge even the briefest of unnecessary lifts without losing precocious seconds (and my drive).Porsche were not there for the thrill of the sport. And Redman was no more than an employee who could drive quickly; an asset seen as less of a supreme talent and more of a necessary qualification to do a job for which he was being paid. Redman talks of being unable to sleep before the race. And that was not solely due to the sound of rain beating against the bedroom window.Spa used to be one hell of a scary place. Now its one hell of a fine race track by todays very different standards.* Brian Redman. Daring Drivers, Deadly Tracks. (Evro Publishing) Adarius Taylor Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Jerel Worthy Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. http://www.cheapbuccaneersjerseysonline.com/?tag=vernon-hargreaves-iii-jersey-online . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Jameis Winston Jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Beau Allen Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. EUGENE, Ore. -- No. 23 Oregon is piling up points at a prolific pace.Tyler Dorsey scored a career-high 29 points, Dillon Brooks had 22 and the Ducks set a school scoring record in a 128-59 victory over Savannah State on Saturday night.Coming off a 93-54 win against Western Oregon on Wednesday night, the Ducks (7-2) eclipsed their previous high of 121 points against Portland in 1970 and had seven players score in double figures for the first time in nine seasons. It was their fifth consecutive win and 30th straight at home, adding to another school record.The teams tried a combined 85 3-pointers. Oregon won that battle, too, hitting 12 of 35.Three or four of our guys were talking to their coach about transferring, Oregon coach Dana Altman said, because anybody who takes 50 3s, our guys love that.Freshman Payton Pritchard, who had 13 of Oregons 36 assists, broke the scoring mark with a 3-pointer with 2:45 left.Dorsey went 12 of 16 from the field, and the Ducks shot a season-high 60 percent (54 for 90) overall. They dominated the smaller Tigers (2-8) inside by an 82-10 margin in points in the paint and 67-29 in rebounds.Oregons Kavell Bigby-Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double.Despite the easy win, Altman called the Ducks a work in progress, largely without Brooks in the starting lineup.Were not using our athleticism to get in passing lanes and weve just got to do a better job, Altman said.Brooks, a preseason All-American playing his sixth game since recovering from offseason foot surgery, said hes about ready to assume more than the sixth-man role.Im almost there, he said. Im trying to get back in shape a little more. I feel good and my teammates keep pushing me.Savannah State, which came in averaging 40 3-point attempts per game, went 11 for 50 from beyond the arc in its fourth straight loss.Dexter McClanahan led the Tigers with 113 points and Troyce Manassa had 10.ddddddddddddBIG PICTURESavannah State: The nations leading long-distance shooters also may be tops in frequent-flier miles after the Tigers make their third West Coast one-game road trip in two weeks to play Oregon State. They opened the season at Iowa State and Iowa and also played at San Diego State.Oregon: Brooks looks ready to rejoin the starting lineup, just as the Ducks schedule turns tougher with Alabama, Montana, UNLV and Fresno State on tap before Pac-12 play. Brooks was 8 for 12 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.UP NEXTSavannah State visits Oregon State on Dec. 11. The Tigers play only three of their first 13 games at home before starting Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Jan. 4.Oregon heads into finals week with eight days to prepare for Alabamas visit on Dec. 11, the fourth of nine straight in-state games for the Ducks this month.POLL IMPLICATIONSOregons stock should start to rise again with three home wins in six days after the Ducks tumbled 19 spots from their all-time high ranking of No. 4 in the first week of the season.HIGHLIGHT REELPritchards fifth assist in the first 10 minutes was a 40-foot lob in transition to a streaking Chris Boucher for a two-handed dunk that capped a 21-3 run for the Ducks.HIGHLIGHT REEL IIIn the second half, Oregons Jordan Bell took the time to set up his own breakaway dunk by bouncing the ball off the backboard before throwing it down with both hands. I thought he was going to windmill, Brooks said. Off the glass is crazy.Altman wasnt quite as amused by Bells theatrics as his teammates were. 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