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Sports Quote of the Day:
"If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius." ~ Joseph Addison, Essayist, Poet, Playwright and Politician
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks: Examining challenges, Avalanche, Wild provide.
By Tracey Myers
The Chicago Blackhawks will resume practice on Wednesday morning still uncertain of their second-round opponent.
The first round has been filled with entertaining and dramatic hockey, and it continues on Wednesday night when the Colorado Avalanche hosts Game 7 against the Minnesota Wild. If Colorado wins, it has home-ice advantage. If it’s the Wild, the Blackhawks will have the home-ice edge. In both cases, games dates and times will be announced later.
So who will it be? Will it be the Avalanche, whose goaltender was a hard-to-solve puzzle for the Blackhawks throughout the regular season? Or will it be the Wild, who the Blackhawks faced in the first round last postseason? While we wait to see how that Game 7 transpires, let’s look at each team and the challenges each presents to the Blackhawks.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
The focus of frustration: We’ve got two words for you: Semyon Varlamov. Oh, the Avs goaltender made life tough on the Blackhawks this regular season, didn’t he? Varlamov had five appearances against the Blackhawks including four starts, all of which he won. He allowed just seven goals against the Blackhawks, carrying a 1.59 goals-against average and .960 save percentage against them. The Blackhawks have thrown plenty of pucks at Varlamov; they had 37 or more shots on goal in each of his four starts. But if we recall, the net traffic wasn’t as prevalent as it needed to be. The Blackhawks will need that to be successful. They also might watch what the Wild did against Varlamov. Through six games, Minnesota has gotten 15 goals past him.
The experience factor: The Avs are getting a taste of postseason adversity; they started this series up 2-0, yet are now facing a Game 7. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have a wealth of experience, good and bad, in the postseason. They know how to come back from deficits, from trailing 1-3 last season against the Detroit Red Wings to being down 0-2 to the Blues this spring. They also know how to close things out when they have the chance to eliminate their opponent. All of that can loom large this time of year.
Speed on speed: If this series comes to fruition it’s going to be a track meet on ice. The Avalanche have some tremendous talent, from their young captain Gabriel Landeskog to Paul Stastny to Matt Duchene, who returned for Game 6 against Minnesota. They’re fast, they attack and they’re very Blackhawks-like in that way. This won’t be like the first round, where the Blues played one game and the Blackhawks another; got very similar opponents here.
MINNESOTA WILD
Just insert another goaltender: Remember last postseason when Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom was injured in Game 1 warmups? Enter Josh Harding; the Blackhawks ultimately had too many offensive weapons but Harding performed well under the circumstances. This season it’s been Darcy Kuemper, who relieved Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2 and has started ever since. Kuemper has been stellar, sporting a 1.53 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage (Corey Crawford is at .935).
Stars playing like stars: The biggest example of this is Zach Parise. The forward was pretty quiet last April against the Blackhawks. He’s not quiet this first round. Parise has at least one point in all six games (three goals, seven assists) against the Avs, including a four-point night in the Wild’s Game 6 triumph. The Blackhawks kept him from being a threat last postseason; they’ll have to do it again this spring.
Now this last item goes for both squads.
Getting some rest: Neither the Wild nor Avs will come into the second round fresh. They’ll be coming off a seven-game series, with perhaps a day or two in between that ending and the second round’s beginning. If you’re the Blackhawks, there may be concern with all the rest they’ve gotten. Perhaps they come back rusty; perhaps they lose momentum built off that four-game winning streak against the Blues. But considering how much of a grind the playoffs are, we’re going with rest as a benefit, not a liability.
Blackhawks' Toews a finalist for Mark Messier Leadership Award.
By Tracey Myers
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was named a finalist for the Mark Messier Leadership Award on Tuesday morning, the second time in as many seasons he’s been among the finalists.
Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings are also finalists for the award, which is presented annually to the player “who exemplifies great leadership qualities on and off the ice.” The award winner is decided by Messier.
Toews, who turned 26 on Tuesday, has served as the captain of the Blackhawks since 2008-09. Among his charitable efforts, Toews volunteers to grant wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, including a special skating session with 4-year-old Nicholas Skretkowski prior to the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Soldier Field.
Daniel Alfredsson won the award last season.
Blackhawks' Duncan Keith named a Norris Trophy finalist.
By Tracey Myers
Duncan Keith is among the finalists for the 2013-14 Norris Trophy, the NHL announced today.
The trophy, voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, is awarded annually to the defenseman “who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position.” Keith won the award in 2010.
Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators are the other two Norris Trophy finalists.
Keith had a stellar regular season for the Blackhawks. His 55 assists tied a career high set in 2009-10 and his 61 points were second among NHL defensemen this season. Keith played in 79 games, sitting the final two regular-season contests after the Blackhawks had clinched a postseason berth. He finished a plus-22 and logged an average ice time of 24 minutes, 38 seconds.
“It’s a huge honor to be nominated for the Norris Trophy,” Keith said in a statement. “I wouldn’t be nominated without having great teammates and a great defense partner in Brent Seabrook. It’s a special feeling to be up for this award.”
Earlier this season, teammates talked of Keith’s Norris worthiness, regardless of his scoring numbers.
“He’s getting the (Norris) recognition now because his points and offensive numbers are high,” Patrick Sharp said. “But we know how valuable he is in all different areas.”
Other previous Blackhawks who have won the Norris include Pierre Pilote (1963, 1964, 1965), Doug Wilson (1982) and Chris Chelios (1993, 1996).
The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas on June 24.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Developing the quarterback position.
By Jerry Angelo
There was an interesting piece of information given to me by a friend recently. He asked, “Who were the last two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks drafted in the first round?” I guessed Joe Flacco, who was selected in 2008. The other he had to tell me was Aaron Rodgers, whom Green Bay landed in 2005.
It’s pretty amazing that there were only two quarterbacks drafting during the first round over the last nine years who went on to win the Super Bowl. When you take into consideration the fact that 24 signal-callers were selected during that time, it’s even more shocking.
This got me thinking: Why is it so hard for the top drafted quarterbacks to win, let alone win a Super Bowl? It’s a team game, but the Manning brothers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have proven that the evolved and carefully developed quarterbacks can carry a team.
I have several reasons as to why developing a quarterback to his pinnacle is almost an unachievable task:
PATIENCE
Quarterbacks are given little time to watch and learn their trade. They are asked to play almost immediately and several have demonstrated they cannot handle all that comes with playing the position at the professional level.
In days past, regardless if you drafted a quarterback in the first round, it was a given that he was going to sit for close to two years. All young quarterbacks who came into the league during that era had to serve as an apprentice. That’s how they learned; by seeing, not doing.
So why did teams drift away from this philosophy? The answer is free agency. Before free agency, teams selected players with the knowledge that they would possess the player’s rights for his entire career, should they choose to see it through. There really wasn’t any rush to draft players before the coaches knew that they were ready. And by ‘ready,’ I mean the player knows the system and the players around him while the coaching staff and players know their quarterback.
Nothing is hard when it makes sense. Playing players before they are ready makes no sense. But once free agency became the law and inflated player salaries, a sound philosophy morphed into a flawed philosophy.
Years ago, quarterbacks weren’t getting paid ludicrous money for being the first overall selection. As the salaries increased, so too did the expectations, as owners and fans wanted to see what they were paying for. 20 years ago, the tenure of a head coach used to be 4-5 years, not 2-3 years like it is now. So the pressure for coaches to play their top picks has become greater, as the first question always asked is, “If we don’t play him early, why did we draft him?”
All of these aforementioned factors contributed to the elimination of the extra time for the development and growth of young quarterbacks.
The two quarterbacks who come to mind in regards to benefitting from sitting and watching were the late Steve McNair—who watched Chris Chandler for two years—and Aaron Rodgers, who did the same for three years behind the legendary Brett Favre. Both players also had the luxury of being coached in the same system with bosses who they became very familiar with over their careers. That’s the formula for success, but it is seldom followed because of the new dynamic fabricated by free agency.
When I was with Tampa, we drafted Vinny Testaverde (or as my wife would call him, “Vinny Test your Nervies”) with first overall pick in the 1987 draft. Prior to drafting Vinny, the Buccaneers traded Steve Young, who they said would never play quarterback in the NFL, to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second and fourth round pick in the 1987 draft. We also selected Trent Dilfer with the sixth pick in the first round of the 1994 draft.
All three signal-callers turned about to be busts for the Bucs. While that certainly wasn’t the case for any of their careers, all three played much better after they left Tampa for other teams. Tampa proved to be their training grounds, where each quarterback learned all the “don’ts” of playing the position.
Looking closely at the situation for each Testaverde, Young and Dilfer, I came away with certain criteria that had to be in place in order to give young quarterbacks their best chance for success. Quarterbacks need to be trained and developed in the same system. But given the rate of attrition of head coaches that goes on around the league, this makes it highly improbable that a quarterback gets into the right situation.
COACHING STABILITY
ICON Rodgers benefited greatly from sitting behind future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
With every top quarterback you also saw a top coordinator and/or head coach, and in some cases, you saw both. They knew how to manage the quarterback’s development and groom him for prominence. They went hand-in-hand. You could almost say that the quarterbacks and coaches/coordinators made each other. Unfortunately, coaches who know how to do this are about as rare as the elite signal callers themselves.
Quarterbacks need to be trained and developed in the same system. This is a somewhat rare occurrence due to the high turnover rate which accompanies coaching positions in the NFL. While unfortunate, it is somewhat unlikely for young quarterbacks to be groomed in stable situations. Just take a look at 2011 first round draft pick Blaine Gabbert, who has played under three different coaching regimes in three seasons.
SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT
Most first-round quarterbacks are landing with teams that, simply put, are flat-out bad. Yes, it’s generally a given that bad teams need to select a quarterback in the first round because they are losing with their current signal-caller. Living up to the expectations that come with the position are hard enough, but when you throw in a poor supporting cast, there is little room for error before it all comes crashing down.
INTANGIBLES
A successful quarterback must possess elite intangibles. He can’t be “one of the guys.” Once the quarterback departs the facility, that’s fine. But as the team’s leader, it’s more than just being liked. It’s about commanding respect and convincing your peers that you are “all in.”
The other players need to see the quarterback’s character, work ethic and commitment to being great. It has nothing to do with talent or the hype of playing the marquee position and everything to do with paying the price. That’s where leadership starts.
Becoming a winning NFL quarterback is a difficult task. The quarterback can’t evolve all on his own. He needs help. As the statistics will bear out, very few make it. No position brings stability and realistic optimism to an organization other than the guy who touches the ball on every snap. If you had to grade an organization on just one thing, it would be how they managed the quarterback position…for better or worse.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Wizards 75, Bulls 69. C'mon Bulls, let's get ready for next year, now!!!
By The Sports Xchange
Guard John Wall scored 24 points and capped off his first career playoff series by leading the Washington Wizards to a 75-69 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Tuesday, clinching the best-of-seven first-round playoff series 4-1.
Washington won a playoff series for the first time since 2005, when it beat the Bulls, and for just the second time since 1982.
The Wizards will face the winner of the Indiana-Atlanta series, which the No. 8-seeded Hawks lead 3-2.
Coming off a one-game suspension for head-butting Jimmy Butler, Wizards forward Nene delivered another strong offensive performance, scoring 20 points. He was nearly automatic on his quick lean-back jumpers in this series.
Guard Bradley Beal added 17 points for the Wizards, while center Marcin Gortat grabbed 13 rebounds.
Chicago shot just 33.3 percent from the field.
Trailing by nine points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Bulls closed within 65-62 on guard Kirk Hinrich's 3-pointer. Wall answered with a 3-pointer of his own and later added a fast-break scoop to put Washington ahead 70-62 with 5:23 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Butler and jumper from forward Carlos Boozer brought Chicago back within 70-67. After the teams traded points, Washington took more than a minute off the clock when Gortat grabbed or tipped three straight offensive rebounds.
The Bulls finally got it back, but Boozer missed a driving attempt.
After forcing a 24-second violation, Chicago got another chance trailing by three with 22.4 seconds on the clock. The Bulls tried to run a quick-hitter to Butler, who missed a layup attempt.
Chicago could have gotten another chance to tie when guard Andre Miller missed a pair of free throws with 16.2 seconds left, but Nene tipped the offensive rebound back out and the Wizards finished the scoring at the foul line.
The Bulls are no strangers to injury bad luck, with former MVP Derrick Rose missing all but 10 games this season with a knee injury. With 7:51 left in the fourth quarter, forward Taj Gibson was helped off the court after turning his left ankle while trying to block a Wall shot attempt.
Earlier in the second half, center Joakim Noah limped noticeably after appearing to get hit in the right knee by teammate Mike Dunleavy while fighting for a defensive rebound.
Hinrich and Butler led the Bulls with 16 points each. Gibson scored 12 and Boozer 10, with Noah pulling down a game-high 18 rebounds.
The Bulls were focused on getting off to a better start after falling behind 14-0 in Sunday's Game 4. It went OK for a while, with Chicago holding a 10-9 lead midway through the first quarter. But the Bulls went on a cold-shooting streak, hitting just one of their next 15 shots and fell behind 28-16.
Chicago snapped out of its offensive funk and went on a 17-4 run, taking a 37-36 lead on a Noah jumper.
The score was tied 41-41 at halftime, which was a noticeable improvement by the Bulls' defense. In the first four games of the series, Washington averaged 52.5 points in the first half.
The Wizards controlled the third quarter, limiting Chicago to 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting (25 percent). Washington scored seven straight points in the middle of the quarter, opening a 56-48 advantage with 5:13 left on Nene's jumper.
By the end of the third quarter, the Wizards led 61-52 and Chicago was shooting just 32.2 percent as a team.
NOTES: Both coaches in the series have ties to Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers. Chicago's Tom Thibodeau was on Rivers' staff in Boston from 2008-10, while Washington's Randy Wittman played with Rivers on the Atlanta Hawks from 1983-88. "I'm trying to be there for him," Wittman said before Tuesday's game. "I think he's handled it as well as he can handle it. I just wanted to be there to support him and try to help him get his mind back to where it should be, and that's playing basketball." ... The Bulls trailed 3-1 in nine playoff series and lost each time. ... Washington took a 3-1 lead in the playoffs five times previously and won every series, but they lost Game 5 every time in that scenario. The Wizards made it six straight series wins after leading 3-1 with Tuesday's victory, but they won Game 5 this time. ... In the first four games of the series, Wizards F Trevor Ariza shot 48.1 percent (13-for-27) from 3-point range.
By Adrian Wojnarowski
The NBA has banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million for racial comments he made to his reported girlfriend. The NBA will immediately begin working to try to force him to sell the team.
"The hateful opinions voiced by that of the man [on the tape] are those of Donald Sterling," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "… I'm personally distraught the views expressed by Mr. Sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations."
Several groups hoping to purchase the Clippers are already stepping forward with a bidding war expected to exceed $1 billion for the franchise, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Among those groups, Magic Johnson and Guggenheim Partners will be front and center in pursuit of the Clippers.
Konerko: Ramirez's hot start could lead to career year. "The hateful opinions voiced by that of the man [on the tape] are those of Donald Sterling," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "… I'm personally distraught the views expressed by Mr. Sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations."
As part of the ban, Sterling is not allowed "to attend any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team." Sterling also will be barred from attending any Board of Governors meetings and participating in any other league activity.
The fine is the maximum the NBA can issue under the NBA constitution, Silver said. Seventy-five percent of the NBA's owners must vote to oust Sterling to force him to sell.
"I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him," Silver said.
"Adam has the votes – all of them, I believe," a league source told Yahoo Sports.
"Adam has the votes – all of them, I believe," a league source told Yahoo Sports.
Several groups hoping to purchase the Clippers are already stepping forward with a bidding war expected to exceed $1 billion for the franchise, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Among those groups, Magic Johnson and Guggenheim Partners will be front and center in pursuit of the Clippers.
"Magic Johnson knows he's always welcome as an owner in this league," Silver said.
Silver said Sterling admitted the voice on the recordings was his, but Sterling "has not expressed to me directly any other views." Sterling violated league rules, Stern said, through his "expressions of offensive and hurtful views, the impact of which has been widely felt throughout the league."
Members of the players union, including Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash, gathered with Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti and Sacramento mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson at Los Angeles' City Hall after Silver's announcement was made.
"The players spoke, acted and they were listened to," said Kevin Johnson, who has been assisting the National Basketball Players Association in its investigation. Kevin Johnson called the sanctions "a defining moment in our history."
"I want to thank the commissioner for bringing down the hammer," Garcetti said.
Sacramento Kings guard Roger Mason, who is part of the union's governing board, said the players had considered boycotting games and will not be satisfied until Sterling is ousted.
The NBA's announcement comes a little more than three days after TMZ released the first audio recording of Sterling telling his reported girlfriend – identified as V. Stiviano – he didn't want her bringing African-Americans to Clippers games. In the recording, he also said he wanted her to remove photos of African-Americans – including one of former Los Angeles Lakers guard and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson – from social media.
Among the more inflammatory quotes attributed to Sterling:
• "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?"
• "You can sleep with them. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that … and not to bring them to my games."
• "Don't put him [Magic Johnson] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games."
Deadspin later released an extended version of the audio recording in which Sterling tells the woman that blacks are treated "like dogs" in Israel. When reminded that most of the players on the Clippers are black, Sterling goes on to say, "I support them and give them food and clothes and cars and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have – who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? Is there 30 owners that created the league?"
Clippers players staged their own subtle protest during Sunday's playoff loss to the Warriors by wearing their warm-up shirts inside-out to hide the "Clippers" name. They also wore black socks and wristbands.
Many of Sterling's fellow NBA owners, including Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats, condemned the comments in recent days. They continued to distance themselves from Sterling after Tuesday's announcement.
"We applaud the firm punishment handed out today by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and appreciate the swiftness with which the NBA conducted its investigation," Warriors owner Joe Lacob said in a statement. "Similarly, we anticipate that the NBA Board of Governors will act promptly to put this chapter behind us."
The controversy ranks as the NBA's greatest since the Tim Donaghy scandal and comes less than three months after Silver replaced David Stern as NBA commissioner. Sterling had been sued multiple times in the past for racial discrimination, including a 2009 case in which he paid $2.7 million to settle allegations his companies targeted and discriminated against blacks, Hispanics and families with children in renting apartments in greater Los Angeles.
Under Stern, the NBA never publicly punished Sterling after the settlements. Silver said the league did not punish Sterling in the past because there was no finding of guilt in the case.
"In meting out this punishment we did not take into account his past behavior," Silver said. "When the board ultimately considers his overall fitness to be an owner in the NBA, they will take into account a lifetime of behavior. "
By Dan Hayes
Paul Konerko joked Tuesday he plans to root against Alexei Ramirez’s pursuit of his record the last two games of April.
All kidding aside, Konerko thinks Ramirez, who is one hit shy of tying Konerko’s club record for March/April (39), is in for a career year based off his hot start.
Through 27 games, Ramirez has a .358/.384/.557 slash line with four home runs and 19 RBIs. The shortstop’s .941 OPS is nearly 300 points higher than his career mark for March/April and that point isn’t lost on Konerko.
“There’s no telling what he can do this year if he’s off to the start he’s off to because it has always taken him a couple months to heat up and he’s already clicking,” Konerko said. “I see him pulling the ball. He always hits the ball hard when he pulls it. I see him keeping a lot of balls fair that sometimes he hooks. So there’s something there with his swing that’s better that’s keeping those balls true and in play.”
But it’s not just the swing that has Ramirez out to the best start of his career.
The shortstop, who has an aggressive approach at the plate, has taken advantage of how hitters in the lineup ahead of him have tired pitchers out and jumped on early fastballs. He’s hitting the ball with authority to center field and right-center as well as pulling it.
“It’s also a byproduct of our lineup, you can’t pay attention to one guy,” Konerko said. “Anyone of ‘em can kind of get you and has gotten you already. When that’s the case you’ve got different guys on different nights sprinkling hits and it’s good for everybody because they can’t really key on one guy. Alexei’s always aggressive so if you think you’re just going to throw a first-pitch fastball in there he’s going to hit it. It’s good to see. I don’t want to tell him, but he’s going to get 200 hits this year. I don’t know if he’s ever done that.”
Konerko had a similar start to the 2002 season when he established the record.
In 26 games that month, Konerko had a .371/.387/.562 slash line with four homers and 28 RBIs. But Konerko’s success extended through the first half as he had 20 homers and 71 RBIs at the All-Star break.
A stress fracture in his foot was the only thing to slow Konerko down that season -- and he ended up with 104 RBIs.
“I remember the whole first half everything just felt right,” Konerko said. “I drove in a lot of runs and I had a lot of good games. Even my bad games produced some good things. It just kind of fell right for me. I still picked up some hits (in the second half) but I couldn’t drive the ball as well. But I still could swing it a little, just not as good.”
Konerko has played alongside Ramirez for seven seasons now. Seeing the way he has performed and the part he has played in the rest of the offense, Konerko isn’t shy about his predictions for Ramirez.
“This could be his best year yet with the start he’s had,” Konerko said.
Golf glance.
By Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange
COMING UP:
PGA TOUR: Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday through Sunday.
TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-7 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel, and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.
LAST YEAR: Rookie Derek Ernst, No. 1,270 in the World Golf Rankings at the start of the week, got into the tournament as the fourth alternate and wound up winning when his par on the first playoff hole beat David Lynn of England. Phil Mickelson held a one-stroke lead after 15 holes in the final round, but he made bogeys on two of his last three holes to finish with a 1-over-par 73, missing the playoff by one shot. Ernst holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to close out a 70 and earn his spot in the playoff, while Lynn carded birdies on the 14th and 16th hole while also closing with a 70. Lynn nearly hit his tee shot into a creek in the playoff, then put his second in a bunker and sent his third over the green. He was looking over a 5-foot bogey putt when Ernst two-putted for his winning par from 15 feet.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas, Friday through Sunday.
TV: Friday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. EDT; and Sunday, 7-8:30 p.m. EDT; on the Golf Channel each day.
LAST YEAR: Esteban Toledo celebrated Cinco de Mayo coming from seven strokes down in the final round to become the first Mexican to win on the Champions Tour, beating Mike Goodes with a par on the third playoff hole. The 50-year-old Toledo, playing for the ninth time on the senior circuit, made an eagle on the first hole en route to a 5-under-par 67 to catch Goodes, who closed with a 72, and Gene Sauers, who had a 74. Sauers was eliminated when he made a double-bogey 6 on the second playoff hole by hitting his approach shot into the water. Toledo, who claimed a second victory later in the year at the Montreal Championship, won with a tap-in par on the third extra hole after Sauers missed his par attempt from 5 feet.
LPGA TOUR: North Texas LPGA Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, Thursday through Saturday.
TV: Thursday and Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT; on the Golf Channel each day.
LAST YEAR: Inbee Park of South Korea claimed the third of her six victories on the LPGA Tour in 2013 by sinking a 4-foot birdie on the final hole to beat Carlota Ciganda of Spain by one stroke in the inaugural North Texas LPGA Shootout. Park, who took over the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings two weeks earlier, closed with a 4-under-par 67 to claim her sixth career victory on the LPGA Tour -- including five in a span of 18 starts. Ciganda, who was seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, held a two-stroke lead after 13 holes of the final round, but she hit her tee shot into the trees en route to a bogey on the 14th hole and hit her approach into the water on the next hole whole making a double bogey that gave Park the lead. Ciganda also made a birdie at No. 18, but her closing 70 left her one stroke short.
John Daly turns 48, remains amazing.
By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer
John Daly does not care (Getty Images)
John Daly turned 48 Monday which is great because it gives me an excuse to write a post about John Daly.
Long John hasn't done much this year -- two made cuts -- but he remains relevant because, well, folks still love him. If you don't believe me head on over to Google Trends and compare Daly with another top 15 golfer like, say, Justin Rose or Henrik Stenson.
In fact, I'll do it for you (Daly in blue, Rose in red, Stenson in yellow):
Interest over time. Web Search. Worldwide, 2004 - present.
Fred Couples
Colin Montgomerie
Luke Donald
Lee Westwood
Adam Scott
Jim Furyk
Tom Kite
Tom Weiskopf
Davis Love III
I mean the dude only has five PGA Tour wins total, and two of them are majors. That's wild.
Also, for fun, an immortal GIF:
Happy birthday, Johnny!
NASCAR Power Rankings: Jeff Gordon stays at the top, but Joey Logano is right on his heels.
By Nick Bromberg
No. 1 Jeff Gordon (LW: 1): A winless driver atop Power Rankings still? Sacre bleu! Gordon still has the points lead and probably had the best car throughout the entire race on Saturday night. Any of the four drivers in the battle for the lead with five laps to go had a chance to win the race and it simply came down to where drivers were when the contact started to happen. Gordon was trapped behind Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth, and by the time he got by both of them, Joey Logano was long gone.
No. 2 Joey Logano (LW: 6): As colleague Geoffrey Miller wrote Monday, this is the Joey Logano we've been told about. Not only does Logano have a second win this season, but he did it at a short track. It may seem insignificant, but all of Logano's previous wins had come on big tracks, save for the fuel-mileage gamble at New Hampshire. Plus, he's been horrible, historically, at Richmond. Logano is a Cup contender and will be for many years. Don't be surprised if Logano gets his first title before Brad Keselowski gets his second.
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): Junior started saying his brake pedal was going soft not much past the halfway portion of the race Saturday night. Those must have been some really good brakes, because they held out long enough for Junior to stay near the leaders the entire night. He also had a really good handling car too, and that helps with the longevity of an iffy brake pedal. Junior may be our next multiple-winner this season.
No. 4. Matt Kenseth (LW: 4): Matt Kenseth's car was flat charging forward in the final stages of the race. After being consistently in the back-half of the top 10 all evening, Kenseth found something at the end of the race and moved towards the lead. And he was doing one heck of a job of maintaining it before the game of bumper cars ensued, knocking him out of the lead. Can we all agree that Kenseth was doing what he had to do to keep the lead and that Keselowski was well within his rights to move him out of the way like he did?
No. 5 Kyle Busch (LW: 7): Had the race been 10-15 laps longer, this man would have been your winner. Crew chief Dave Rogers made the decision for Busch to come down pit road and take tires late in the race and it paid off, as Busch made up a ton of ground off the final two restarts. He was chasing down the leaders as the four-car gaggle for the lead was happening, and had it continued for a couple more laps, it would have been a five-car fight.
No. 6 Kevin Harvick (LW: 5): Harvick was good for most of the evening, but his car fell off dramatically on one set of tires, which cost him a chance for the win. He ended up 11th, which is a good finish for Harvick's spot in the points standings. However, it really isn't indicative of his night as a whole. He was better than that for the majority of the race.
No. 7 Brad Keselowski (LW: 10): When listening to Brad Keselowski's comments after the race about Matt Kenseth's driving style over the final laps, it was hard not to harken back to Texas 2012, when Keselowski and Johnson went up the track. Johnson ultimately won that race and Keselowski was second, though he won the championship. We're not using Keselowski's words against him, just that it feels like comments about driving styles can be purely circumstantial. It's human nature, right?
No. 8 Jimmie Johnson (LW: 3): Johnson takes a five-spot tumble after a tire issue derailed his day. However, the drop in the rankings is more so because all of the drivers ahead of him finished in the top 11 and four of them had a chance for the win. Richmond has been the No. 48's nemesis lately, which seems to poke a hole in the "momentum heading into the Chase" theory. He's finished out of the top 10 in five of the last six races there, including three finishes worse than 30th.
No. 9 Carl Edwards (LW: 8): The last driver to win a race at Richmond before Joey Logano (Remember? Edwards won in September) was much like Kevin Harvick. Consistently near the front of the field. But while Harvick led laps, Edwards didn't. Edwards ended up ninth. He's in third in the points standings, but he's 28 points behind Gordon.
No. 10 Kyle Larson (LW: 9): Before we talk about Larson's race performance, how in the world did Fox miss his turn one, lap one spin? The broadcast went to a full-field shot as the field entered turn one, so all viewers saw live was the smoke from the spin past the camera and then Larson's car at the end. Yes, he ended up behind the proverbial eight-ball having to restart the race in the back of the field, but he ended up 16th. However, he got inside the top 20 near the halfway point of the race. He just got stalled there.
No. 11 Ryan Newman (LW: 12): Here's another driver who spent most of his evening near the front of the field. Newman was eighth and he's ninth in the standings. A quarter of the way through the season, the answer on the Harvick and Newman driver swap is success for both parties, right? Newman was never going to replicate what Harvick did at RCR, but he's maintaining his success with SHR.
No. 12 A.J. Allmendinger (LW: NR): Did you know that Allmendinger finished sixth? Unless you checked the box score after the race or are an Allmendinger fan, you probably didn't. The move to an RCR-alliance is paying off for JTG-Daugherty so far. They're not reaping the benefits like Furniture Row did a year ago with Kurt Busch, but Allmendinger is 17th in the standings and hasn't finished lower than 26th.
Lucky Dog: We're going to give it to Casey Mears for not having a black eye after the punch from Marcos Ambrose.
The DNF: We talked about Clint Bowyer's day on Saturday night, so let's go with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Staying out a lap after hitting the wall turned out to be a very bad decision.
Dropped Out: Tony Stewart
Ronaldo makes Champions League history, Real Madrid makes Champions League final.
By Martin Rogers
Cristiano Ronaldo wrote his name into European soccer's record books on Tuesday as he spearheaded Real Madrid to a stunning demolition of Bayern Munich that clinched a spot in the Champions League final.
Already leading 1-0 from the first leg of this home-and-home series, Real tore apart the defending champions with three first-half goals that silenced the Allianz Arena and a cheeky late Ronaldo free kick to add insult to injury.
After defender Sergio Ramos hit the net twice, Ronaldo chimed in with the third – a goal that created a slice of history. The finish was simple, he merely had to tap the ball into the net after a strong run and perfect pass from Gareth Bale, but the achievement was mightily impressive.
The strike took Ronaldo to 15 goals in this season's Champions League, collected over the course of 10 games, surpassing the previous best single-campaign mark of 14 set by AC Milan's Jose Altalfini in the 1962-63 European Cup and equaled by Lionel Messi two years ago.
Ronaldo responded in typical flashy fashion, wheeling away and flipping his hands backward and forward to signify the number 15. Flashy or not, love him or hate him, Ronaldo enjoys personal accolades as much as anyone, especially when they come at Messi's expense, and he has plenty of them.
All told this was Ronaldo's 50th Champions League goal in 50 games in the competition. Going into the World Cup this summer, there is little question that, on current form, he is the most dominant player on the planet.
With just a minute left in the game, he collected another goal, smacking a low free kick underneath the jumping Bayern defensive wall to round off one of the most remarkable displays in recent tournament memory.
Yet neither the season, nor perhaps Ronaldo's entire stay at Real, will be complete unless the job is finished and the "decima" – what would be the club's 10th triumph in Europe's top competition – is won.
Real Madrid won the first five European Cups from 1956 to 1960 but has not tasted success since 2002. Without a doubt, Ronaldo moved to Spain to win Real's 10th and was purchased from Manchester United for that very purpose.
However, the trophy has proved elusive and May 24 will feature his first trip to the final since 2009, when his final game for Manchester United ended with a defeat to Messi's Barcelona, a year after claiming the trophy for the only time in his career. With this year's final to be staged in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, there could be no more appropriate setting for Ronaldo.
Either way, Real will be a strong favorite after this domination of a Bayern side that destroyed the Champions League field a year ago. Ramos got his head to well-orchestrated set pieces after 16 and 20 minutes to leave Bayern with a virtually impossible task, and a comeback became even more unlikely when Ronaldo connected with Bale after 34 minutes. By the time he put an exclamation point on the performance late, Bayern had already been battered into submission.
And now there will be an incredibly intriguing final, no matter what happens in Wednesday's second semifinal. Either Atletico Madrid will prevail to set up an extraordinary showdown between two teams from the same city and a matchup of Galacticos vs. relative paupers. Or it will be Chelsea and a certain Jose Mourinho, the man who was in charge of Madrid up until the end of last season and his acrimonious departure.
Mourinho has attracted much ire over the past few days for the manner in which Chelsea secured victory at Liverpool on Sunday and kept themselves in contention to win the English Premier League. His tactics have been derided as ultra-defensive, known as "parking the bus" by walled flanks of defenders. Yet Mourinho is a proven winner and he would love nothing more than to prevail against the club he parted with on poor terms.
Such a matchup would prompt discussion on tactical philosophy. No doubt, the Madrid method is more pleasing to the eye. Carlo Ancelotti did not throw caution to the wind in Munich, but mixed tenacious defending with lightning-quick, rapier-sharp attacking bursts for which the Germans had no answer.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have Ronaldo to call upon. He is right now the best in the business and is in full flow, and he has more accolades firmly in his sight.
Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle United: Magical Mesut mauls miserable Magpies.
By Nicholas Mendola
Goals from Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud led Arsenal to a 3-0 trouncing of visiting Newcastle as the hosts look to boost their UEFA Champions League standing at the expense of the moribund Magpies.
Arsenal’s UCL fortunes are good as its fourth-place lead over Everton is up to four points.
Newcastle has lost six-straight matches for the first time in its Premier League existence. The Magpies remain in 9th place, two points ahead of Stoke and three ahead of Crystal Palace.
In other words, Alan Pardew‘s return to the touchline upon completion of his suspension for headbutting David Meyler meant very little. They may be the worst team in the Premier League right now.
Unsurprisingly, the Gunners were often the better side, led by Ozil. The German was denied by a sliding Fabricio Coloccini about a quarter-hour into the match.
Newcastle’s best chance came about 20 minutes in, but Moussa Sissoko was quickly surrounded by red jerseys and his room to shoot was hampered as he pushed one high and wide.
Arsenal struck first, with a set piece goal punctuated by Koscielny punting the ball into the stands. Tim Krul would’ve been all over the stop earlier this year, and it’s never felt more like he’s already on a “bigger” club.
The Gunners had five corners by the 30th minute, and Krul was fantastic to parry a firm-headed shot. It’s like he was reading this before it was posted.
There was hope for Newcastle, as Loic Remy forced Wojciech Szczesny into a save on a free kick and Cheick Tiote doubled down with a long-ranger curler in the 33rd minute.
The keeper was wise, and the score remained 1-0 to the home side.
Maybe the goal woke the home side, as Mathieu Debuchy lashed a shot that troubled the Szczesny before failing to arrive on goal.
Embarrassing Newcastle defending allowed Arsenal to double its advantage as the clock turned to 41.
Krul stopped Giroud twice point-blank on a breakaway before Ozil tapped home a rebound while the Magpies defenders watched.
Arsenal possessed the ball well for the first 12 minutes of the second half, but Newcastle found a chance when Yoan Gouffran was sprung on goal. Szczesny made the save, though, as Gouffran popped the ball at the keeper’s chest.
Giroud made it 3-0 in the 66th minute, as Ozil continued his wizardy with a whipped-in cross from the left that the Frenchman had no problem heading home (to Arsene Wenger‘s delight).
