ent level of rim protection.Marco Belinelli scored 1

The announcement this week that Love the Chase, dam of California Chrome, will be bred next year to American Pharoahs sire Pioneerof the Nile set the imagination alight. North Americas richest racehorse would now be step-brother to racings most recent Triple Crown winner. Or something like that.Breeding news abounds at this time of year. High-priced racemares have been changing hands like hot stocks. Broodmares in foal are counting the days. Young stallions are sniffing the air, getting in the mood for their first rites of spring.And then there is California Chrome.Any other year, California Chrome would be winding down from four seasons of competition to be dealing with his first Kentucky winter, in his case at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville.But no, the 5-year-old chestnut with the road-stripe blaze is still hard at work at Los Alamitos, exercising each morning under the lights, giving Dihigi Gladney all he can handle in the irons as the father-son training team of Art and Alan Sherman looks on, calculating each stride as a step toward the $12 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28.To that end, California Chrome will be turned loose Saturday afternoon for a practice session in full pads around the Los Alamitos oval he knows so well. Management has cobbled together a $100,000 stakes race and named it the Winter Challenge, even though it looks more like the Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals.Normally, it would be all hands on deck with the California Chrome syndicate whenever its hero/ATM goes postward. The bitter taste of his noble loss to Arrogate in the Breeders Cup Classic still lingers, and the Winter Challenge figures to be a good way to at least partially cleanse the palate. Unfortunately, certain Christmas plans were set in stone long before the Sherman brain trust and Dr. Ed Allred of Los Alamitos put the race in play, so it will be Chrome and several thousand of his closest friends and fans gathered in Orange County on Saturday for carols and hot toddies.Mike and Linda Stinson are sick at heart over missing the race in person. Since becoming part of the California Chrome ownership group a year ago, they have been loyal camp followers, traveling far and wide from their Fort Worth, Texas, home to fly the flag.Our annual family Christmas function is on Saturday, Linda Stinson said this week. Its about to kill us to miss the race. But the party will stop to gather around the television to watch the race, count on that.The Stinsons have been married going on 44 years and racing fans together for just as long. Mike Stinsons career in banking and financial services has allowed them to own racehorses of all creeds and colors, and one of them is Peppers Pride, the most famous Thoroughbred ever produced in the state of New Mexico. She won all 19 of her races, the climax coming on Dec. 14, 2008, at Sunland Park. Upon her retirement, the Stinsons bought into her broodmare career with owner-breeder Joe Allen.Peppers Pride took up residence at Taylor Made, which is why it made perfect sense that Mike Stinson was on the shortlist of potential partners when the farm bought an interest in California Chrome. He confessed to being a Chromie from the start.First of all, I always thought there was more to this horses pedigree than people were willing to acknowledge up front, Stinson said. But before I even got to the pedigree, his 2-year-old races showed me a tactical high cruising speed, almost push-button style. And I just love that in a horse. When youve got speed, youve got options.When he turned 3, it just looked like as you stretched him out, that speed would be even more effective, Stinson added. I remember telling Frank Taylor before California Chrome ran in the Belmont, If there was any opportunity to do anything with the horse, count us in.Partnering with owner and co-breeder Perry Martin, the Taylors of Taylor Made formed a syndicate of investors who would be able to bring quality mares to the court of California Chrome. Certainly, the Stinsons qualified on that count with Peppers Pride, whose second foal, by Distorted Humor, named Punctuate, impressively won a Del Mar maiden race for Arnold and Ellen Zetcher.As a bonus, the new partners got a racing season to remember, with victories in the Dubai World Cup and Pacific Classic, three other major stakes, and that dramatic second in the Breeders Cup.It was assumed that Peppers Pride would be among the first group of mares bred to California Chrome next year -- once he has dealt with the Pegasus World Cup -- but recent events have put that decision on hold.She lost her foal about three weeks ago, Stinson said. It was a twisted umbilical chord, one of those odd things that happens. Fortunately, she will be healthy enough to breed next year.The foal was by American Pharoah.Whether she goes to him or Chrome, we dont know yet, Stinson said. Were guaranteed in the deal to go back to American Pharoah, so wed have to work that out.In the meantime, there is still work to be done on the racetrack.Its bittersweet, these last two races for Chrome, Linda Stinson said. But we could never have imagined the year hes given us. Peyton Manning Womens Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Bobby Okereke Womens 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. