HOUSTON -- Moments after Colombia wrapped up its victory over Uruguay in the World Cup, a trio of Colombian drivers headed to the rain-soaked podium at the Grand Prix of Houston. One by one, Carlos Huertas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Munoz unfurled their yellow, blue and red flags in a celebratory Saturday for their country. It was the first all-Colombian podium in IndyCar history. Huertas, a 23-year-old rookie, used strategy to grab his first career victory. He was followed by Montoya, in his highest finish in this years return to IndyCar, and then Munoz, who was moved to third-place when Graham Rahal wrecked Tony Kanaan on an aborted final restart. It put Montoya, a former champion who also raced in Formula One and NASCAR, on the far right of the podium next to a pair of young drivers who grew up idolizing him. "Look, its just like beating any other driver," Huertas said. "You guys, the fans, they know what he has done. They keep reminding us. It just shows the level of the series, if I do a good job, I can beat guys like that. My objective is to beat all the drivers and I treat them all the same." Stoic and unemotional, Huertas insisted he was thrilled with the victory and the footnote he and his countrymen had on the big day for Colombia. But Montoya and Munoz were adamant the day was historic. "I think today is the first day in motor racing in the world that three Colombians are on the podium, its unbelievable and its exciting and, in my opinion, theyve got a good shot in World Cup as well," Montoya said. Munoz preferred to be sticking in Houston for Sundays second race of the doubleheader weekend. "We are really lucky to be here in America and not in Colombia, because right now Colombia should be really crazy to go out in the streets," Munoz said. "Everybody celebrating. This is a big deal. This is terrific for Colombia, first time 1-2-3 on a podium in a motorsports race, and first time we go to quarterfinals. We showed what Colombians are made of, and showed the bad image people have of Colombia, its not about one thing." It was an unpredictable and wet race through the temporary street course at Reliant Park. Originally scheduled for 90 laps, IndyCar decided right before the start to go to a timed race at 1 hour, 50 minutes because the conditions would take too long to go the scheduled distance. Dale Coyne Racing used strategy to get Justin Wilson and Huertas to the front, but Wilson eventually had to pit for fuel, and Huertas assumed the lead with just over seven minutes to go. Then Ryan Briscoe turned Sebastian Saavedra, the fourth Colombian in the field, to bring out a caution with five minutes to go. IndyCar believed it had enough time after the cleanup to run one final lap and Huertas lined up with Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal and Munoz behind him, But as they inched toward the green flag, Rahal anxiously turned Kanaan and the start was waved off. Rahal was assessed a 30-second penalty for the contact with Kanaan, and it gave Munoz the final spot on the podium. Montoya, an idol to all young Colombian drivers, went to victory circle to congratulate Huertas. "Hes a good kid and he did a good job today," said Montoya, who then scolded Huertas to zip up his firesuit. "I do tease him a lot. He had the suit all open and I told him, Youve got to look good. " Kanaan was livid after the accident and wouldnt even look at Rahal when Rahal came to apologize after the race. "I cant do what I really want to do," Kanaan said. "What a shame. To be taken out, I think its stupid. He was having a good day, too, and it ruined his day, too. I wanted to believe he didnt do it on person, and of course he came to apologize." Rahal took full blame. "With the stack-up on the restart, I was trying to keep the tires as dry as I could, and I was to the left and when I stacked up, I just didnt see him at all," Rahal said. "I just got into the back of him." It ended a strong run for Rahal, who stalled on the standing start but had rallied through the field and used a strong late drive to move into fourth before the last caution. Had the race gone green one last time, Rahal thought he had the winning car. Keith Tkachuk Jersey . -- Valentin Zykov scored in overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rallied to a 3-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Laurie Boschman Jersey . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. http://www.officialwinnipegjetspro.com/P...ne-jets-jersey/. According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Blake Wheeler Jersey . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs. Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.HALIFAX - Canadian Rory (Ares) MacDonald moved a step closer to a UFC welterweight title shot, stopping former Strikeforce champion Tarec (Sponge) Saffiedine by TKO on Saturday in the third round of the main event of a televised UFC Fight Night card.The bigger MacDonald used his size and reach to blunt Saffiedines kickboxing in a strategic fight that featured isolated bursts of action in the first two rounds.But it turned in the third. MacDonald (18-2) clipped Saffiedine with a shot to the back of the head and then put him down with another punch, finishing him off with blows on the ground before referee Herb Dean stepped in one minute 28 seconds of the round.Saffiedine was left dazed and bloody on the canvas.I want that title shot, said MacDonald.The 25-year-old MacDonald, a native of Kelowna, B.C., who fights out of Montreal, came into the bout ranked No. 2 among 170-pound contenders while Saffiedine (15-4) was ninth.Johnny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks defends his welterweight title against No. 1 contender (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.MacDonald has won three straight and eight of his last nine, losing a split decision to Lawler at UFC 167 last November. Saffiedine had won his last five bouts.Saffiedine, 28, walked out first. The American-based Belgian wasted little time, raising his arm in the air as he entered the arena.Then came MacDonald, to cheers and the pounding sound of Metallicas St. Anger. As he was introduced, the stone-face Canadian stared across the cage at Saffiedine.In a cautious opening, both fighters fired kicks. MacDonald took the centre of the cage and slowly stalked Saffiedine, taking him down briefly with 90 seconds remaining.MacDonald scored with strikes early and late in the second. Saffiedine answered in the middle of the round with some kicks that landed with a slap on MacDonalds leg.Saffiedines corner had a go at him after the second round. The Belgian closed the gap and launched more kicks in another cat-and-mouse round before MacDonald saw his opening and pounced.I was just going with the flow .. I wasnt trying to force anything and it worked out, said McDonald, a 4-1 favourite.The UFCs first visit to Atlantic Canada drew a loud crowd of 10,782 at the Scotiabank Centre.They had plenty to cheer about as Canadian fighters won seven of their nine bouts.In the co-main event, Georgia-based Brazilian bantamweight Raphael Assuncao used his speed to earn a unanimous 30-27 decision over Bryan (Kid Lightning) Caraway for his seventh straight UFC win. The five-foot-five Assuncao, the last man to beat current 135-pound champion T.J. Dillashaw, came into the fight ranked No. 4 among bantamweight contenders while Caraway was No. 10.Caraway, damaged during the fight by an Assuncao knee to the face, kept coming but had no answers for Assuncao.The crowd roared from announcer Bruce Buffers opening words and local flyweight Chris (The Greek Assassin) Kelades authored a feel-good story with his fists just three fights into the 12-bout card.Kelades, from nearby Cole Harbour, only found out Monday he was fighting as a late replacement (for the pneumonia-stricken Louis Gaudinot) on the card that he had bought tickets to see.He came into the bout against Irelands Patrick (The Hooligan) Holohan as a 3-1 or 4-1 underdog. But the 33-year-old Kelades (8-1) emerged victorious, winning a unanimous 29-28 decision over the previously undefeated Holohan (10-1-1).In addition to the win, the only Nova Scotian on the card made history by becoming the first Canadian 125-pounder to fight in the UFC.Both Kelades and Holohan earned US$50,000 bonuses as their bout was named fight of the night.There was a more painful end to the UFC debut of Kelowna welterweight Matt Dwyer.New Jersey-based Russian Albert (Einstein) Tumenov (14-2) floored the six-foot-four Dwyer with two resounding kicks to the head before the fight was stopped after 63 seconds. Dwyerr (7-2) paused to watch the replay of the kicks as he made his way from the cage, an ugly mouse under his eye.dddddddddddd He was taken to hospital after the bout to be checked out.Mitch Gagnon of Sudbury, Ont., continued his impressive rise up the bantamweight ranks with his fourth straight UFC win, submitting late replacement Roman Salazar via rear-naked choke at 2:06 of the first round.Gagnon, a five-foot-five buzzsaw, took Salazars back within the first two minutes. Salazar (9-3) struggled to his feet with Gagnon attached like a clam but fell back down and tapped. Salazar, a Tucson cable technician, was Gagnons third opponent after two others dropped out through injury.It was the 10th first-round finish for Gagnon (12-2) and his 11th win by submission. He lost his UFC debut to Caraway in July 2012 but still earned a fight of the night bonus.Elsewhere on the card, the two winners of The Ultimate Fighter Nations reality TV show remained undefeated.Toronto middleweight Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou (11-0) used a strong third round, complete with several takedowns, to win a unanimous 29-28 decision over burly Brazilian Bruno (Carioca) Santos (14-2) in a grinding fight. TUF Nations welterweight winner Chad (The Disciple) Laprise (10-0), moving down to lightweight, had too much for Cuban-born Miami-based Yosdenis (The Pink Panther) Cedeno (10-4) en route to a workmanlike 30-27 unanimous decision.Cedenos best moment in Halifax was when, as a proud father, he excitedly waved an ultrasound picture as he weighed in Friday.Nordine Taleb, born in France but fighting out of Montreal, won a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) over Chinas Li (The Leech) Jingliang in a close battle between big welterweights. Taleb, who fought as a middleweight on The Ultimate Fighter Nations show, was supported by his cornermen as he limped out of the ring favouring a broken foot.Both men would be well-served to avoid mirrors for a few days.Charlottetown lightweight Jason Saggo (10-2) lost a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) to Paul (The Irish Dragon) Felder (9-0). Montreal lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier (6-1) submitted Jake (The Librarian) Lindsey (9-2) by inverted triangle choke at 3:22 of the second round.Both MacDonald and Aubin-Mercier went home with an extra $50,000 for the performance of the night.(Detroit Superstar) Daron Cruickshank (16-5) won a 30-27 decision over lightweight Anthony (The Assassin) Njokuani (16-9 with one no contest) in the featured preliminary bout. Cruickshank earned cheers when he picked up Njokuani and ran the length of the cage with him slung over his shoulder before driving him into the canvas.Njokuani later apologized via Twitter. My head wasnt in the game and it cost me the fight.The Halifax crowd was into it from the get-go, cheering Buffer before a punch was thrown. And they got action early as American-based Brazilian bantamweight Pedro (The Young Punisher) Munhoz submitted former Oklahoma State wrestler Jerrod (J-Reazie) Sanders in 39 seconds in spectacular fashion.Stuffing a takedown, Munhoz (12-1) locked on a guillotine choke. Sanders (14-3) fought his way to his feet, with Munhoz looked around his head like an alien, and then smashed Munhoz to the ground in a bid to dislodge him. Munhoz hung on and Sanders tapped.The Halifax card featured athletes from 10 different birth countries: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Ireland, Nigeria, Russia and the U.S.Another 24 fighters competed in the cage at Stockholms Ericsson Globe Arena on another UFC card earlier Saturday. American welterweight Rick (The Horror) Story upset highly touted Gunnar (Gunni) Nelson via split decision in the main event in Sweden.Halifax is the seventh Canadian city to host a UFC show, joining Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. 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