he team might be small, but Shields and lightweigh

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Hambletonian has become trainer Jimmy Takters personal playground lately.The Swedish native has won trottings biggest race the past two years, and he has another chance on Saturday when he sends out five 3-year-olds at the Meadowlands, including the highly regarded Bar Hopping.No trainer has ever won three straight Hambletonians. One more win would also give the 55-year-old Hall of Famer a record-tying fifth triumph. Stanley Dancer, Billy Haughton and Ben White also won five.Bar Hopping is the favorite in the nine-horse first elimination. Southwind Frank is the favorite in the nine-horse second elimination, and the overall favorite to win the final.The top five finishers in each elimination advance to the final to determine the Hambletonian winner.Southwind Frank has win 16 of 18 career starts. His only two losses have been to Bar Hopping.At least we know hes challenged (Southwind) Frank, Takter said. He beat him fair and square earlier this year.Tim Tetrick, who will be looking for his first Hambletonian win, will drive Bar Hopping, starting from the No. 1 post position. The colt was impressive in capturing the $300,000 Zweig Memorial at Vernon Downs on July 24 in his final prep.Takter will also send out Lagerfeld, Love Matters, Jimmy William and Reigning Moni in the eliminations.Takter said the most important thing in training is not to change for a big race.People start over-doing things, train the horses maybe a little harder, or whatever, he said. I dont think thats smart. I think thats where experience comes in. The horse has no clue its the Hambletonian. The driver and trainer, yes. But the horse has no clue.Southwind Frank, who is trained by Ron Burke, has won 5 of 6 starts this year. He won the Reynolds Memorial Stakes in the slop here last weekend.Driver Yannick Gingras said Southwind Frank had plenty left in his tank at the end of the race.These are going to be his races to lose, Gingras said. Im not going to be looking to come third over or something like that. Im looking to have him in play and Im looking to have him aggressive.Gingras failed to win with the favorite in the last two Hambletonians. Breaking from the No. 10 post position, Father Patrick broke stride and never had a chance in 2014.Gingras drove both Pinkman and Mission Brief in their respective Hambletonian heats. He chose to drive the filly Mission Brief in the final and finished second to Pinkman, who was driven by Brian Sears.Here are the fields for the eliminations in post position order with horse, driver and odds:Elimination 1: Bar Hopping, Tetrick, 9-5; Lagerfeld, Gingras, 12-1; Make Or Miss, Joe Bongiorno, 20-1; Milligans School, Andy Miller, 10-1; Brooklyn Hill, David Miller, 3-1; Mavens Way, John Campbell, 6-1; Tight Lines, Jeff Gregory, 25-1; Iron Mine Bucky, George Dennis, 15-1; Reigning Moni, Mark MacDonald, 4-1.Elimination 2: Jimmy William, Tetrick, 20-1; The Royal Harry, Ake Svanstedt, 20-1; Sutton, Andy Miller, 6-1; Marion Marauder, Scott Zeron 3-1; Southwind Frank, Gingras, 4-5, Hollywood Highway, Campbell, 30-1; Dominion Beach, Bjorn Goop, 30-1; Love Matters, Brett Miller, 12-1; Waitlifter, David Miller, 10-1.Dalton Pompey Blue Jays Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Roger Clemens Blue Jays Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.bluejaysonline.com/blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-jersey/ . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Devon Travis Blue Jays Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Bud Norris Jersey . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.After 112 years of amateur competition, professional boxers are fighting in the Olympics.All three of them.The International Boxing Associations high-profile scheme to entice prominent pros to compete in Rio de Janeiro hasnt worked.Instead of the star-studded tournament many apparently wanted, only a trio of traditional pros accepted the offer to fight for gold medals in Brazil. Only hardcore boxing fans have ever heard of them: Cameroons Hassan NDam, Thailands Amnat Ruenroeng and Italys Carmine Tommasone.The Rio tournament will be more notable for what the men arent wearing. AIBA is removing headguards for male Olympic fighters for the first time since 1980.The real stars again could be the women, who are back for their second Olympics after providing the best moments in London.Here are some more things to know when the 286-person tournament begins Aug. 6:REIGNING CHAMPSAll three gold medal winners from the inaugural womens boxing tournament in London are back to attempt to defend their titles. Britains Nicola Adams, Irelands Katie Taylor and American middleweight Claressa Shields all stuck with their sport, which has grown rapidly in prominence and quality since womens boxing was added to the Olympic program. In fact, only the dominant Shields is a strong favorite to repeat, given the improved competition at flyweight and lightweight.CAN YOU SEE MEAIBA announced its plan to remove Olympic headgear from the men three years ago, citing research claiming the bulky pads actually cause more concussions than they prevent. The quality of their science is considered dubious by many, but many fighters prefer to compete without the gear, and the sport is undeniably more telegenic when fans can see the fighters faces.UNKINDEST CUTThe biggest problem with the headgear removal is likely to be cuts, which will develop more frequently without the facial protection. Qualifying tournaments have been filled with fighters unable to continue to their next bout after getting cut, and Olympic stars seem likely to meet the same fate.BIG NAMESAIBA has tried for years to become a player in international professional boxing under President Wu Ching-Kuo, but it has succeeded only in nations without an established pro boxing culture. The Olympic-style sports growth in former Soviet republics will be obvious in Rio, where Kazakhstan (12 fighters), Azerbaijan (11), Uzbekistan (11) and Russia (11) willl be well-represented along with the likes of Britain (12) and China (11).dddddddddddd Cuba (10) has a fighter in every mens weight class, but no women.EVEN THE SCOREAnother big change for Rio is the scoring system, which is no longer based on punch-counting. Fighters will be judged on the 10-point must system traditionally used in pro boxing, with the final scores of each judge reduced to a single number. The final scores in the fights will be announced as 3-0 or 2-1. Unlike the headgear change, the move away from reviled punch-scoring has been greeted with broad approval. Still, it probably wont stop more than half of the losing fighters from claiming they were robbed, just as they do in every Olympic-style boxing tournament.YOUNG AMERICANSThe U.S. team is the historic leader in total Olympic boxing medals and golds, but the Americans are sending just eight fighters to Rio after four men and one woman failed to secure spots through qualifying tournaments. The team might be small, but Shields and lightweight Mikaela Mayer are both medal contenders. The U.S. men didnt win a single medal in London, but touted bantamweight Shakur Stevenson has a great shot to end that drought in Rio.THE GREATESTYoure not seeing things on the schedule: Thats Muhammad Ali competing in Rio. The 20-year-old British flyweight with the conspicuous name is among the medal favorites after training in the same gym as Amir Khan, the English silver medalist in Athens.HES BACKFormer Russian world champion Albert Selimov is best known for losing his first fight in Beijing to Ukraines Vasyl Lomachenko, the two-time gold medalist whose amateur legend truly began with that masterful performance. While Lomachenko reigns as a professional world champion eight years later, Selimov is back at the Olympics, fighting for Azerbaijan as a naturalized citizen. He is a favorite for a medal at lightweight.WATCH OUTCuba, another traditional world power, could return to prominence in Rio after a down Olympic cycle in London. Among its several strong medal contenders are three-time amateur light heavyweight world champion Julio Cesar La Cruz; London flyweight gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez, now fighting at bantamweight; and lightweight Lazaro Alvarez, a three-time world champion in two classes. ' ' '