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro.com/Johnny-unitas-colts-jersey/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Peyton Manning Youth Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Andrew Luck Womens Jersey . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. DALLAS -- Yet another Dallas injury opened the door for a Charlotte Hornets rally.Kemba Walker scored 19 points, Nicolas Batum had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and the Hornets came back from an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Mavericks 109-101 on Monday night.Already down three regulars to injury, Dallas lost center Andrew Bogut late in the first quarter to a right knee injury. While the Mavericks didnt think the injury was serious, the Hornets took advantage to dominate the boards, outrebounding the Mavericks 55-35 and scoring 54 points in the paint.Thats a big difference, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Boguts absence. Hes always been a terrific basket protector. If you take him out, those other guys are good, but its a different level of rim protection.Marco Belinelli scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, including the teams first two 3-pointers after the Hornets missed their first 14 from long range. Six Hornets scored in double figures.Jeremy Lamb added 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3 with 13.9 seconds remaining to hold off a late Dallas run.Harrison Barnes scored 29 points for the Mavericks and Deron Williams had his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 assists.It seems like we get someone back and somebody else goes down, said Williams, who had missed eight games of his own due to a calf strain. Its been tough. Wed really like to have Dirk (Nowitzki) out there, and J.J. (Barea). You cant control certain things so weve just got to keep on trucking.After a 15-4 Mavericks run early in the third quarter temporarily opened up a back-and-forth game, the Hornets answered with a 10-1 spurt and the game stayed close into the final minutes.Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was assessed a technical foul arguing a call and Batum converted the free throw for a 98-91 lead with 4:26 to play, capping a 15-5 Hornets run.After the Hornets opened the lead to 104-95 with 2:01 to play, Dallas scored the next six points and had a chance to get closer, but Cody Zeller blocked Willliams shot in the lane with 34 seconds to play and Lamb followed with his 3.ddddddddddddIts a tough environment, but we stuck together today, Lamb said. We got down 10, but we kept fighting, and we were able to pull out a win.SIGH OF RELIEFBogut limped off the court with 45 seconds left in the first quarter after a collision with Charlottes Roy Hibbert, grabbing his right knee immediately. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.But Carlisle said initial reports were positive and that the knee was only hyperextended.The X-ray was clean from the information that I got, Carlisle said. Well probably have more information in a day or so. At this point, it appears we dodged a bullet.Bogut was not available for comment after the game.LONG ODDSAfter 16 seasons in a row of finishing .500 or better and making the playoffs in 15 of those seasons, the Mavericks are just 4-16.The last team to make the playoffs after such a poor start was the 2004-05 Bulls, who started 5-15 and finished 47-35 before losing in the first round of the playoffs to Washington.TIP-INSHornets: The game had 18 lead changes and was tied 17 times. . The Hornets made 24 of 26 free throws in beating the Mavs for the second time in five days. . Charlotte has lost six of eight aside from its two wins over Dallas.Mavericks: Nowitzki missed his fifth straight game and 15th overall with right Achilles soreness. Barea missed his 10th game in a row with a left calf strain. Seth Curry missed his third game in a row with a right knee sprain. ... Devin Harris scored seven points in the first quarter -- more than he had scored in three games combined since returning from a big toe injury.UP NEXTHornets: Home against Detroit on Wednesday. The Pistons beat the Hornets in Charlotte 112-89 on Nov. 29.Mavericks: Home against Sacramento on Wednesday, the third of a four-game homestand and the first of two visits the Kings make to Dallas in 11 days. ' ' '