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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

For two-thirds of the Edmonton Indy on Sunday, it looked like it might be Alex Taglianis day. The Lachenaie, Que.-native led for almost two-thirds of the race, but fell behind for good after his second pit stop. Finishing fifth, it was a decent showing for the Canadian on home soil, but Taglianis failure to capture the checkered flag means that it has now been more than five years since a Canadian driver has reached the top of the podium at an Indy race, the last coming when Paul Tracy claimed the 2007 Cleveland Grand Prix. James Hinchcliffe – expected to be Canadas next great racing hope – finished 12th overall. What has happened to Canadas winning tradition in IndyCar racing? That victory came in the final season of the Champ Car World Series, before it merged with the Indy Racing League to form the current IZOD IndyCar Series. The reunification of the two leading circuits has coincided with a long drought for Canadian drivers in a sport that once captivated an entire nation. Starting in the early 1990s a crop of Canadian drivers emerged to take North American open-wheel racing by storm. Scott Goodyear thrust himself into the national spotlight in 1992, finishing a mere 0.043 behind Al Unser Jr. at the Indianapolis 500. The result remains the closest finish in the races 101-year history. Goodyear would win the Marlboro 500 that same year to become the first Canadian Indy driver since Jacques Villeneuve Sr. in 1985 to win an Indy race. From there the floodgates opened. Tracy would win five races in 1993 including the Molson Indy in Toronto, becoming the first Canadian to win on home soil. The next year, Canadians would win five Indy races, including three by Tracy, helping him to third in the year-end drivers standings. That year would also mark the debut of Jacques Villeneuve (the younger), who would win Rookie of the Year honours. Villeneuve would help launch the team that would come to define Canadian racing for the next decade. Forsythe-Pettit Racing - under the sponsorship of Players – would produce a long line of successful Canadian drivers. Despite losing Villeneuve to Team Green, where he would win the Indy drivers title as well as the Indy 500 in 1995, Forsythe found success with the likes of Greg Moore, Patrick Carpentier and Tagliani who would thrive on the circuit from 1996 through 2004. Tracy and the Forsythe drivers became breakout stars in North America while Villeneuve conquered the Formula One circuit with Williams-Renault, winning the 1997 overall Grand Prix points title. The future looked bright, with Forsythes pipeline of successful Canadian drivers winning races at the Indy Lights and Atlantic Championship levels as well. In addition to developing Moore, Carpentier and Tagliani, the teams stable included promising young drivers like David Empringham, Claude Bourbonnais and Lee Bentham. Forsythes biggest breakthrough, however, would come in 2003. After signing with Forsythe from Team Green, Tracy would win the CART drivers championship in 2003 after winning seven races. He along with Carpentier and Tagliani would guide Canada to the Nations Cup that season with a Canadian reaching the podium in 13 of the seasons 18 races. The trio would repeat the feat in 2004, missing the podium just four times in 14 races. However, the bubble would burst soon after. The Vancouver Indy – founded in 1990 – would run for the last time in 2004. The Grand Prix of Montreal would also be cancelled after just five races in 2006. The Toronto Indy, long viewed as the strongest Indy event in Canada, would also be forced to shut down, cancelling the 2008 race after the merger of CART and IRL. It would return in 2009 with fresh sponsorship from Honda. Coupled with a lack of success on the track, the sports prestige in Canada has tumbled in recent years. But is the sport on the rebound? Hinchcliffe has become the nations poster-boy in the sport after winning the 2011 Rookie of the Year Award and has a pair of podium finishes under his belt thus far in 2012. The Series CEO has also hinted at adding another Canadian race for the 2013 season, so there may still be room for further growth for Indy north of the border. So, what do you think? Is Indys star once again on the rise in Canada, or are the series glory days merely a thing of the past? As always, its Your! Call. Wholesale Jerseys Supply . Correia pitched six solid innings and Presley had two hits and scored three runs as Pittsburgh beat the Houston Astros 6-3 on Wednesday night to gain ground in the wild-card race. Wholesale Jerseys China . Good thing, since the Mariners relievers did their best to try and blow a shot at Seattles first four-game sweep at home in more than a decade. Hernandez shook off a line drive to his left wrist and threw seven strong innings, and the Mariners overcame bullpen problems to beat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 Sunday for a four-game sweep. http://pavansukhdev.org/wholesalejerseys.html . Del Moral, who needed just 20 putts in his third round, completed 54 holes at 17-under-par 199. "It was incredible. I putted beautifully and it gives me a lot of confidence.BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - First it was Argentina, now Brazil has been eliminated from a surprising Copa America tournament. Brazil lost to Paraguay on penalties in the quarterfinals on Sunday, meaning the tournament will finish without South Americas two most important national teams. Host Argentina was knocked out Saturday after losing to Uruguay, also in a penalty shootout. The semifinals will pit Uruguay against Peru and Paraguay against Venezuela, which advanced to the semifinals for the first time in its history by beating Chile 2-1. There will be a new South American champion for the first time in at least 16 years. Uruguay won the 1995 tournament at home, and since then Brazil won four titles and Colombia one -- at home in 2001. The Copa America winner will automatically earn a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. Brazil outplayed Paraguay from the start but was not able to capitalize on its scoring opportunities, thanks mostly to a great performance by goalkeeper Justo Villar. Villar stopped defender Thiago Silvas shot in the shootout and Elano, Andre Santos and Fred also missed for Brazil, giving the Paraguayans a 2-0 victory. Marcelo Estigarribia and Christian Riveros scored to help Paraguay reach the final four for the first time since 1989. "Brazil shouldve won after 90 minutes," Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said. "Sometimes we get these results. We played entirely differently from how we wanted to play." Paraguay will play in the semifinals, despite not having any victories in its four matches so far. Its only shot on goal Sunday didnt come until the 88th minute. Brazil, meanwhile, had several clear scoring chances throughout the match in La Plata. Brazil was trying to win its third straight Copa America title after having won four of the past five tournaments, and coach Mano Menezes brought a mixed squad of veterans and promising younng stars to also prepare for the 2014 World Cup at home.dddddddddddd "Its important to keep our calm after a loss and avoid thinking that it was all negative," Menezes said. "We improved after the (tough) start in the competition and we will continue working hard so we can reach the positive results in the future." Brazil won only one of its four matches. The team drew with Venezuela and Paraguay before beating Ecuador 4-2 in the group stage. "Its always disappointing when things dont go our way," Menezes said. Argentinas exit also was disappointing. Playing at home, and with Lionel Messi, it was trying to end a drought of 18 years without major titles. In San Juan, Venezuela continued its surprising run by eliminating Chile, which had been playing well and was considered a title favourite. Oswaldo Vizcarrondo opened the scoring in the 35th minute and Gabriel Cichero scored the winner in the 81st. Chile scored with Humberto Suazo in the 70th. Both teams finished with 10 players after Chiles Gary Medel was sent off for his second yellow card in the 83rd and Venezuelas Tomas Rincon was shown a red card in second-half injury time "I am leaving sad," said Chile coach Claudio Borghi. "But I dont feel cheated. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet all the expectations people had." Better known for its baseball, Venezuela is unbeaten in four games. It was coming off draws against Brazil and Paraguay and a victory against Ecuador. "We beat a rival who was in the World Cup," Venezuela coach Cesar Farias said of Chile, which reached the second round last year in South Africa. Uruguay, now the slight title favourite, will play Peru on Tuesday in La Plata. Paraguay and Venezuela will play Wednesday at Mendoza. Uruguay drew the Peruvians 1-1 when they met in the group stage, while Paraguay and Venezuela drew 3-3. ' ' ' 

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