Journalism rallies with final burst to win Haskell Invitational
It was Journalism's first race since the Triple Crown. He was the only colt to contest all three legs, winning the Preakness while finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Heavily favored at 2-5 odds, Journalism broke poorly under jockey Umberto Rispoli and wound up trailing the early leaders. He kicked into gear rounding the final turn to find Gosger and Goal Oriented locked in a dogfight for the lead. It appeared one of them would be the winner until Journalism roared down the center of the track to win by a half-length.
'You feel like you're on a diesel,' Rispoli said. 'He's motoring and motoring. You never know when he's going to take off. To do what he did today again, it's unbelievable.'
Gosger held on for second, a neck ahead of Goal Oriented.
The Haskell victory was Journalism's sixth in nine starts for Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy, and earned the colt a berth in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Journalism paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.
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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
With a second championship in sight and Bernie Sanders' support, Vermont is the US soccer state of the moment
A silence fell on Virtue Field. Owen O'Malley stepped up, kissed the ball, and prepared to take Vermont Green's fifth penalty in a shootout. The outcome of that spot kick could decide the winner of the USL League Two semi-final against Dothan United in the fourth tier of American soccer. The moment of quiet was in stark contrast to the buzz that has gathered around this team in 2025, but the silence was soon broken as O'Malley coolly rolled his spot-kick down the middle. The back of the net rippled, and the celebrations in the stands spilled on to the field. A sold-out crowd of 2,700 supporters had packed into Virtue Field at the University of Vermont in Burlington for the game. That was the official attendance, anyway. Many more found a perch wherever they could around the ground. Related: The Cosmos return – with a new home, new league and old ideals The club estimates that it could have sold at least 15,000 tickets, and demand is even greater for Saturday's final, which will be played at Virtue Field against Seattle's own gem of a lower league side, Ballard FC. As soon as tickets went on sale on Wednesday morning, the match sold out. The game is being shown on local TV as well as being streamed online, and there are numerous watch parties taking place across the state. Others might still find a way to be there in person. 'There's a grassy hill behind the north goal that's got hundreds, if not thousands, of fans on it now,' says Matthew Wolff, who founded the club alongside Sam Glickman and Patrick Infurna. 'Over the last two matches, we've had fans standing on the base of the scoreboard outside the stadium, fans that have brought ladders around the stadium, sitting on top of sheds and shipping containers, standing on top of porta-potties. Someone was sitting on top of a pull-up bar attached to the back of a garage to watch the penalty shootout in the last match!' During the semi-final, commentator Brian McLaughlin described Burlington as 'the soccer city of the moment.' It's a bold statement, but one that doesn't feel inaccurate, even though Vermont Green is a fourth-tier team that was only founded in 2021. It is an amateur side heavily linked to the college game, not least through its home stadium, but also its playing personnel and fan culture. The University of Vermont Catamounts men's team, who play at the same stadium, won the NCAA national championship against the odds and in thrilling fashion in 2024. The team can count Bernie Sanders among its supporters, and the US senator spoke of Vermont's newfound status as a soccer state. 'I think I speak for the whole state in congratulating the Vermont Green on the extraordinary season that they've had,' he said. 'It is really incredible that for a small state, we have now become one of the leading centers of soccer in the United States.' The ethos of Vermont Green, and other clubs like it at various levels in various leagues – Detroit City (USL Championship), Kingston Stockade (The League For Clubs), and New York International (APSL) are among those regularly mentioned in these conversations – shows that within the closed structure of US soccer, it is less about the division in which you play and more about what you do as a club, not just in a league, but in a community, too. 'We're really happy with USL League Two,' says Infurna. 'We really love our league and the people that run it. Our relationship with them is fantastic, but ultimately, you're only in your league when you're playing soccer, and these clubs exist a lot outside of those 90 minutes. 'We believe in focusing on your community and your club, what and who you are. 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It feels like a club that would be primed for promotion. USL has put forward plans for promotion and relegation between its Championship and League One divisions, and a proposed new first division pencilled in for 2027, but as of yet, there are no plans to open up this to its League Two semi-pro/amateur level. So what does progress look like for a soccer club in this situation?. 'For me, the metrics for growth and progress have been seeing how many people in the community are aware of the club,' says Tyler Littwin, who runs the club's Green Mountain Bhoys supporters' group. 'How many people queued up for tickets, how many people are disappointed when they can't get them and are reaching out on social media asking if anybody has a spare. 'I would love for the team to jump up to a higher division and play more games, expand the stadium, or have our own stadium at some point, but these are all really big jumps. So the big thing for me in the supporters group is that every year, we just want this to be a bigger, louder, and more widespread experience.' Vermont Green is also converting non-sports fans into supporters of the club on the back of what it stands for. 'Folks who had no interest in soccer are excited by the team,' adds Littwin. 'They're people who were attracted to the club because of the focus on non-sports issues, and felt like this is something they want to be part of. 'You get to hang out with your friends and neighbors and feel part of something bigger for a couple of hours. I've not encountered such a significant portion of fans in any sport, at any club, who are like, 'I was never into soccer, never into sports, and now I'm a diehard supporter.' It's a pretty impressive conversion.' 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'I hope that the world will put its eyes on this, because it's something really special, and the people of Vermont deserve the spotlight.'
New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Why didn't the Cubs get another starting pitcher at the trade deadline?
CHICAGO — Almost 90 minutes after MLB's trade deadline hit, Jed Hoyer walked into a conference room on the second floor of Wrigley Field's office building. The Chicago Cubs' president of baseball operations had completed a series of sensible deals that were both productive and a little underwhelming. Advertisement The Cubs can put a better product on the field for Friday's 1:20 p.m. first pitch against the Baltimore Orioles. This team was already good enough to go into August with the second-best record in the majors and playoff probabilities in the 90th percentile. All these newly acquired role players should help. The restrained approach, however, raised a question: Why didn't the Cubs get another starting pitcher before Thursday's deadline? 'It was a really tight market,' Hoyer said, noting a small number of rental starters who were available. 'Of the marquee controllable starters, none of those guys changed hands. We didn't acquire them, and no one else did, either. 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New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Patriots rookie report: Who's rising and who's falling after two weeks of camp?
FOXBORO, Mass. — There's little sugarcoating the poor results of the New England Patriots' last three draft classes (Drake Maye not withstanding). Good teams land four or five starters in each draft class, and the Pats are significantly behind pace in recent years, which is essentially why they've fallen to the depths of back-to-back 4-13 seasons. Advertisement That's why the hope and promise that comes with this year's 11-person draft class is so important. This needs to be the one to turn things around. So, a couple of weeks into training camp, let's take a moment to examine how the rookies have fared so far. (And for brevity, we left off seventh-round long snapper Julian Ashby, who doesn't have any competition in camp, and seems safely on the team.) All eyes are on him every practice, which is a tough spot for a rookie. So far, he's been about what you'd expect from a rookie. He has some strong moments, particularly in the running game. But there have been struggles in the passing game. He's been beaten for a sack in just about every practice, which isn't great considering he's usually on the field each practice for only 15 or so passing plays in full-team drills. He tends to get beaten to the inside after oversetting, and it probably doesn't help that the Pats don't yet know who their left guard is next to him. Still, extrapolate those numbers, and that's allowing two sacks each NFL game if you throw the ball 30 times. Not great. It's important to remember that Campbell is just 21 years old. The long-term view remains very bright. He was the fourth overall pick for a reason. A couple of weeks of practice shouldn't change the outlook. On the other hand, there have been enough struggles in pass protection that it's probably unwise to expect him to be a top-20 left tackle this season — which, again, is fine. He's a rookie. There will be ups and downs this season, and as long as he progresses going into next season, everything remains on track. Outside of Stefon Diggs, there's probably not a more fun player to watch in training camp than Henderson. His speed would probably stand out on any team, but certainly sticks out on a Patriots roster lacking explosiveness. He hasn't been perfect, and there have been some drops, but it's been more good than bad for the running back. Advertisement It seems like he'll start the season limited to a traditional third-down role with a focus on the passing game (his hands are impressive for a back) or on outside rushes where his speed is more of a factor. But with his explosiveness, it wouldn't shock me if he's getting more carries than Rhamondre Stevenson by the end of the season. No rookie has been more up and down than Williams. In short, he's been exactly what his scouting report out of college was — a big-play machine whose hands let him down just a bit too much. So far, Williams has had some of the biggest plays in camp, including a 40-yard touchdown from Drake Maye on a go route earlier this week. But he also has more drops than any other Pats receiver. If he can curb those, he could climb into that No. 3 receiver role. So far, however, there have just been too many mistakes like that to make him the no-doubt third option. No rookie has improved his stock more than Wilson so far. While Campbell has been fine, Wilson is the rookie lineman teammates are raving about. 'Really f—ing good,' is how offensive lineman Caedan Wallace described him. 'The future is bright for him,' said Milton Williams. Of note is that the team has settled on Wilson playing left guard in recent days. He bounced between there and center in the early days of camp, but after two botched snaps between Wilson and Maye, coaches have kept Wilson at left guard. Ideally, that wouldn't be a long-term move. You'd like to think the coaching staff could develop Wilson as a center to the point where the botched snaps weren't happening. You'd hate to limit a guy's position just because of some mistakes in July. Regardless, Wilson looks like one of the team's best five offensive linemen, and if the first two weeks of camp are any indication, he might be the steal of this 11-person draft class. Advertisement This seemed like a surprising pick when the Pats used their first selection of Day 3 on a safety when they already had four decent options on the depth chart. But Woodson has impressed in the early days of training camp and likely carves out a depth role, while contributing early on special teams. It's hard to glean too much from Farmer since he suffered an apparent injury on the first day of padded practices and missed Tuesday and Wednesday's sessions. He was limited at Thursday's walk-through, so it seems like he's trending in the right direction. If Wilson has been the most impressive rookie on offense, Swinson has been the most impressive rookie on defense. It's a crowded depth chart ahead of him with Keion White, Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson all having decent camps, but Swinson has been impressive. At the worst, he looks like a depth edge rusher this season while showing the upside to develop into a starter down the road. The kicking competition is surprisingly fierce. On Tuesday, the Patriots let Parker Romo have all six field goal tries — and he made all six. On Wednesday, Borregales got all six field goal tries — and he made all six. This might come down to how they perform in the preseason games. It's rare to say this about a seventh-round pick this early in camp, but Bryant is in the driver's seat for a spot on the 53-man roster. Keep in mind the Patriots likely want to carry a fourth offensive tackle behind Campbell, Morgan Moses and Demontrey Jacobs, and Vederian Lowe (Bryant's competition for that last spot) remains on the PUP list. There's still plenty of time for Minor to make an impression. But so far, DJ James has been the cornerback taking advantage of the additional playing time brought about by injuries to Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. There have been three undrafted rookies of note so far. Wide receiver Efton Chism excels at beating man coverage from the slot, but the Pats have a bunch of guys who can play in the slot, so he may be destined for the practice squad to develop and provide depth in case Douglas gets hurt. Advertisement Lan Larison has also gotten a decent amount of snaps with the first- and second-team offenses, a positive sign for the running back who also looks like the backup kick returner. Finally, Gee Scott Jr. has been impressive in the battle for the No. 3 tight end job and likely enters preseason games as the favorite for that role.
