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• MONZA, Italy -- Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday, while teammate Jenson Button made it a McLaren one-two. Amid speculation about his future and a possible switch to Mercedes, Hamilton took his fourth pole of the season in a time of 1 minute, 24.010 seconds, just over a tenth of a second faster than Button. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was third -- much to the delight of the home fans -- but championship leader Fernando Alonso had another disappointing day. The Spaniard, who was just a thousandth of a second behind Hamilton in the final practice, will start way back in 10th position in Sundays race. Hamilton has been in good form all weekend, topping two of the three practice sessions, a week after getting into trouble with his team after posting sensitive data on Twitter. He has yet to commit to staying with McLaren, which has fueled talk about a possible move to Mercedes. "I havent had any distractions this weekend, so its been quite positive...pretty smooth so far," Hamilton said. "Its been a tough weekend but weve managed to work on the setup and the guys done a fantastic job. So, congratulations to the team. Its great obviously for the team to have me and Jenson at the front." Hamilton, however, wasnt completely satisfied with his performance in qualifying. "I think practice was a lot better for me," he said. "I had much, much better laps in practice but I cant complain. Generally I didnt think that lap was anywhere near good enough. "But nonetheless Im happy and Im really happy for the team because theyve been doing a fantastic job." It is McLarens 62nd front row sweep in Formula One -- a recs -- as long as hes not in pain. Coming off an injury-filled season that included a camp in which he was rehabbing both feet after off-season surgery, Sanders says hes healthy, happy and ready for a breakout season. "Oh my God, you have no idea, man," Sanders said when asked how much better he feels this training camp as opposed to the previous one. "Last year around this time, I was down and out. And now I have an appreciation for training camp. A lot of those guys are like, Argh, I gotta go to training camp. Im like, Yes! Lets go to training camp! Im healthy, Im finally here. So you know Im enjoying it each day." Sanders is running as the teams second receiver, too, with Mike Wallaces holdout well into its second week. Known as an ambitious, hard worker through his college and young pro career, Sanders spent his off-season mostly staying off his feet -- and with some dramatically more pedestrian goals. "My main goal this off-season was to stay healthy," he said. Sanders broke his right foot during the February 2011 Super Bowl at the end of his rookie season. Later that off-season -- one in which there was no minicamp or OTAs due to the lockout -- Sanders had surgerry on the left foot.dddddddddddd The result was a disjointed camp and start to the season. Sanders missed five games for the Steelers (No. 7 in the AP Pro32) due to injury and caught only 22 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Sanders had a team-high six receptions for a career-high 81 yards in Pittsburghs wild-card playoff loss in Denver. Hes hoping that can serve as a springboard heading into this season. A third-round pick after setting SMU career records for receptions, touchdown catches and yards, Sanders has been wowing coaches and teammates on the practice field throughout his brief NFL career with his speed, hands, route-running and quickness. Its time to translate that to games, he said. "My past three years I felt like I was working so hard, like I had something to prove in practice and things of that nature," Sanders said. "But all this practicing does me no good. I need to make it to the games, so thats my main focus." With Hines Ward retired and Wallaces arrival in camp uncertain, Sanders could be in line for an increased workload. If he can avoid injury. "Hes healthy, hes doing a nice job, hes prepared," coach Mike Tomlin said. "Hes a quality player. He understands the receiver position, buying space for himself. Hes been doing a nice job." Notes: Tomlin had some fun with reporters who asked why Roethlisberger sat out the tail end of practice: "Somebody stepped on his foot. You guys sure love the Ben updates." ... A day after G Willie Colon (ankle) and RB Isaac Redman (groin) sustained minor injuries during a practice at a local high school, neither practiced Saturday. Tomlin termed both "day to day." ... The Steelers ran the goal-line drill in practice, with Tomlin declaring the defence the winner in the best-of-seven format of snaps from the 1 1/2-yard line. ... LBs Ryan Baker and Brandon Johnson each sustained ankle injuries Saturday. ' ' '

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  Posted 2013-07-14
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