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Written by JOE DRAPE
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Sunday, 02 May 2010 03:55 |
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the first Saturday in May 2000, Todd Pletcher was a kid trainer graying prematurely and making his Kentucky Derby debut with a quartet of horses developed from what already was a deep and powerful barn. He was the picture of efficiency as he moved from paddock to paddock putting the saddle on his contenders.
When Impeachment rumbled home third, and More Than Ready held on for fourth place, no one could blame Pletcher if he thought someday soon he would be hoisting a blanket of roses over one of his horses.
It’s not easy, however, and 10 years later, on another first Saturday in May, the 42-year-old Pletcher was back beneath Churchill Downs’ twin spires checking the bridles of four more Derby horses, hoping one of them might accomplish what 24 of his charges previously had failed to do: get him to the winner’s circle after America’s greatest horse race.
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Written by DAVE CALDWELL
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Thursday, 29 April 2010 03:32 |
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WASHINGTON — When Alex Ovechkin finally found a way to shoot the puck past the steely Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak early in the third period, he was bathed in spotlights as he dashed across the ice and the capacity crowd roared. It soon became an empty celebration.
An official found that Ovechkin’s linemate Mike Knuble had been inside the goal crease, even though a replay suggested otherwise. The goal was wiped out, and the Washington Capitals’ season ended with a stunning 2-1 playoff loss to the eighth-seeded Canadiens on Wednesday at the Verizon Center.
Buoyed by Halak, Montreal overcame a three-games-to-one deficit against the top-seeded Capitals, who had the N.H.L.’s best regular-season record.
The top three teams in the Eastern Conference have been eliminated. Montreal will open its second-round series Friday at Pittsburgh against the Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions. Philadelphia will open its second-round series Saturday against the Bruins in Boston.
Montreal got 41 saves from Halak, a first-period power-play goal from Marc-Andre Bergeron and a game-sealing goal by Dominic Moore with less than four minutes remaining.
Brooks Laich trimmed the Canadiens’ lead in half with a goal with 2 minutes 16 seconds left, and the Capitals ended the game on a power play and with an extra attacker on the ice, but they could not score.
The goal by Ovechkin that was called off 65 seconds into the third period would have tied the score, 1-1, and provided the Capitals with a lift after struggling for so long against Halak. But the Canadiens held onto the lead, barely, for the rest of the game.
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Written by Kid Nate
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Sunday, 25 April 2010 02:33 |
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One of the best fights in MMA history was marred by an inexplicable judges decision in favor of the American fighter, Leonard Garcia, against Chan Sung Jung from Korea.
Even the home crowd in Sacramento initially booed Garcia until he won them over by saying "I'm not a judge, I just come out here to put on the best show I know."
Dana White's luck with Spike TV held as UFC veteran Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung put on one of the best MMA fights I've seen in years -- the perfect lead in to the first WEC Pay Per View. Jung -- known as "the Korean Zombie" -- proved the rare Asian prospect to more than deliver upon his U.S. debut.
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