Kritik und Lob » as one of his idols.Thats a guy Ive

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks was playing out just as most people thought it would. The visiting Songbird, with the target of a champion on her back, was being stalked intently by Carina Mia, the challenger playing in her backyard at steamy Saratoga.Approaching the quarter pole of the 1-1/8-mile event, Carina Mia and jockey Julien Leparoux were at the throatlatch of Songbird and Mike Smith.Rick Porter, the owner of Songbird, was standing in his box seat area near the finish line.I got a little nervous, Porter admitted.The nerves didnt last long. Smith asked Songbird for more than he ever had to before and the filly responded, running away from Carina Mia and drawing off to a 5-1/4-length victory in the Coaching Club, keeping her unbeaten in nine starts. Carina Mia was second by four lengths over Flora Dora. Mo dAmour and Weep No More completed the order of finish.I knew at some point Carina Mia was going to give her a serious test, an acid test, and she did, Smith said. She made her do something shes never had to do before; well see what happens. A lot of times, a true champion, this will move them up because its the first time somebody got inside her gut. If that happens, oh my.Songbird had been dominant winning her first eight starts by a combined 42-1/2 lengths. With the exception of the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies, Songbird had faced modest competition.In Carina Mia, winner of the Grade 2 Eight Belles and Grade 1 Acorn in her last two starts, Songbird was meeting the best filly she had ever faced.I could agree with that, Jerry Hollendorder, the trainer of Songbird said.Songbird had the rail and was the speed of the Coaching Club American Oaks, whose purse was raised by the New York Racing Association to $500,000 from $300,000 to attract Songbird here. Carina Mia was the stalker and had post 2.Songbird jumped sharply out of the gate and Smith, understanding the rail was the deepest part of the track, moved Songbird a bit off the rail in the early stages of the race and moved to the three- or four-path down the backside.Songbird maintained a length to 1-1/2-length advantage over Carina Mia through fractions of 23.86 seconds for the quarter-mile, 47.52 for the half, and 1:11.63 for six furlongs.Entering the far turn, Leparoux sent Carina Mia after Songbird, who had wandered back to the inside. At the quarter pole, the two were on equal terms.In upper stretch, Smith went to a left-handed whip, smacked Songbird a few times and she responded, drawing away from Carina Mia in the final three-sixteenths.Songbird, a daughter of Medaglia dOro who sold for $400,000 as a yearling across the street at the Fasig-Tipton auction in 2014, covered the 1-1/8 miles in 1:49.56 and returned $2.60 as the 1-5 favorite.Im very grateful to win with her, Hollendorfer said. She does it easy, you always wonder if theyre going to keep doing it, but she keeps doing it.The vanquished were proud, albeit somewhat disappointed as they thought they were primed to pull an upset.At the quarter pole I thought I could actually win the race, Leparoux said. But she just re-broke.Said Bill Mott, Carina Mias trainer: I thought maybe we had her. We didnt.Songbird will stay in Saratoga and point to the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama here on Aug. 20. Yeezy 350 V2 2020 Pas Cher . 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"I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. At a time when some have wondered whether this would be Carson Palmers and Larry Fitzgeralds last season, Arizona has extended the contracts and careers of both players.The Cardinals announced one-year contract extensions for Palmer and Fitzgerald on Friday, tying the quarterback to Arizona through the 2018 season and the wide receiver to the team through 2017.The total deal for Palmer will be just over $24 million, ?a source told ESPNs Dan Graziano. He will get a $6.75 million signing bonus and a new $2 million roster bonus,?plus $15.5 million in salary and bonuses fully guaranteed in 2017. Before the extension deal, none of his money for 2017 had been guaranteed.?His 2018 salary will be $12.5 million plus a $1.5 million roster bonus, none of which is guaranteed, according to the source.Clearly these are two core members of our team who have played major roles in our success, said Cardinals general manager Steve Keim in a statement. Each of them had contracts that were due to expire in the next year or two so these extensions provide a measure of certainty and clarity for the players and organization, both now and in the years ahead. It also reaffirms our long-stated intention that when the time comes, these two great players end their stellar careers as Cardinals.The deals came one day after Arizona signed defensive back Tyrann Mathieu to a five-year, $62.5 million extension, with $21.5 million guaranteed at signing.The Cardinals wanted to keep the core of their team together for as long as they could, and these extensions will enable them to do just that. Palmer is 36 and Fitzgerald turns 33 this month, but they have played as if theyre in the prime of their careers.Cardinals ddefensive end Calais Campbell called the news about Carson great.ddddddddddddYou cant win without a quarterback in this league and Carsons been working hard. He looks like he found the fountain of youth. The guy never gets old. He just looks better and better each day. Going against him I just see his movement in the pocket. Its a big-time signing. I think thats really good for us forward. It gives us a few more years of certainty, Campbell said.?Campbell also reacted positively to Fitzgeralds extension, describing the wideout as one of his idols.Thats a guy Ive always looked up to and I have so much respect for. Hes been my role model since Day 1. He let me in on the secret a couple day earlier so I knew about that one for a couple of days. Hes just a great guy. Hes very deserving, Campbell added.Both players are coming off some of their best and most productive NFL seasons.Last season, Palmer threw for a career-best 4,671 yards and a career-best 35 touchdowns. ?Palmer joined the Cardinals in 2013 after being acquired in a trade from the Oakland Raiders. Since coming to Arizona, Palmer has a 29-9 record as a starter, including a 19-3 mark over the past two seasons.?A Heisman Trophy winner at USC, Palmer was the No. 1 overall pick by Cincinnati in the 2003 draft.Fitzgerald caught a career-high 109 passes for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns.?Entering his 13th season in Arizona, Fitzgerald was originally taken by the Cardinals as the third overall pick of the 2004 NFL draft out of Pittsburgh.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.? ' ' '