If tragedies are meant to be clustered in threes, then Thoroughbred racing has paid its dues in full for the rest of 2016.In another life, Steve Sexton was a colleague at Daily Racing Form. His name on a teletyped message or an inter-office bundle meant you were getting the straight scoop, and that the job -- any job -- was getting done with a discipline of purpose and respect for the work that co-workers crave in a boss on the rise.Sexton was 57 when a virulent form of brain cancer took him from his friends and loving family at home in Texas last week.When I last spoke with Steve he had helped create the United States Grand Prix, at a spanking new mega-course in Austin, Texas. This, to a fellow traveler in the Formula 1 car racing world, is what God would have done on the seventh day if he hadnt taken a break. In between, Sexton lent his good nature and organizational skills to a number of Thoroughbred racetracks. Lucky them.Even as president of Churchill Downs Inc., Sexton was a classic behind-the-scenes guy, preferring to pass around the credit and the praise. Walter Swinburn never had that option. From his first swings in the saddle he was the Golden Child, the Choirboy, already mounted with such outsized talents as All Along and Shergar by the time he was 22.The fishbowl of Swinburns life often was polluted by injury, alcohol, and the ravages of weight control. And still he rode like a dream, until there was no more to give, and retired to life as a trainer.Swinburns death this week at 55 was mourned by his British racing family as the loss of a son in a battle he had been losing for years. To their credit, they honored him in life as well, but his passing opened floodgates of praise, like this from veteran journalist Chris McGrath in the Thoroughbred Daily News:However incongruous with his hidden torments, then, the seraphic exterior was perfectly consistent with vitals seated far deeper than his stomach or liver. There was a nearly ethereal continuum between the core of his being and that of the horse he governed so lightly.There was no hiding the torments that finally ended the life of Garrett Keith Gomez. He was a drug and alcohol addict, a poster boy for dependency and its evil cousin, self destruction.He was also an athlete of grace and style and competitive fury, talented beyond words, who emerged from the depths of his addictions to write a peerless chapter as a professional jockey.Gomez already was a known commodity as a riding star and cocaine connoisseur when he found rock bottom in 2003. His career and marriage were in shambles. He spent most of the year either on the run, in jail, or in court-ordered drug rehabilitation. He needed to heal from the inside out, and he did, or at least well enough to resume his riding career in September of 2004.There ensued seven miracle years. Between 2005 and the end of 2011 the horses ridden by Gomez earned more than $138 million. He was national champion four times, Eclipse Award winner twice, and won an incredible 13 Breeders Cup events. He rode champions Rags to Riches, Lookin At Lucky, Beholder, Indian Blessing, Wait a While, and Blame.Two days before Gomez rode Blame to a narrow victory over Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders Cup Classic, the jockey suffered a broken right arm and scapula in a fall on the Churchill Downs turf. He later wryly noted that it was a good thing he didnt need to switch the whip to get the job done, because he couldnt move his arm.At the beginning of 2012, Gomez fractured his heel in a freak fall on the way to the track at Santa Anita. He spent part of his physical rehabilitation collaborating on his biography with historian Rudy Alvarado. They called it The Garrett Gomez Story: a Jockeys Journey Through Addiction & Salvation.The book offered a frank telling of his addictions and their consequences, as well as the riders gratitude that there was still a sport and a family that would offer him another chance. The story also was fraught with warnings, none more dire than the one contained in the last line of the book:? but he was the only one that couldve ever given those things to himself -- and in the end, the only one that can take those things away.Gomez rode for the last time in late 2013. The news of his death at age 44, apparently from a drug overdose, was the first time he had made any kind of headlines since his name appeared on the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot along with fellow jockeys Ramon Dominguez, Victor Espinoza, and Craig Perret.This reporter has missed dealing with the public version of Garrett Gomez these past few years. He was funny, friendly, and articulate regarding his craft. and when he was at his healthiest, the public and the private man were pretty closely aligned. He would have preferred a life less complicated, Im sure. But at least he left an image of the athlete at full throttle, and a warning that glory is fleeting, and never the point. Doug Kotar Jersey .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. 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Army and Notre Dame have at least one thing in common this season: Each has had trouble against option attacks.When they meet on Saturday in San Antonio at the Alamodome, Army (5-4) just might have a small edge. The Black Knights use the clock-chewing triple option, and the Irish (3-6) are reeling from a one-point loss to Navy, their third setback in four games in what so far is the worst of Brian Kellys seven seasons as head coach.The chance to play in a bowl game is still a possibility for both teams. Kelly said he planned no changes.Were all going through a tough spot, but were persevering, Kelly said. Its not where anybody wants to be. But were handling the situation as best we can and were trying to make certain that everything that we do makes us stronger for right now and for the future.The Black Knights are coming off a 31-12 loss at home to Air Force, whose option was in high gear. Despite a subpar showing against the Falcons -- 144 yards on 40 carries -- Army still ranks second nationally in rushing (320.3 yards per game), averaging 5.3 yards per carry.Defensively, another challenge of playing a triple-option team that ... runs the ball very, very well and can be opportunistic throwing the football, Kelly said. So, focus is on, obviously, the details and the execution. In a large degree, we were able to do a lot of those things well last week, but not as well as Navy.Notre Dames six losses have come by a combined 29 points (4.8 per game), and all were one-possession games.That happens, Army coach Jeff Monken said. Theyve had opportunities to win a lot of football games and just havent had a break go their way or the other team has made a play. Thats sports.Last week, trailing 28-24 midway through the fourth quarter Kelly opted for a 31-yard field goal instead of gambling on fourth-and-4 deep in Navy territory. He made the call even though his defense had not forced a punt, and Notre Dame never got the ball back, finishing the game with just six possessions.Navy ran out the clock with its triple-option offense, converting two huge fourth-down plays on the final drive.We learned quite a bit the last week. We definitely learned how to value our possession on the offensive side of thhe ball, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer said.dddddddddddd. When you have the opportunity to take shots, youve got to be successful with them because your possessions are limited when youre playing against a triple-option team.Other things to know when Army plays Notre Dame on Saturday:KELLY-HOLTZ CONNECTIONKelly will tie Lou Holtz for the most losses at Notre Dame with his next defeat. Holtz had a 100-30-2 record in 11 seasons at South Bend. Kelly is 58-29 in seven seasons at Notre Dame and just 14-13 in his last 27 games with the Irish. Charlie Weis is next in losses with a 35-27 record in five seasons.STOUT DEFENSEThe Army defense is fifth in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (166.6) and sixth in total defense (286.4). Its also 13th in the country in scoring defense (18.1 points).NAVY HANGOVERNotre Dame has often struggled in the week after playing Navy, going 3-6 the past nine seasons. The streak includes losses to Air Force in 2007, Syracuse in 2008 and Tulsa in 2010, narrow victories against Wake Forest in 2011 and Purdue in 2012, losses to Pittsburgh in 2009 and 2013 and Arizona State in 2014. The Irish beat USC 41-31 last season.SHAMROCK SERIESNotre Dame is 7-0 in Shamrock Series games, which are officially home games played at neutral sites. The series was started in 2009 when the Irish beat Washington State 40-14 in the Alamodome. San Antonio is the first repeat site for the game, and Army is the first repeat opponent. The Irish beat the Black Knights 27-3 at Yankee Stadium in 2010.HISTORY LESSONIn this storied rivalry , Notre Dame has beaten Army 14 straight times and the last time it lost to Navy and Army in the same season was 1944. That year, the second-ranked Irish lost to No. 6 Navy 32-13 and a week later, after dropping three spots in the AP poll, they lost to top-ranked Army 59-0 in the largest loss in Notre Dame history.---AP Sports Writer Tom Coyne in South Bend, Indiana contributed.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Jerseys NFL China China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys ' ' '