LINEUPS
Arsenal: Szczesny; Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Sagna; Arteta, Ramsey (Rosicky, 74′); Podolski, Ozil (Flamini, 74′), Cazorla; Giroud (Sanogo, 84′)
Goals: Koscielny (26), Ozil (42), Giroud (66)
Newcastle: Krul; Dummett, Coloccini, Williamson, Debuchy (Yanga-Mbiwa, 84′); Gouffran (Armstrong, 89′), Tiote, Gosling (Shola Ameobi, 70′), Anita; Sissoko; Remy
Poll suggests College Football Playoff expansion possible sooner than expected.
By Kevin McGuire
There are no plans to expand the newborn College Football Playoff right now, but at some point in time it is likely the field will be expanded because that is what happens in sports. Baseball expanded its postseason twice since the 1994 strike and the NCAA basketball tournament has expanded from 64 up to 68 in recent years. A four-team college football playoff format always seemed like the first step in a larger format that would take time to develop.
A poll of athletic directors conducted by CBSSports.com suggests there is a popular belief the four-team playoff field will be expanded before the current contract for the College Football Playoff runs its 12-year course. Of the 35 athletic directors polled, 27 replied to CBS Sports. More than half of the respondents say the playoff field is likely to grow within the next ten years.
The reasons for expansion are generally pretty simple. Allowing more access to the postseason format is one thing, but increased revenue potential is a close second. Those in favor of a playoff format for years have designed various models that would include anywhere between eight and 16 teams. Every other level of football manages to structure a formidable playoff system, so it is possible to make an expanded playoff model a reality.
Not everybody is in favor of the playoff model though. Those who value the importance of the regular season say a playoff will devalue the regular season. Opening the playoffs to more teams could do more to bring the importance of regular season success down as well, as there could be a larger margin for error for top programs.
Of course, nobody even knows how successful this new four-team playoff model will be until we see it play out. Holding off on any rash decisions is one of the biggest reasons to hold off on any form of expansion talk for now. We are entering a new era and it may now be too late to revert back to the standard bowl system. If there are any changes in the future, it will be expansion.
NCAA makes another attempt to have Ed O'Bannon suit delayed or thrown out.
Raphielle Johnson
With the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit scheduled to begin on June 9, the lone defendant in the suit (NCAA) is running out of time to derail the plaintiffs in their quest to force changes with relation to the use of player likenesses and the limits placed on what athletes can receive while in college.
It’s been accepted at this point that the NCAA has no interest in settling the case before it goes to trial, and according to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today the goal is to convince Judge Claudia Wilken to either throw the class action suit out of delay its start.
According to the story there are two paths the NCAA would like Wilken to take: either dismantle the class action case of separate the aspects of the suit related to video games from the rest of the suit. This move comes as a result of the settlements agreed to by the plaintiffs and Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) not being finalized at this point in time.
The NCAA’s motion Friday night regarding video games relates, in part, to the lack of a resolution of a proposed settlement that involved the other two other parties that initially had been named as co-defendants — video game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA) and the Collegiate Licensing Co., the nation’s leading collegiate trademark licensing and marketing firm. The proposed settlement’s existence was revealed in September 2013, but a final version has not been filed.There have been those who have cited the recent moves by the NCAA, be it the changes in the amount of food athletes can receive to the move towards autonomy by the “power five” conferences, as moves with this suit in mind. Is that the case? Who really knows, but since this suit was first filed it’s become more apparent that there will be some changes to the current model.
Prior moves to have this suit thrown out in court have been rejected, but attempting once again to convince Judge Wilken is an understandable move by the NCAA. Whether or not the governing body’s luck changes remains to be seen, but given past rulings the NCAA’s chances may not be good.
Bob Baffert knows the agony and ecstasy of the Kentucky Derby all too well.
By Pat Forde
Bob Baffert has won almost every major horse race in America, and some whoppers overseas. The 61-year-old has nine Triple Crown trophies, and he's won more money per start than any trainer in American history at $18,357. He's a millionaire and a Hall of Famer and one of the few thoroughbred racing figures who is recognizable to mainstream sports fans.
He is here at Churchill Downs with his 24th and 25th Kentucky Derby starters, Hoppertunity and Chitu. He has become as much a part of the first Saturday in May as the Twin Spires and $9 paddock beers.
But if you want to reacquaint Bob Baffert with the wide-eyed, wisecracking Westerner who first beheld the spectacle, splendor and sadness of the Kentucky Derby, it's pretty easy.
Just ask him about 1996.
On a bleak, storm-soaked Monday at Churchill Downs, Baffert launched a personal nostalgia tour with just the slightest prodding. It provided insight into the oft-indescribable emotion the Derby wrenches out of its participants – a feeling that never leaves them once it has invaded their bodies.
On a bleak, storm-soaked Monday at Churchill Downs, Baffert launched a personal nostalgia tour with just the slightest prodding. It provided insight into the oft-indescribable emotion the Derby wrenches out of its participants – a feeling that never leaves them once it has invaded their bodies.
The 1996 race was Baffert's first Derby, when he arrived with a gritty gelding named Cavonnier and jockey Chris McCarron. Cavonnier would take Baffert to the emotional pinnacle of his profession – for a few minutes. Then he tumbled from that pinnacle, landing in depression and leaving a void that turned into an obsession.
But before discussing the two minutes that changed Baffert's life, you have to know the backstory. He grew up on a ranch in Nogales, Arizona, nearby the Mexican border. The family had quarter horses and cattle, and they always watched the Derby on TV.
The problem was where. The family television was usually out, because the cows would knock over the antenna in the adjacent field. So on Derby Day they would usually trudge across the road to an uncle's house for the big race. He remembers the surprise of Canonero II winning in 1971, the excellence of Seattle Slew in '77, the speed of Spectacular Bid in '79.
It was exciting to watch, but impossible to envision having a part in it.
"It was something that I never dreamt of being here – I never thought I would even be a trainer," Baffert said. "To sit back and think of everything that's gone on, I never would have imagined it. It's my life. I've been here so many years now."
Bob was a jockey as youngster – and not a good one. He rode quarter horses with little conviction and less courage.
"When a trainer tells you, 'You couldn't ride a hog in a telephone booth,' that's when it's time to quit," Baffert said. "That's what I was told."
So he became a trainer instead – first quarter horses and then thoroughbreds. He started to win some races and make a name for himself on the elite Southern California circuit, and won his first major national race in 1992 – the Breeders Cup Sprint with Thirty Slews.
In the fall of '95, owner Robert Walter moved a 2-year-old named Cavonnier into Baffert's barn. He was a game and consistent horse, and his victory in the El Camino Real Derby in January '96 stamped him as a decent Kentucky Derby prospect. But it wasn't until April, when he won the Santa Anita at 10-1 odds, that the ticket was punched.
Baffert got to Churchill a few weeks before the race with Cavonnier and another horse, Semoran, and could hardly wait for the hoopla to kick in. He compared it to Halloween – he'd sit in the office of Barn 33 and look out the window, waiting for trick-or-treaters (reporters) to come to his door.
Mostly they walked past him to get to the barn of the favorite, Unbridled's Song, which was next door. The hype surrounding that horse was huge. The stallion's heavy-handed connections actually gave trainer Jim Ryerson a podium and a microphone for his daily press interactions – an experience that compounded the taciturn Ryerson's stress and misery.
"I remember joking [with reporters headed to Unbridled's Song's barn], 'Hey guys you can come over here and I'll talk to you,' " Baffert said. "It was a lot of fun."
With expectations modest but his horse training well, Baffert was having a ball. He was confident of a good showing, but leading up to the race he was blissfully unaware of the impact the two minutes from 5:34 and 5:36 p.m. on May 4, 1996, would have on him.
"If I would have run fourth I would have been so happy," Baffert said. "But then when [Cavonnier] made the lead about the eighth pole, I remember – I went numb. I was like, 'Oh. My. God. He's in the lead.' I could not believe the feeling."
Baffert took an instant to look around and taste the grandeur – an American tradition more than a century old, a crowd of more than 140,000 roaring. And his very first Derby horse was a furlong from victory.
The reverie did not last long.
"Then all of a sudden I see this horse coming on the outside and he had the white bridle and I'm like, 'Ohhh, it's a good one,' " Baffert said.
White bridles were worn by the horses of D. Wayne Lukas, the pre-eminent trainer of the day. Lukas had four powerful entries in the race, but the least-heralded of the four, Grindstone, was the one charging down the stretch in pursuit of Cavonnier.
The stretch duel was thrilling but impossible to call with the naked eye – especially from Baffert's sketchy seats in the grandstand. The stewards would have to study a photo finish before declaring an official winner.
"They hit the wire and for an instant I thought he held on and won, and the feeling was just – it was like when I won my first Breeders Cup. But my stomach was cramping from yelling so hard. I was like, 'I won it.'
"I was looking around – and all trainers do it, they start asking, 'What do you think?' Even people you don't know.
"A guy is like, 'You got it, Bob.' And you're like, 'All right!' Then you ask another guy and he's like, 'I don't know, that was pretty close.' Ah, I liked the other guy."
The wife of Cavonnier's owner said she didn't think the horse won. Baffert's heart sank, but he kept his eye on the jockeys – Chris McCarron on Cavonnier and Jerry Bailey on Grindstone.
"I'm watching McCarron and Bailey, looking for some kind of body language," he said. "I'm hoping Chris was going to give it … a smile, and he didn't. … It went on forever. It was a long, long photo. At that point I was willing to split it with [Lukas], whatever."
Finally, Bailey exulted when the result went official. Lukas hugged his assistants in the middle of the track, having just won the third of his four Derbies. Baffert felt his once-soaring emotions tugged violently downward.
"For about five minutes, I knew what it felt like to win the Kentucky Derby," he said. "I take that with me. I felt it. I know what it feels like."
And then he knew what it felt like to not win the Kentucky Derby. About an hour after the race, Baffert was standing on the bricks of the Churchill paddock area, seemingly in shock. It was as if those two minutes totally overwhelmed him.
"That was always the toughest beat of my career," said a man who lost the 1998 Triple Crown by a whisker in the Belmont Stakes. "You think the Triple Crown, but it wasn't. (The '96 Derby loss) was harder, because you think you're never getting back here again."
It had taken so many years just to get here once. Finding another horse good enough to make the field would be hard. Finding one good enough to win it seemed even more remote after that near miss.
Still, Baffert recovered enough to go to dinner at Pat's Steakhouse, a traditional hangout for the horsey set. It was a miserable dinner.
"It felt so, so bad," he said of that night. "For a year it was really depressing."
He didn't know it at the time, but the only thing that would erase that feeling was back in Barn 33 that night. It was a 2-year-old named Silver Charm, and he would be Baffert's ticket to the Derby the next spring.
But just being back on the grounds with Silver Charm was enough to re-engage all the pain of that photo-finish loss the year before. People asked him to go to the Kentucky Derby museum on the front side of Churchill and he refused, knowing that a replay of the '96 Derby would be constantly playing.
Finally, some friends talked him into attending a breakfast at the museum. He finally watched the race.
"I left there even feeling worse," Baffert said. "I thought, 'I have to win this.' "
Silver Charm fulfilled the quest, holding off Captain Bodgit and Free House in another exciting (but not quite as close) stretch run. Baffert had his Derby, and at the winner's party that night in the Derby Museum he watched the '96 replay again.
"I do not have a problem with this video," he said.
A year later Baffert won a second straight Derby, this time with Real Quiet. Then he added a third Derby win in 2002, with 21-1 shot War Emblem. By this time, Baffert admitted, "My hat size started getting bigger."
The sport will humble the greatest champions, though. There have been no more Kentucky Derby wins since, and only one Triple Crown win – the 2010 Preakness. So the appreciation of those dramatic early years at Churchill Downs is only sharpened more.
"This game can be so great and so cruel and you can get so negative – it can get you really negative if you let it," Baffert said. "When you have a good horse, you have to enjoy it. I've had some really good horses get knocked out. … If you get there and get lucky enough, you wish every trainer could feel that.
"Some great trainers never got the opportunity to win the Derby. You feel fortunate when you win it. Sometimes you feel like maybe you're not worthy. But it's sure a lot of fun."
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