lton. That probe led to the firing of football coach Art Briles

It has been 20 years since Cigar ran his last race, in the 1996 Breeders Cup Classic at Woodbine, while more than 76 years have passed since Seabiscuit took his final bow with a victory in the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap. Yet their names live on, in more ways than one, and on Saturday their memories will be summoned once again in significant bicoastal races at Del Mar and Aqueduct.Cigar was the notoriously schizophrenic son of Palace Music who began life as a failed turf horse before a dramatic rebranding turned him into the preeminent main-track competitor of the decade. He retired just $185 shy of an even $10 million in earnings, pocket change he could have stumbled into with minimally more effort in any one of the 10 grass races he lost in 11 tries.On dirt, Cigar was nearly unbeatable. Apart from his first two maiden races, he won 17 of 20 starts on the main track, all of those against older opposition from whatever cream there was of several crops. His 16 straight wins from the autumn of 1994 to the summer of 1996 were the talk of the racing world. Wherever Cigar ran was the place to be.Cigar was voted Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996. In 1997, the New York Racing Association renamed its NYRA Mile the Cigar Mile, which made perfect sense since the 1994 NYRA Mile marked Cigars first stakes win. For Saturday, the $500,000 Cigar Mile purse has lured a field that includes Anchor Down, Ocean Knight, Divining Rod, Connect, and War Story.Like Cigar, Seabiscuit had a distinctly bifurcated career. By the time he was purchased by Charles S. Howard in August 1936, the horse had been asked to run a ridiculous 47 times at ages 2 and 3 by a succession of Wheatley Stable trainers, including the legendary Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.Once in the hands of Tom Smith, Seabiscuit was treated like a good horse, which is what he became. He won 24 of 42 starts for Howard, carrying 130 pounds or more a dozen times, and was Horse of the Year in 1938. How popular was Seabiscuit? Read the book. See the movie.When Del Mar inherited Hollywood Parks fall stakes commitments, the former Citation Handicap became the Seabiscuit. Switching names left West Coast racing without a proper homage to Citation, but Seabiscuits California roots were deep, and in his lone appearance at Del Mar he won a controversial match race against South American ace Ligaroti that set the sporting press on its ear.The cast lining up for Saturdays running of the $200,000 Seabiscuit, at 8-1/2 furlongs on the grass, includes Ring Weekend, What a View, Om, and Vyjack, each coming out of a Breeders Cup appearance.Om, the winner of the 2015 Del Mar Derby, might be the freshest among them. After making 10 starts over an 11-month stretch, the flashy son of Munnings was given a break last spring by trainer Dan Hendricks, then came back better than ever. He was second in the Del Mar Mile, second in the City of Hope Mile, and came one step away from winning the $1 million Breeders Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.It was a step he lost at the start, which cost Om and Gary Stevens striking position on the twisting downhill Santa Anita course. They found themselves last early, traveling well but going nowhere. Up in the stands, the pragmatic Hendricks had all but conceded the match.Basically, it was game over until he crossed the dirt, Hendricks said this week from his Santa Anita stable. Then it turned into another race.Did it ever. Stevens still had a ton of horse, and miraculously they began to find creases inside, between, and around the dozen opponents separating Om from the front-running Obviously. In the final 50 yards, they passed the classy Pure Sensation like he was tied to a post and were gobbling up Obviously when the wire arrived -- too soon. The difference was a nose, and $380,000 in prize money.Hendricks could be forgiven if he had pounded his head over the tough loss. After three decades as a trainer, he has never been so close to a Breeders Cup score. But 12 years in a wheelchair after a dirt-bike accident cultivate a certain equanimity when it comes to such mundane matters as a lost horse race. Hendricks preferred to look at the Cup result as at least half fulfilling.Luckily, we got through with a clean trip because he could have gotten blocked pretty easily considering as big a field as it was, Hendricks said. After the fact, we were just glad we were second and had a lot of fun with it. We cant complain.Best of all, Om is raring to go again.He actually came out of his race fresher and stronger, not losing any weight, than he has a lot of his other races, Hendricks said. Only running three-sixteenths of a mile might have helped.Om, owned by Kulbhushan and Shashi Sareen, will race next year at age 5, according to Hendricks.We never even thought about stopping, Hendricks said. Hes healthy, happy, and sound. I cant ask more for a horse than that. He should have a real big year.And it could start on Saturday.Wholesale Air Max 90 Australia .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Wholesale Air Max 90 . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.wholesaleairmax90australia.com/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Wholeale Air Max 90 Australia Online . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Discount Air Max 90 Australia .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- That baseball hazing ritual of dressing up rookies as Wonder Woman, Hooters Girls and Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders is now banned.Major League Baseball created an Anti-Hazing and Anti-Bullying Policy that covers the practice. As part of the sports new labor deal, set to be ratified by both sides Tuesday, the players union agreed not to contest it.The policy, obtained by The Associated Press, prohibits requiring, coercing or encouraging players from dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identify or other characteristic.MLB Vice President Paul Mifsud said the new rules resulted partly in light of social media, which in our view sort of unfortunately publicized a lot of the dressing up of the players ... those kind of things which in our view were insensitive and potentially offensive to a number of groups.OLYMPICSMOSCOW -- Russias doping cover-up went far beyond the Olympics, according to a vast archive of emails released by a World Anti-Doping Agency investigator.Besides the 12 medal winners from the 2014 Winter Olympics whose samples were supposedly tampered with, messages show a system which covered up drug use by blind athletes and children as young as 15.In 2015, a year after the Olympics, Russias top doping scientist, Grigory Rodchenkov, complained that the scheme Richard McLaren termed the disappearing positive methodology had grown so large it was covering for doping -- and apparent abuse of power -- in disabled sports.Five blind athletes in powerlifting, a form of weightlifting, had tested positive for the banned steroid methandienone at the same training camp. Rodchenkov suspected unscrupulous coaches eager for medals were doping the athletes without their knowledge.PRO FOOTBALLLOS ANGELES -- Jeff Fishers tenure in Los Angeles didnt last one full season.The Rams fired Fisher and elevated special teams coordinator John Fassel to interim coach. The Rams are 4-9 heading into Thursday nights game at NFC West-leading Seattle.Fisher had been the teams coach since 2012, and compiled a 31-45-1 record with the Rams. He oversaw the move from St. Louis to Los Angeles this past offseason.The lack of success on the field, capped by a 42-14 home rout by Atlanta on Sunday, spelled the end for Fisher, who is tied with Dan Reeves for most regular-season losses in NFL history with 165. Fisher has the lowest winning percentage (.512) among coaches with 130-plus losses.UNDATED -- The Supreme Court rejected the final two challenges to the estimated $1 billion settlement between the NFL and thousands of its former players who have been diagnosed with brain injuries linked to repeated concussions. Players who already have been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease, Parkinsons, Alzheimers or dementia could begin receiving payments in 90 to 120 days.The league has estimated that 6,000 former players -- or nearly three in 10 -- could develop Alzheimers disease or moderate dementia. Payments could be as high as $5 million for those with Lou Gehrigs disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS; the average payoutt is expected to be closer to $190,000.ddddddddddddThe class-action lawsuit filed in Philadelphia accused the NFL of hiding what it knew about the link between concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that has been found in dozens of former players after their deaths. Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody approved the deal last year after twice sending it back to lawyers over concerns the fund might run out.COLLEGE FOOTBALLBOCA RATON, Fla. -- Lane Kiffin is about to be a head coach again after agreeing to start anew and take over at Florida Atlantic.Kiffins soon-to-be-former boss, Alabama coach Nick Saban, confirmed the hiring and said his offensive coordinator will remain with the Crimson Tide for the College Football Playoff.FAU had no immediate comment because the deal has not been finalized. Kiffin has agreed to a five-year contract, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither Kiffin nor the school had confirmed the hiring.Kiffin has been the offensive coordinator at Alabama for the last three seasons, helping the Crimson Tide win last seasons national championship and get back to the College Football Playoff with the No. 1 ranking this year. FAU will be his third collegiate head coaching job, and the first since USC fired him five games into the 2013 season.BAYLOR SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATIONWACO, Texas -- Baylor University regents say they have full confidence in a previous investigation into campus sexual and physical assault reports, and reject calls from a group of major donors for a third-party review.Baylor regents said in a statement they voted unanimously against further review of the investigation by the law firm Pepper Hamilton. That probe led to the firing of football coach Art Briles and the departures of President Ken Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw.The Bears for Leadership Reform group led by several of Baylors top donors has complained the full investigation hasnt been publicly released.The regents statement did not mention a libel lawsuit filed last week by Briles against three board members and a senior Baylor official. Briles attorney, Ernest Cannon, said the board should release the entire investigation.GOLFSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Phil Mickelson has had surgery for a sports hernia for the second time in three months and is not sure when he will play next.Mickelson first had surgery on his hernia in October, right after playing in the Safeway Open. His management company said the five-time major champion is expected to make a full recovery, but it did not offer a timetable for his return.Mickelson had planned to start 2017 at the CareerBuilder Challenge on Jan. 19-22 in Palm Desert, California. The statement said the 46-year-old was looking forward to the tournament, at least in his new role as ambassador for the event.Mickelson hasnt won since the British Open in 2013. He has been a runner-up in the majors each of the last three years. ' ' '