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INDIANAPOLIS -- The orange and brown glasses slide down the bridge of Jacques Villeneuves nose. Along with the greying hair and growing bald spot, they give the Canadian driver a professorial vibe. Its only reinforced when he begins to speak. In clear, crisp sentences spiced by that unmistakable French-Canadian accent, Villeneuve lays out his opinion on just about anything -- especially when it comes to the Indy 500. He will talk about the latest generation of cars, lament the fact there is only one chassis manufacturer, and argue that spotters who are supposed to make the race safer have often had the opposite effect. Then hell talk about the speed and the danger. "Some younger drivers didnt grow up seeing racing as being dangerous," said Villeneuve, who is back at the Indianapolis 500 after a 19-year absence. "They break their little finger and they are surprised. Its like, Be happy its only that." Of course, Villeneuve forgets many of those younger drivers grew up watching him. James Hinchcliffe, a fellow Canadian, said his earliest memory of watching a race was 1995, when Villeneuve took advantage of a late penalty on Scott Goodyear to win the Indy 500. That was also the last time Villeneuve stepped into an Indy car at the iconic racetrack. At least, it was until this year. "Its cool to have him back," Hinchcliffe said, "because hes obviously one of the guys I looked up to as a young driver, and one of the guys I never thought Id have a chance to race." Villeneuve spent nearly two decades driving just about everything but an IndyCar. He won a Formula One title, tried his hand at NASCAR and drove at Le Mans. He dabbled in RallyCross and even raced V8 Supercars around the street circuits of Australia. But the lure of Indy started to tug him back. Villeneuve, who will start 27th on Sunday, watched with rapt attention last year as Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag. He was intrigued by the record number of lead changes, the way cars moved through the field and how stiff the competition had become. Villeneuve managed to land a ride with team owners Sam Schmidt and Rick Peterson, and will be part of a stable that includes Mikhail Aleshin and Simon Pagenaud on Sunday. "If I jumped from F-1 to this again, it wouldnt be an issue," Villeneuve said of the return to open-wheel racing, "but the first 20 laps, your eyes, your brain -- its not used to those speeds, so it is a big shock. You have to get out, breath again, and then get back in and its like, All right. Business as usual." His team may be an underfunded underdog, at least compared to heavyweights Penske, Ganassi and Andretti Autosport, and he may have struggled Friday in the final practice on Carb Day. But none of that will convince Villeneuve that he doesnt have a chance to win. "When I won here we were two laps down and we spent the whole race minding our own business," he said. "Thats the key: You should mind your own business. Figure out what is happening with everyone else at the end. You need a little bit of luck, and then you need to see how it pans out. I just hope Im not one of those people who does something stupid." Pagenaud was surprised to see his new teammate prepare for the race the moment he arrived in Indianapolis. Qualifying was almost an afterthought as Villeneuve gazed ahead to Sunday. "It actually makes me wonder why he focused so much on the race," Pagenaud said with a wry grin. "Im sure hell come up with something in the race and Ill learn then." If he does come up with something, Villeneuve could make history. The 43-year-old would break Al Unsers record of 17 years between victories that has stood since 1987. Even if he doesnt win, though, a good showing could prove invaluable. Villeneuve has dropped hints that he may be try to run the IndyCar series full-time next year, and that would turn the Indy 500 into quite an audition. "I had an opportunity to spend half an hour with Jacques in the garage area a week ago," said Goodyear, now an analyst for ABC. "Through all the questions I was asking him, catching up with him, I asked him, Why come back to something that youve won, have great memories with? "He said, Racing is my oxygen. I need to race something." Y.A. Tittle Jersey . Now the Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. Matt Breida 49ers Jersey . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Frank-Gore-49ers-Jersey/ . Canada will host Japan in a World Group first-round match in 2015. It will be a rematch of their first-round clash last year when Japan defeated Canada 4-1 to reach the World Group quarter-finals for the first time in its history. Roger Craig Womens Jersey .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. Frank Gore Youth Jersey . -- Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud isnt letting surgery to both of her knees deter her expectations for the Sochi Olympics.PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Alex Nedeljkovic made 35 saves and Zach Lorentz scored the eventual winner with five minutes to play as the Plymouth Whalers edged the Saginaw Spirit 3-1 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. Victor Crus Rydberg and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist apiece for the Whalers (27-31-7). Cody Payne was the lone scorer for Saginaw (32-28-5), finding the back of the net midway through the second period for the first goal of the game. Nikita Serebryakov stopped 35 shots in the losing effort. --- FRONTENACS 5 STEELHEADS 3 KINGSTON, Ont. -- Ryan Kujawinski scored twice and added an assist as the Frontenacs downed the Steelheads. Henri Ikonen scored once and added two assists for Kingston (36-22-6), and Samuel Schutt and Darcy Greenaway also scored. Bryson Cianfrone scored two for the Steelheads (23-37-5), and Andrew Goldberg chipped in with a goal and an assist. Lucas Peressini made 33 saves for the Frontenacs, while Mississaugas Martin Spencer stopped 29 saves in the losing effort. --- ICEDOGS 5 COLTS 2 St. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Brent Moran made 46 saves and Niagara used a four-goal second period to topple the Colts. Brendan Perlini and Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist apiece for the IceDogs (22-34-, while Billy Jenkins, Anthony DiFruscia and Eric Ming also scored. Brendan Lemieux and Cordell James replied for Barrie (34-28-3) and Andrew Mangiapane contributed with two assists. Daniel Gibl started in net for the Colts but left the game after allowing three goals on 13 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 11 of 13 shots in relief. --- BATTALION 4 WOLVES 1 SUDBURY, Ont. -- Mike Amadio scored twice and Vincent Praaplan had three assists to lift the Battalion over the Wolves for their third straight win.dddddddddddd. Miles Liberati and Matt MacLeod also scored for North Bay (35-24-6) and Dylan Blujus chipped in with two assists. Nicholas Baptise scored the lone goal for Sudbury (32-22-11), on a power play at 13:46 of the first period. Battalion goaltender Jake Smith stopped 22 shots in the victory. Wolves goalie Franky Palazzese shouldered the loss after making 22 saves. --- GREYHOUNDS 5 SPITFIRES 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Sergey Tolchinsky scored a goal and assisted on three more as Sault Ste. Marie broke open the game in the third period to seal its victory over the Spitfires. Jared McCann had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Hore, Darnell Nurse and Jean Dupuy also scored for the Greyhounds (42-17-6), who broke a 1-1 tie with four unanswered goals in the third period. Josh Ho-Sang scored his 31st goal of the season for Windsor (36-26-3), who has dropped its last four contests. Brendan Halverson picked up the win with 33 saves while Spitfires goalie Dalen Kuchmey took the loss after stopping 26 of 31 shots. --- STORM 6 STING 2 SARNIA, Ont. -- Kerby Rychel and Brock McGinn scored two goals each to lift the Storm over the Sting. Zack Mitchell had a goal and an assist, and Justin Auger also scored for Guelph (50-12-3). Scott Kosmachuk chipped in with three assists. Nickolas Latta and Nikita Korostelev scored for Sarnia (16-42-7), which was outshot 49-21. Nikolay Goldobin and Anthony DeAngelo had two assists apiece. Storm goaltender Matthew Mancina stopped 19 shots, while his Sting counterpart Brodie Barrick made 43 saves in the losing effort. ' ' '