first five after breaking his right foot in the opener. The fo

Jenson Button feels the FIA has been more open to driver opinions since they wrote an open letter questioning the state of Formula One earlier this season.In March the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA), of which Button is a director, called for an overhaul of F1s obsolete and ill-structured decision-making process. It followed the controversy over elimination qualifying, which could not be scrapped in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix despite a farcical debut in Australia.F1s drivers have no official voting power on new regulations, which are devised by F1s Strategy Group, voted on by the F1 Commission and rubber-stamped by the FIAs World Motor Sport Council. The letter called on F1 to devise a master plan to restructure this format to prevent similar gridlock in future.?Though there has been no change to the structure Button thinks the FIA has been more willing to listen to what drivers have to say since the GPDA went public.?We feel that we do have a say anyway and since our comments earlier in the year, the FIA have been more open to our opinions, but they would prefer it is behind closed doors rather than in the press, Button said. I think that we have a reasonable say but you always want more because you always think we have more to give, rather than take, and thats definitely what were here to do -- make the sport a better place.Bernie Ecclestone memorably replied to the open letter by calling the drivers windbags, saying they should keep opinions to themselves. Button thinks the letter proved drivers care about improving the sport as much as possible.I think it showed to the world that there are issues in F1 and the drivers know they are issues and are willing to help. Of course we got replies from certain individuals and I think our comments were valid and I think they understand that.The important thing is that were all willing to what we can to improve the sport, because the sports not in a bad place but its not as good as it should be and not as good as it will be. Things like this, little regulations with yellow flags, the radio, that we need to come up with a solution that works for us all. Phil Esposito Jersey . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Gerry Cheevers Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. http://www.bruinsstore.com/authentic-ray-bourque-bruins-jersey/ . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Adam Oates Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. FRISCO, Texas -- Dez Bryant appeared in the locker room Thursday and seemed to be in a good mood, which was more than the Dallas receiver could say for the first two days of the week.The 2014 All-Pro missed medical appointments and team meetings over two days away from the Cowboys this week, and coach Jason Garrett said he was trying to avoid news on his injured right knee that he thought would be bad but was better than expected.Bryant declined to comment but kept a steady presence in the locker room for the 45 minutes it was open to reporters, at one point playing music loudly the same way he did last season when he was out with a broken foot and had a contentious relationship with the media.Later, he sat smiling on a counter looking into the locker room while talking to a member of the public relations staff. And then he took to Twitter to try to explain himself.I made a poor decision based on how I felt about my knee (and Garrett) addressed it to me and I understood the consequences, Bryant tweeted Thursday afternoon. He also called himself day to day.Garrett said Bryant missed an MRI on Monday and a team meeting Tuesday before finally getting the exam Wednesday. The MRI revealed a hairline fracture in a bone in his right knee, which he injured in last weeks win over Chicago.Its possible Bryant wont miss Sundays game at San Francisco because the Cowboys have had similar scenarios with injury in the past. But he has missed the first two days of practice this week, an indication hes unlikely to play.It stems from someone who is very passionate about what he does and he did not handle this the right way, Garrett said. He expressed that to me. He expressed that to other coaches and teammates. You can understand why he did what he did, given the passion that he has for the game and for this football team and where he thought he was. Im not excusing any behavior that he has.Tight end Jason Witten, in his 14th season and closing in on the franchise record for games started, said he respected Bryants passion and appreciated the relationship they have.Anytime things like that happen, we all look at it and say, maybe we could do this diffferent or do that different, Witten said.dddddddddddd That happens. And every situations different. You handle it, you address it and you move forward as a team.Garrett said there were repercussions but didnt specify whether there was a fine for Bryant, who signed a five-year, $70 million contract before last season.Dez understands he has a responsibility to be here, Garrett said. He was completely well-intended. Hes a driven guy and his response to this was not the right one. It was an understandable response given his personality and everything he puts into this.According to Garrett, Bryant was reacting to the initial diagnosis in the 31-17 win against the Bears. He injured the knee on a catch on the second play of the game but came back and caught rookie quarterback Dak Prescotts first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.Bryant missed seven games last season, the first five after breaking his right foot in the opener. The foot wasnt the same all season, and he also battled ankle and knee injuries. The Cowboys opted to sit him the final two games when they were out of contention on the way to a 4-12 finish.Garrett said the team had indirect communication with Bryant while he was absent, declining to be more specific.We just address it. We solve it. We move on, Garrett said. We have very direct conversations. He understands it. Thats not to suggest that everything he does going forward is going to be handled the right way.Witten defended his teammate.There was a lot of moving parts with the other stuff and moving logistics, Witten said. We all understand the standards and expectations for us. Weve got to handle that and sometimes thats difficult when you have setbacks with injuries or potential injuries.Game notes Pro Bowl T Tyron Smith missed his second straight practice with a back issue that flared up late last week and caused him to miss the Chicago game.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '