[arry J]

NEW YORK -- California Chrome went home to the West Coast on Sunday with a bandaged right front foot -- and no Triple Crown -- after bumping another horse leaving the Belmont Stakes starting gate. Maglia Lorenzo De Silvestri . Steve Coburn, who co-owns California Chome, was still smarting, too. He was irked Belmont winner Tonalist didnt run in either of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. After the race, he complained others took "the cowards way out" by skipping the Derby and/or the Preakness. A day later, Coburn was unrepentant. "Its not fair to these horses that are running to entertain these people in all three legs of the Triple Crown," he said. "Its not fair to them to have somebody just show up at the last minute and run. I may have gone off half-cocked yesterday, but thats the way I feel." Under Coburns premise, there would have been just three horses in the $1.5 million Belmont, making it unlikely the third-largest crowd of 102,199 would have shown up or that a record $19,105,877 would have been wagered on-track. California Chrome, General a Rod and Ride On Curlin were the only horses to run in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont. General a Rod finished seventh and Ride On Curlin did not finish. Art Sherman, the 77-year-old trainer of California Chrome, distanced himself from Coburns comments. "Horses arent cowards and the people arent cowards," he said. "He was at the heat of the moment. Dont forget hes a fairly new owner. Sometimes your emotions get in front of you. He hasnt been in the game long and hasnt had any bad luck." Coburn and Perry Martin named their racing operation Dumb Ass Partners, with California Chrome the lone horse in their stable. The chestnut colt has earned $3,317,800 this year and brought a six-race winning streak into the Belmont. California Chrome had smooth trips in winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness to set up a shot at racings first Triple Crown in 36 years. But he had a rough trip in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont on Saturday, getting a chunk of flesh torn from his foot after bumping with Matterhorn coming out of the starting gate. California Chrome finished in a dead heat for fourth with Wicked Strong. "It was kind of scary. You come back and see a horse bleeding from the foot," Sherman said. "Hes never had anything wrong with him. Weve been awful fortunate." Sherman said California Chrome has a superficial wound that should heal in two to three weeks. The colt will then rest for six to seven weeks after a tough Triple Crown campaign that involved running in three races at different tracks and distances over five weeks. His camp plans to point him toward the Breeders Cup this fall at Santa Anita. Sherman thought Coburn would apologize for his comments. Instead, the outspoken co-owner went even further Sunday. "It wouldnt be fair if I played basketball with a child in a wheelchair because I got an unfair advantage," Coburn said. "If your horse is good enough to run in the Belmont, where was he in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness? It says Triple Crown, not one out of two, one out of three or two out of three." Sherman said, "I cant make excuses. Thats not really what you should do in these type of races." Frenchman Christophe Clement, who won his first Triple Crown race with Totalist, declined to comment on Coburns remarks. Coburn had predicted California Chrome would win the Triple Crown. "If they want to call me a sore loser, I dont care," he said. Horses are made eligible for the Triple Crown races in January. Owners and trainers of horses not nominated can pay a late fee of $6,000 in March to get in. The 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby is decided by a points system, with horses earning points for running in prep races. The Preakness and Belmont have maximum fields of 14, but no points system is used. Its common for horses to drop in and out of the Triple Crown series. In 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, the Belmont had a five-horse field. Two of the colts rivals did not run in the first two legs and one only ran in the Derby. In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown. The Belmont had eight horses, and five did not run in the first two legs. One ran only in the Preakness, and one other besides Slew raced in all three legs. On Saturday, second-place finisher Commissioner was new to the Triple Crown series. Winner Tonalist wasnt ready for the Derby, so trainer Clement prepared him for the Belmont. "California Chrome was running with tough, fresh horses that were waiting in the wings, and thats what happens," Sherman said. "We all know when youre on this trail you got to have an iron horse." The veteran trainer hopes California Chromes owners will keep him running next year as a 4-year-old. He credited the colt for having a lot of talent and taking his handlers on an exciting ride. "This is one of them races that we couldnt win," Sherman said, "but he didnt disgrace us any." Maglia Calcio Italia . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Maglia Italiana Davide Astori . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics. 403 Forbidden . PETERSBURG, Fla.The picture is becoming clearer for Hockey Canada. Sam Reinhart has been returned to the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League and is a leading candidate to be captain of the 2015 edition of Team Canada. The Edmonton Oilers did likewise with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defencemen Darnell Nurse and that makes it two players that, without question, bolster the lineup. Its also become clear that Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers is more than capable of playing in the NHL and will be a one and done player at the World Juniors. Hockey Canadas personnel now turn their attention to the Subway Series - six games against Russia with the WHL, OHL and QMJHL filling rosters for two games apiece. For players who may be on the bubble, its an opportunity to show their capabilities and put themselves in consideration for a December invitation to selection camp. In each of these projections, I keep coming back to the defence because it looks as if it can be a considerable strength on this team. With Nurses return to junior, it only bolsters their size and skating ability as a group. Returnee Josh Morrissey will anchor the blue line and hell have plenty of help. This will be a group that defends well, works well in transition and contributes offence. Also, keep an eye on Joe Hicketts of the Victoria Royals, who went undrafted last June. He went to the Detroit Red Wings training camp on a tryout and ultimately signed an NHL contract. Hicketts has been a force on the blue line in the WHL and has been a very good player for Team Canada in previous international events. The IIHFs Under-18 tournament was a spectacular event for Connor McDavid as a 16-year-old player. Hes been no less spectacular this year with the Erie Otters and with Sam Reinharts inclusion, Canada could have the best duo in at the World Junior tournament. Jake Virtanen and Robbi Fabbri have returned from injury and are getting up to stride in their play. Theres going to be some very good players who wont make this team and with competition of this nature, theres no better preparation for going into a major tourney. Hockey Canada will also continue to closely follow the progress - or lack of progress - of Curtis Lazar, Bo Horvat and Anthony Duclair, but this team is certainly shaping up as one that wiill be capable of competing for a gold medal - regardless of any other NHL players being made available. Maglia Lorenzo Insigne. For the purpose of this months projected roster, we are going with the assumption that Lazar, Ekblad and Tampa Bays Jonathan Drouin are all but locks to stay with their NHL clubs and wont be playing in the tournament. CRAIG BUTTONS PROJECTED TEAM CANADA - NOVEMBER Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Max Domi (London) Connor McDavid (Erie) Sam Reinhart (Kootenay) Michael Dal Colle (Oshawa) Nic Petan (Portland) Jake Virtanen (Calgary) Jason Dickinson (Guelph) Robbi Fabbri (Guelph) Zach Nastasiuk (Owen Sound) Nicholas Ritchie (Peterborough) Frederik Gauthier (Rimouski) Greg Chase (Calgary) Morgan Klimchuk (Regina) Availability to be determined - Anthony Duclair (NHL - NY Rangers), Bo Horvat (NHL - Vancouver) Not available - Sam Bennett (Shoulder Injury) Defence Left Right Haydn Fleury (Red Deer) Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert) Samuel Morin (Rimouski) Madison Bowey (Kelowna) Travis Sanheim (Calgary) Shea Theodore (Seattle) Darnell Nurse (Sault Ste. Marie) Goaltender Zach Fucale (Halifax) Philippe Desrosiers (Rimouski) OTHER CANDIDATES Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Nick Paul (North Bay) Brayden Point (Moose Jaw) Jayce Hawrlyuk (Brandon) Tyler Bertuzzi (Guelph) Laurent Dauphin (Chicoutimi) Nick Baptiste (Sudbury) Brendan Lemieux (Barrie) Defence Left Right Joe Hicketts (Victoria) Roland McKeown (Kingston) Dillon Heatherington (Swift Current) Chris Bigras (Owen Sound) Ben Harpur (Guelph) Goaltenders Tristan Jarry (Edmonton) Eric Comrie (Tri-City) Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '