SEPANG, Malaysia -- Mercedes confirmed it was the team to beat at the Malaysian Grand Prix by setting the fastest times in both of Fridays practice sessions, although its Formula One rivals were closer than expected. Nico Rosberg, coming off his win at the season-opening race in Australia, was fastest in the second session and overall with a time of 1 minute, 39.909 seconds around the Sepang International Circuit, exceeding Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen by three-hundredths of a second. Raikkonen, who struggled in Melbourne, was also second fastest in the morning session behind Rosbergs Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton. Although Mercedes was expected to dominate the early races of the season, and did so in Australia, the top six cars on Friday afternoon were separated by just two-tenths of a second, indicating a competitive race on Sunday. "We are still having some small issues and therefore we were not able to maximize everything today," Rosberg said. "The quickest teams seem to be closer together than in Australia, so we still have work to do overnight to improve our level of performance." Defending four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel overcame some technical issues that restricted his running in the morning session and was an impressive third fastest in the afternoon, while his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo was seventh. The bad news for Vettel was that he needed to change his computer power supply unit, which alternates the power source between the engine, the turbo and battery-stored energy. That means he is onto his third of the season, with a limit of five all year before penalties kick in. "Friday timings are not the most important in the world, but to be out there in the range with the other guys was a decent day," Vettel said. "It was not a completely smooth day for both of us; for myself, still some things to solve on the software side, programming the car, which sounds wrong but that is the way it is." Hamilton was fourth in the second session, ahead of Ferraris Fernando Alonso and Williams Felipe Massa. Hamilton is using the same engine that caused his early retirement from the Australian GP, with the team having fixed the misfire and preserved an engine which is also subject to the same five-per-season limit. McLarens Jenson Button was eighth quickest, ahead of Williams driver Valtteri Bottas and Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg. On a typically hot but dry day at Sepang, all drivers endured technical issues of some kind, ranging from the lack of downforce which caused several off-track excursions, high tire-wear from the consequent sliding, and fuel consumption issues with the new V6 turbo hybrid engines and the introduction of fuel usage limits. As in Melbourne, Lotus and Caterham were the teams to suffer most. Neither Lotus car completed a lap in the morning as the team continued to play catchup on its engine development after a strife-torn off-season. Pastor Maldonado sat out the afternoon too, and while Romain Grosjean made several trips out on track, he suffered repeated breakdowns. Caterhams Kamui Kobayashi had yet more problems with his energy-storage system, necessitating another replacement after two in Melbourne, meaning he is already closing in on the season limit. Discount Yeezy Store . -- Canadian mens rugby coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his starting roster for Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup clash against the United States. Wholesale Yeezy China . Ryan Getzlaf certainly got them started in the second. Getzlaf scored the first two goals in the second, and Teemu Selanne scored the go-ahead goal late in the period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night. https://www.yeezychina.us/. "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). Cheap Yeezy China . According to various reports, the striker is about to sign a five-and-a-half year extension with Manchester United worth a reported 300,000 pounds a week that would see him at Old Trafford until 2019. Yeezy China . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. OAKLAND, Calif. -- In three short years, Sean Doolittle transformed himself from a top first base prospect into a shut-down reliever. The Oakland Athletics are rewarding him for it, giving the left-hander a five-year contract Friday for making the improbable switch. The deal contains a pair of club options that could extend the agreement through the 2020 season. "It means everything that the organization thinks of you like that, that they want to keep you around and they think you can be part of teams here for years to come," said Doolittle, a regular in the second deck at As games as a boy with his brother. "If you factor in the road I took to get here and everything I went through to be able to put on this uniform, its really special to know Ill be part of this organization for a while." Oakland announced the contract ahead of a home weekend series against the Houston Astros. Doolittle took his physical Thursday and should sign the agreement as soon as Monday. His 2020 option becomes mutual if he has a combined 100 games finished between 2018 and 2019. The 27-year-old left-hander has been a reliable member of Oaklands talented bullpen since converting from first base late in the 2011 season. He appreciates his new job security -- and still thinks about the path he took to get to this point. "Its crazy," he said. "There are still plenty of times I cant believe I actually did that. The way things worked out, it just makes everything that much better. I dont take a single minute I have up here for granted." He is 7-6 with a 3.10 ERA and four saves in 122 relief appearances, allowing 100 hits with 129 strikeouts in 125 innings. He is 0-00 with a 3.dddddddddddd.12 ERA and one save in eight appearances over 8 2-3 innings so far this year, his third big league season. "Hes a guy weve gotten to know on a personal level and we have a ton of faith in the person he is on the field and off the field," said Farhan Zaidi, As assistant general manager and director of baseball operations. "Having to transition from being a position player to a pitcher, thats shown us a lot. Weve seen what everybody else has seen the last two years. Hes been one of the best relievers and setup men in baseball. I think every team would want to have that guy around for as long as possible. That was our motivation." His previous deal was a one-year contract paying $505,000 in the major leagues this season and $295,500 in the minors. The sides reached a basic framework on the new deal before the end of spring training, but still had some language to work out. If Doolittle becomes "Super 2" eligible after this season as expected -- meaning he is just shy of three years of service time -- there are escalators in his new deal based on games finished. Doolittle certainly hopes his role evolves into becoming the regular closer one day. The As brass are thrilled with Doolittles reinvention of himself, though he no longer surprises anybody. "The durability that he has shown, he takes good care of himself, all of the things you look for in the guys you want to get a long-term deal with, he does," manager Bob Melvin said. "With both sides happy about it, its a good deal for us, its a good deal for him. To have a guy like that around for a while is good news to everybody in our clubhouse." ' ' '