BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro dItalia on Friday, taking the overall leaders pink jersey on his 37th birthday.
[b]George McGinnis Jersey[/b] . Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans. The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later. "What an amazing day, I never in my life would have imagined something like this," said Tuft, a native of Langley, B.C. "Im so proud of my team and I just cant thank them enough for that. They gave me the gift, it was really a birthday present. This team is really selfless that way. I feel really fortunate to be given that gift on my birthday." Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last years third-place finish. With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not competing, Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana is another of the race favourites and his Movistar team finished eighth, 55 seconds behind Orica. One of his rivals, Joaquim Rodriguez, had a poor start as his Katusha team struggled throughout and only finished 19th. Rodriguez is 1 minute, 33 seconds behind Tuft and 38 seconds behind Quintana. While it has become a tradition for the first Giro stage to be held outside Italy, this is the first time that the Grande Partenza — or the Big Start — took place outside mainland Europe. Despite the wind and rain, it was a festive atmosphere in the Northern Irish city, with large crowds lining the route and cheering the riders on. However, Irish rider Dan Martin crashed after just 15 minutes, leaving him with a suspected broken collarbone. Martin caused the crash when he caught his wheel on a drain cover and went down strongly on his right arm, bringing down several of his Garmin-Sharp teammates. The four cyclists who were able to continue had to wait for teammate Fabian Wegmann — who had been dropped early on — to catch up with them, as rules stipulate a team has to finish with at least five riders for its time to count. Garmin eventually finished last, 3:26 behind Orica. That means Ryder Hesjedals chances of repeating his 2012 Giro success are all but over. "Obviously there was a crash, and there was only four of us that stayed ahead," said Victoria native Hesjedal. "It was right before a corner and you hear something had happened, we were already through the corner, looked back and there was nobody there. "Obviously it was pretty scary because you dont know what the hell is going on. I dont know what happened, it was basically a nightmare." Belfast is also the start and finish point for Saturdays 218-kilometre leg, which takes in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway along its coastal route. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1.
[b]Bobby Jones Jersey[/b] . I wondered how NHL coaches would feel about a playoff schedule that allowed them to open a best-of-seven series on the road, which many claim to favour, yet still gave them the precious home-ice edge for a seventh game.
[b]Philadelphia 76ers Gear[/b] .com) - Maria Sharapova rallied for a three- set win over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday to capture the season-opening Brisbane International tennis tournament. SAN ANTONIO -- No. 10 Oregon first felt overlooked by the BCS, and then came to the Alamo Bowl overshadowed by Mack Browns final game at Texas. But the Ducks are flying home with an attention-getting blowout. Quarterback Marcus Mariota had 386 total yards and Oregon returned two interceptions for touchdowns, spoiling Browns emotional farewell after 16 seasons at Texas with a runaway 30-7 victory Monday night. The BCS-snubbed Ducks (11-2) dominated throughout -- even though their famously high-powered offence scored just one touchdown and repeatedly settled for field goals. Yet the rout didnt seem to completely balm the sting of not playing in a BCS bowl for the first time in five years, with Oregon players after the game still reflecting on their championship hopes derailed by November losses. Oregon coach Mark Helfrich declined to answer whether this season was a success. "Thats for you to decide," Helfrich said. "I dont think in those terms. I think of how well we can prepare and whats next." Brown received warm goodbyes from a sellout crowd in what was practically a home game for Texas (8-5). Even the school marching band spelled his name at halftime. But the blowout was a final reminder of why Brown is resigning after a rocky and tense season at Texas, which he led to a national championship in 2005 but couldnt reverse a sharp decline in recent years. Leaving the field for the last time with Texas, Brown flashed the "Hook em Horns" hand signal to the scattered remaining Longhorns fans who stuck around to the end of another humbling loss this season. His players didnt say a word while surrounding Brown and his wife, who walked side by side into the tunnel and toward the locker room. Brown said he had no regrets about making this his exit. "I think its best for Texas. Its best for me, its best for the players," he said. "We need to win more than eight games. Last year was nine. I really thought we had a chance to win all the games this year. It didnt work. Its my job to make that work. I told them tonight, the only regret I had is we didnt win enough games this year." Mariota led all rushers with 133 yards on 15 carries. He was 18 of 26 for 253 yards passing in his Heisman Trophy campaign tuneup for 2014, having announced earlier this month that he was coming back for his junior season. His one touchdown pass was to Josh Huff, who turned a short pass into a spectacular 16-yard sprint to the end zone. Yet even Mariota was outscored by Oregons defence -- and so was Texas, for that matter. Oregons first touchdown came on the third play of the game when safety Avery Patterson intercepted aan overthrown pass by Texas quarterback Case McCoy and returned it 37 yards to the end zone.
[b]Al Horford Jersey[/b]. McCoy later bookended a dismal performance in his final game with another pick-six, this one returned 38 yards by linebacker Derrick Malone that sent waves of burnt orange-clad fans streaming for the exits. McCoy scored on a 1-yard rush in the first quarter for Texas only touchdown. He finished 8 of 17 for 48 yards and was pulled at times in the second half for freshman Tyrone Swoopes. Running back Malcolm Brown was the lone offensive constant for Texas, finishing with 130 yards on 26 carries. "Its tough not to get a win for him," defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat said. "Miss Sally, shes like a second mom to us. She takes care of us. Coach Brown loves us " Far from the uplifting send-off Texas wanted for Brown, the school now shifts its focus to finding a replacement. New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson said before kickoff that he wants a successor by Jan. 15. Patterson said coaches interested in the job have come forward but wouldnt discuss potential candidates. "Theres interest thats sincere, and theres interest thats Help me find a better contract," Patterson said. Whoever Texas hires shouldnt expect patience from a fanbase that grew accustomed to winning under Brown, and then became restless as the Longhorns slid from perennial BCS contention. Brown arrived in 1998 and went 128-27 by the end of 2009, when the Longhorns lost to Alabama in its second BCS title game in five years. He went out, however, 30-21 in his final four seasons. Texas could do a lot worse than look to Oregon for how to pull off a coaching transition. Although first-year coach Mark Helfrich couldnt get the Ducks to a BCS bowl as Chip Kelly did in each of his four seasons, Oregon still finished with a fourth consecutive year of 11 or more victories. This was the Ducks third consecutive bowl win. Playing before New Years Day was a disappointing consolation for the Ducks after entering November unbeaten and ranked No. 2. Losing to Stanford dashed their national title hopes, but theyll be favourites to contend again in 2014 with Mariota back. "Yeah, it wasnt the season we hoped for," Huff said. "That month of November was a tough stretch for us but we were able to come together as a team and continue to fight for one another." Seldom has the Alamo Bowl hosted blowouts like this in recent years. Seven of the previous eight games had been decided by a touchdown or less before heavily favoured Oregon ended that run of drama, in front of what was the second-largest crowd in the bowls 20-year history. ' ' '
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