| Heisman Trust expected to meet Tuesday By 2010-09-13T16:59:18ZNEW YORK (AP) -- The Heisman Trophy Trust is expected to hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, but there has been no indication from the group about whether a decision on Reggie Bush and the 2005 award is coming soon.... hosted.ap.org |
Upton keys Rays' 7-run inning in win over Yanks By HOWIE RUMBERG 2010-09-24T02:47:35ZNEW YORK (AP) -- B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford each drove in two runs in a seven-run sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays knocked around CC Sabathia in his much-anticipated rematch with David Price and beat the New York Yankees 10-3 Thursday night.... hosted.ap.org |
Japan's Nakayama Festa can land Arc • Longs odds an insult to Nakayama's form• Jockey and trainer no strangers to targeting the ArcNakayama Festa (3.05) has a far better chance of claiming an important victory in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe than his insulting Longchamp odds suggest.The Japanese entry may not figure highly in a popularity contest over here, but he has already won one at home having taken the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin in June. This valuable contest is open only by invitation, with the line-up being voted for by fans of the sport. Racing For Change could do worse than consider a similar concept.Fourth in the Japan Derby on soft ground in May 2009 as a three-year-old, that performance marked a return to form for Nakayama Festa, but only through narrow-mindedness could that race be dismissed as being anything other than genuine international-level Group One form. The runner-up, Buena Vista, is unquestionably the best middle-distance mare in her part of the world and finished second in the Dubai World Cup in March.Shipped out to Europe afterwards to acclimatise, he had no chance of catching the positively ridden Duncan, whose jockey, William Buick, stole the Prix Foy from the front by kicking on around the home turn. Four lengths adrift with two furlongs to go, a burst of acceleration brought Nakayama Festa to within a length in the space of 150 yards, and despite his effort tailing off in the closing stages as a lack of fitness told, he kept on well to hold off Timos and Byword for second.Duncan has had chances at this level and failed to take them, but he does offer a fair yardstick to the form having been the only horse to get within a respectful margin of Harbinger at Royal Ascot and, given that Nakayama Festa looks highly likely to turn the Prix Foy placings round, there is enough evidence to suggest the Japanese runner's odds should be more like 5‑1 than 25‑1.Nakayama Festa's trainer and jockey are no stranger to preparing their horses for similar raids. El Condor Pasa pushed Montjeu to within half a length of defeat in this race in 1999, having also taken in the Prix Foy en route.While the Arc has been won by some true greats, it has also been the scene of some of the biggest boil-overs. Those looking for another Tony Bin-style shock will take heart from the dreadful weather forecast, which has left connections of many of the fancied runners publicly fretting about the prospect of bottomless conditions.Planteur is expected to appreciate genuinely testing ground more than his old foe Behkabad but, try as I might, I cannot see the pair's placings from the Prix Niel being reversed.Behkabad is better judged on that win or his previous victory over the same rival in the Grand Prix de Paris than on his fourth in the Prix du Jockey Club when he was left with far too much to do and he does seem to act perfectly well in soft going.Of the Ballydoyle team, Fame And Glory may be less unsuited by soft ground than Cape Blanco, who could well feel the effects of a brutally hard race in the Irish Champion Stakes four weeks ago.Fame And Glory's relatively long lay-off is not as off‑putting as the fact he simply did not look good enough when sixth in this race last year.Sarafina was never seen with a chance behind Midday in the Prix Vermeille and it would be no surprise to see her fare better here. At a bigger price, Nakayama Festa's compatriot Victoire Pisa is another consider.Going concerns will not be confined to the big race at Longchamp on Sunday. Goldikova and Paco Boy go head to head again in the Prix de la Foret after only a neck separated them over a mile at Royal Ascot. However, neither want bottomless conditions and Goldikova met with defeat at long odds-on in this race last year, so provided that the rain arrives as forecast, the David Nicholls-trained Regal Parade (2.20) could prove a better proposition at the odds.Longchamp selections: 12.05 Blek 12.35 Lady of the Desert 1.10 Helleborine 1.45 Treasury Devil 2.20 Regal Parade 3.05 Nakayama Festa 4.35 DarioleHorse racingHorse racing tipsPrix de l'Arc de TriompheWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
AP Source: Fredi Gonzalez picked to replace Cox By PAUL NEWBERRY 2010-10-13T17:34:03ZATLANTA (AP) -- A person familiar with the decision says the Atlanta Braves will introduce former Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez as their new manager at a news conference Wednesday.... hosted.ap.org |
Webber fastest in Korean practice • Championship leader fastest in practice on new track• Alonso is on his eighth and last engine of seasonThe controversial new circuit in Yeongam, which was only passed fit to stage Sunday's inaugural Korean grand prix less than two weeks ago, has won the approval of Mark Webber, the championship leader.Webber was the fastest man going into tomorrow morning's qualifying session, after coming out on top of this afternoon's practice session. He described the track as "pretty enjoyable"."The track changed a lot today," he said. "It was obviously a brand new venue for everyone as we all know, and very, very slippery in P1 [first practice]. Then, it started to get a little bit more sensible as the day went on. There is a lot of information to gather on a new venue and we have done that pretty successfully so, yeah, we are pretty optimistic. It has got a couple of unique sections which are always good. It's nice to have a bit of a challenge at a new venue we go to."Just the pit lane entry and exit are a little bit 'Mickey Mouse', getting on and off the track, but apart from that they have done a remarkable job. We are really clutching at straws to be able to try and criticise anyone here."The track was also praised by the Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who said: "The circuit is good. It is a nice track to drive and it should be good for racing because there are long straights and hairpins where you can try and overtake, but on the other hand there is a lot of graining and whenever we have graining that is normally when the most exciting races happen."The circuit has improved as the weekend has gone on and rubber has gone down on it, although if it rains the surface will have the consistency of "oiled snot", in the memorable words of one former driver.Fernando Alonso, who has revived his title hopes in the past three races, also approved of the track and although he believes that Red Bull will again dominate, he says they should not be as superior as they were in the last round, in Japan, when Sebastian Vettel won from his team-mate, Webber."We feel that maybe it's not as easy as it was for Red Bull in Suzuka, even if they are still the favourites," the Spaniard said. "I think there are possibilities to overtake on turn three and turn four as well."Alonso is using his eighth engine of the season and, under Formula One regulations, that has to be his last. "If we have any reliability issues it will be really traumatic as it would be almost impossible then to recover the points we would need if we want to continue to fight with Red Bull and McLaren," said Ferrari's team principal, Stefano Domenicali. "We cannot really have any problems otherwise it is finished."All the leading teams found themselves going into qualifying encouraged by their performances in today's second practice session. Webber finished ahead of Alonso, with Lewis Hamilton, who had dominated the morning practice, in third. But there were problems for Hamilton's team-mate, Jenson Button. McLaren had to use fire extinguishers after the rear of his car became overheated, but he finished fifth, as he had earlier in the day."The car is working well around here," Button said. "It's nice to drive and the circuit is quite flowing, although there's a lot of dust. If you put a wheel only slightly off line there's a huge amount of dust, which might be an issue in the race, but apart from that the circuit is fun to drive."Little can be read into Friday runarounds but it was marginally surprising that Vettel, second and first in the last two races, finished only seventh in today's afternoon session.Mark WebberFernando AlonsoRed BullFerrariFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |