LOUISVILLE, Ky. Brandon Linder Jersey . -- Bob Baffert is down to one horse for the Kentucky Derby after early 6-1 second choice Hoppertunity was scratched Thursday because of a sore left front foot. The colt was to have been ridden Saturday by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. "Bad news travels fast," Baffert said outside his barn, where onlookers gathered as word spread around Churchill Downs. "The horse is OK. Hes just not 100 per cent and its too close to the race, so I pulled the plug." Baffert first noticed signs something wasnt quite right on Wednesday, when Hoppertunity took a few steps. The inside quarter of his left foot was sore, so part of his shoe was cut off. As the colt walked to warm up, he didnt appear bothered. But Baffert decided to scratch him anyway. Hoppertunity will have a full scan Thursday to eliminate any other possible problems than a sore foot, which will be soaked. In a bit of gallows humour, Baffert joked, "We missed a Hoppertunity." He said the colt could return in time for the Preakness on May 17. Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia revised the Derby morning line odds, although California Chrome remained the favourite at 5-2. Wicked Strong, the colt named for the victims of last years Boston Marathon bombings, replaced Hoppertunity as the early second choice at 6-1. Arkansas Derby winner Danza and Intense Holiday were installed as the co-third choices at 8-1. Tapiture was made the fifth choice at 12-1. The odds for Candy Boy were lowered to 15-1 from 20-1. Louisiana Derby winner Vicars In Trouble, to be ridden by Rosie Napravnik, dropped to 20-1 from 30-1. Smith will still be busy on Derby day, ridding in seven of the 13 races on the card. "I could still have a pretty good day," he said. "Id rather lose it this way than something happen on the track." The scratch moved also-eligible horse Pablo Del Monte into the maximum 20-horse field. However, the 50-1 shot would have to start from the No. 20 post position. It wasnt immediately known if Pablo Del Montes owners want to start under that condition. "Its amazing to have the opportunity to run," said Wesley Ward, who trains and co-owns the colt. "With my 25 per cent there is nothing Id love better, with a horse that I bred, than to run. But I have to go with what my partners want to do." The original plan for Pablo Del Monte, who was third in the Blue Grass, was to wait for the Preakness. His other owners are in Europe, and Ward expected to learn their decision later Thursday or early Friday. Hoppertunity had drawn the No. 11 post. With his scratch, the other horses in the outside starting gate all moved up one spot. Blue Grass winner Dance With Fate will now break from the 11th spot. Baffert has another horse in the race, 20-1 shot Chitu. That colt also has had foot problems and recently threw one of his shoes. "Ive had a lot of luck here," said Baffert, a three-time Derby winner, "so I cant really complain." Yannick Ngakoue Jersey . He is nigh unstoppable against the leagues worst. The 31-year-old dangerman set up two goals and scored two himself as Toronto FC rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the slumping Houston Dynamo 4-2 on Saturday night. Carson Tinker Jersey . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups.Melbourne, Australia - The third time was the charm for Li Na. The fourth-seeded Chinese star beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena to capture her first Australian Open title on Saturday. Li played in her third final in four years at Melbourne Park. She lost to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year before finally breaking through at the seasons first Grand Slam event against the 20th-seeded Cibulkova. "After I win the match, I really, really exciting," Li said. "I think I have drops still coming down, you know. I try to have hug with the team, but is too high. I cannot catch it (laughter)." Her win came at the end of a fortnight featuring an array of surprising results on the womens side. It was the first time since 1997 that none of the top three seeds made the semifinals. Li committed 25 of her 30 unforced errors in a competitive opening set before she unexpectedly breezed through the second. She had a 34-11 advantage in winners, many coming on her lethal backhand, and converted half of her 10 break-point chances. The second double fault by Cibulkova in the matchs opening game gave Li an early break. A double fault then hurt Li as Cibulkova gained a break to level the first set at 3-all. Li earned a break point with a strong backhand winner in the ninth game, but two of her forehands flew long and Cibulkova was able to hold for a 5-4 lead. After closing out a relative easy service game with an ace to extend the set, Li earned two break points when she followed up Cibulkovas sixth double fault with a blistering ccrosscourt backhand. Justin Blackmon Jersey. Cibulkova then netted a backhand to give Li a 6-5 lead before she broke back to force a tiebreak. Li raced out to a commanding 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and she later claimed the 70-minute first set when Cibulkova dumped a backhand into the net. The second set lasted only 27 minutes and ended with Cibulkova sending a ground stroke long. "You know, it was my first Grand Slam finals and Im just proud with the way I handle it," Cibulkova said. "You know, I just went on the court. I wanted to play my best tennis. It wasnt easy against her because she was playing extremely well. So Im quite happy." Li, who turns 32 next month, captured her second Grand Slam title, adding to her victory at the 2011 French Open, and improved to 9-11 in career finals. She also is just the fourth woman to win the Aussie Open crown after saving a match point. She fought off the match point in the third round against Lucie Safarova and joined Monica Seles (1991), Jennifer Capriati (2002) and Serena Williams (2003 and 2005) to accomplish the feat. "Yeah, start of tournament everybody talking about the age," Li said. "I would like to say age is nothing. Still can win the Grand Slam. So pretty happy about my age. I got more experience on the court." Cibulkova, who stands just 5-foot-3, knocked off No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and No. 5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals to become Slovakias first Grand Slam finalist. The 24-year-old fell to 3-6 in her career title tilts and 0-5 against Li.Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL T-shirts From China Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '
LOUISVILLE, Ky. Brandon Linder Jersey . -- Bob Baffert is down to one horse for the Kentucky Derby after early 6-1 second choice Hoppertunity was scratched Thursday because of a sore left front foot. The colt was to have been ridden Saturday by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. "Bad news travels fast," Baffert said outside his barn, where onlookers gathered as word spread around Churchill Downs. "The horse is OK. Hes just not 100 per cent and its too close to the race, so I pulled the plug." Baffert first noticed signs something wasnt quite right on Wednesday, when Hoppertunity took a few steps. The inside quarter of his left foot was sore, so part of his shoe was cut off. As the colt walked to warm up, he didnt appear bothered. But Baffert decided to scratch him anyway. Hoppertunity will have a full scan Thursday to eliminate any other possible problems than a sore foot, which will be soaked. In a bit of gallows humour, Baffert joked, "We missed a Hoppertunity." He said the colt could return in time for the Preakness on May 17. Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia revised the Derby morning line odds, although California Chrome remained the favourite at 5-2. Wicked Strong, the colt named for the victims of last years Boston Marathon bombings, replaced Hoppertunity as the early second choice at 6-1. Arkansas Derby winner Danza and Intense Holiday were installed as the co-third choices at 8-1. Tapiture was made the fifth choice at 12-1. The odds for Candy Boy were lowered to 15-1 from 20-1. Louisiana Derby winner Vicars In Trouble, to be ridden by Rosie Napravnik, dropped to 20-1 from 30-1. Smith will still be busy on Derby day, ridding in seven of the 13 races on the card. "I could still have a pretty good day," he said. "Id rather lose it this way than something happen on the track." The scratch moved also-eligible horse Pablo Del Monte into the maximum 20-horse field. However, the 50-1 shot would have to start from the No. 20 post position. It wasnt immediately known if Pablo Del Montes owners want to start under that condition. "Its amazing to have the opportunity to run," said Wesley Ward, who trains and co-owns the colt. "With my 25 per cent there is nothing Id love better, with a horse that I bred, than to run. But I have to go with what my partners want to do." The original plan for Pablo Del Monte, who was third in the Blue Grass, was to wait for the Preakness. His other owners are in Europe, and Ward expected to learn their decision later Thursday or early Friday. Hoppertunity had drawn the No. 11 post. With his scratch, the other horses in the outside starting gate all moved up one spot. Blue Grass winner Dance With Fate will now break from the 11th spot. Baffert has another horse in the race, 20-1 shot Chitu. That colt also has had foot problems and recently threw one of his shoes. "Ive had a lot of luck here," said Baffert, a three-time Derby winner, "so I cant really complain." Yannick Ngakoue Jersey . He is nigh unstoppable against the leagues worst. The 31-year-old dangerman set up two goals and scored two himself as Toronto FC rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the slumping Houston Dynamo 4-2 on Saturday night. Carson Tinker Jersey . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups.Melbourne, Australia - The third time was the charm for Li Na. The fourth-seeded Chinese star beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena to capture her first Australian Open title on Saturday. Li played in her third final in four years at Melbourne Park. She lost to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year before finally breaking through at the seasons first Grand Slam event against the 20th-seeded Cibulkova. "After I win the match, I really, really exciting," Li said. "I think I have drops still coming down, you know. I try to have hug with the team, but is too high. I cannot catch it (laughter)." Her win came at the end of a fortnight featuring an array of surprising results on the womens side. It was the first time since 1997 that none of the top three seeds made the semifinals. Li committed 25 of her 30 unforced errors in a competitive opening set before she unexpectedly breezed through the second. She had a 34-11 advantage in winners, many coming on her lethal backhand, and converted half of her 10 break-point chances. The second double fault by Cibulkova in the matchs opening game gave Li an early break. A double fault then hurt Li as Cibulkova gained a break to level the first set at 3-all. Li earned a break point with a strong backhand winner in the ninth game, but two of her forehands flew long and Cibulkova was able to hold for a 5-4 lead. After closing out a relative easy service game with an ace to extend the set, Li earned two break points when she followed up Cibulkovas sixth double fault with a blistering ccrosscourt backhand. Justin Blackmon Jersey. Cibulkova then netted a backhand to give Li a 6-5 lead before she broke back to force a tiebreak. Li raced out to a commanding 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and she later claimed the 70-minute first set when Cibulkova dumped a backhand into the net. The second set lasted only 27 minutes and ended with Cibulkova sending a ground stroke long. "You know, it was my first Grand Slam finals and Im just proud with the way I handle it," Cibulkova said. "You know, I just went on the court. I wanted to play my best tennis. It wasnt easy against her because she was playing extremely well. So Im quite happy." Li, who turns 32 next month, captured her second Grand Slam title, adding to her victory at the 2011 French Open, and improved to 9-11 in career finals. She also is just the fourth woman to win the Aussie Open crown after saving a match point. She fought off the match point in the third round against Lucie Safarova and joined Monica Seles (1991), Jennifer Capriati (2002) and Serena Williams (2003 and 2005) to accomplish the feat. "Yeah, start of tournament everybody talking about the age," Li said. "I would like to say age is nothing. Still can win the Grand Slam. So pretty happy about my age. I got more experience on the court." Cibulkova, who stands just 5-foot-3, knocked off No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and No. 5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals to become Slovakias first Grand Slam finalist. The 24-year-old fell to 3-6 in her career title tilts and 0-5 against Li.Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL T-shirts From China Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '
