Breitmann Tuning » with attached double garage. Here is the brick barn f

The Kanpur track is dry, has cracks, and it will assist the home side, as it should. But, if you listen to head groundsman Shiv Kumar, only as much as it should. There are early indications that the ball wont turn as early or as alarmingly as it did in Nagpur and Mohali last season, when India won both Tests inside three days.There might be some concern at the sight of the cracks three days from the start of a Test, but Shiv said the soil has deceptively good binding qualities, and that erring on the side of caution could result in a repeat of the 2004-05 Test when Andrew Hall scored 163 in a boring draw. That was the debut Test for Shiv, an electrician by formal training who decided to try his hand as a groundsman because of unemployment. He says he has learnt a lot from that 2004-05 draw.The other extreme in Kanpur, though, appeared in 2008 when India, trailing 0-1 in the series, beat South Africa in three days on a vicious turner, which was later rated poor by the ICC. Shiv said that happened because of the April heat, and a repeat was not likely to happen this year. If the Test on crack was played in the heat of April, the one on valium was played in November when the weather cools down considerably. This one, in September, might be bang in the middle in terms of heat; September used to be pleasant before global warming turned the north Indian summer into a seemingly never-ending phenomenon.Shiv has three reasons to be confident this pitch wont start turning alarmingly on day one. Firstly, the cracks might be visible, but they are not loose; in fact the surface is quite hard. A knuckle knock on the pitch creates a solid sound. Secondly, Shiva said the binding qualities of the Kanpur soil make it a difficult surface to break. Thirdly, the pitch is still getting watered, unlike Nagpur last year where the cracks had become loose by the time the toss happened. The pitch was kept under covers to shield it from the scorching sun during the day, and it was watered at 5pm. More rolling and watering is expected on the two days before the match.There are patches of grass on the pitch, but they are too dry and too far apart to provide any real encouragement for traditional fast bowling. However, if it rains - it rained on Sunday and some mild showers are expected during the Test - the heavy atmosphere and the high water table at Green Park could make traditional swing and seam a factor. Otherwise Shiv expects only about an hours help for the quicks on the first morning.A typical Green Park track, Shiv said, on the basis of first-class matches in the Ranji Trophy, is good for batting for the first two days, and then it starts to take turn. That is more a classic Test track in India: good for batting in the first half of the match and moving along at a rapid pace in the second. The turn is expected to be on the slower side.The dry track is ripe for reverse swing, which could seal Neil Wagners selection alongside Trent Boult for New Zealand, and might tempt India to play two quicks, three spinners, and thus, just the five batsmen.Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Yanni-Gourde-Jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Vincent Lecavalier Lightning Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Braydon Coburn Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .There is a chance that the season could peak too soon on Saturday afternoon, when the darlings of the American turf -- Songbird, California Chrome, and Beholder -- will be competing coast to coast.Songbird is laying her unbeaten record on the line in the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, a 10-furlong race that has been won by so many fabulous fillies that it saves time to note only those who made it all the way to the Hall of Fame. There have been a cool dozen.The Pacific Classic will not be run until 6:15 Pacific on Saturday evening, and already local historians are making room for the 2016 version alongside the 1938 Del Mar match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti, the last hurrah of 8-year-old Native Diver in the 1967 Del Mar Handicap, and the epic duel between champion Paseana and the unwavering Exchange in the 1994 Chula Vista Handicap.And thats okay. When a Horse of the Year like California Chrome meets a three-time champion like Beholder, attention must be paid. Too many arguments have been left unsettled in recent years when top runners failed to intersect: Ghostzapper and Smarty Jones, Mineshaft and Pleasantly Perfect, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra. So, cherish the moment.There will be betting, of course, and good luck to those who view Beholder as a freak of nature who would be unbeatable if she repeats her 2015 Classic performance. Backers of California Chrome need little justification, especially at level weights and at a distance over which he has earned most of his record $12.6 million. Then comes Dortmund and his mammoth stride, emerging this year from the wings of the American Pharoah show to cast his own giant shadow.Dont bother asking Raul Rodriguez whom he likes. He is too busy fussing with California Chromes hourly needs to tout the obvious. For 3-1/2 years, Rodriguez has been the man in the stall, at the shank, in the van, and on the plane.For what its worth, Rodriguez noted that California Chrome was understandably tired after his win over Dortmund in the San Diego Handicap last month, Chromes first race since winning the Dubai World Cup in March.Then he trained even better, even stronger after that, Rodriguez said, which is exactly how its supposed to work.Rodriguez is the patriarch of a family that has become admired at the highest levels of the game. Raul and his wife, Florentina, have three sons. Raul Jr. grooms for the Art and Alan Sherman stable, while Freddy and Edgar are exercise riders for Jerry Hollendorfer. If the name Edgar Rodriguez rings a bell, it should since he is the man atop Songbird every day.I had an empty stall, Rodriguez replied wwhen asked how he came to be California Chromes groom.dddddddddddd Everybody else was full. I had one horse just go to the farm, so they gave him to me.Of such whimsical twists legends are born. No doubt Rodriguez took one look at the chestnut 2-year-old with the wide blaze and four stockings and immediately thought, Champion!He was so little -- this high, like a donkey, Rodriguez said, holding his hand to the level of his Tom Selleck moustache.The girl who breezed him the first time told me he was a stakes horse, Rodriguez said. I said, No, I dont think so.His skepticism made sense. Stakes horses are how grooms make any money above and beyond their basic wage, and Rodriguez, hardly a rookie, saw no reason to get excited until there was good cause. At that point, the best horse hed rubbed was Siren Lure, the former claimer Sherman turned into a Grade 1 winner and earner of nearly a million dollars.The second time he breezed, Art said to me he could be a good one, Rodriguez said. He was very tough in the stall, always kicking. Not me, but he tried. Anyone else went to do his stall, I said, Let me do it.It was late morning early in Pacific Classic week, and Rodriguez was taking a break in a camp chair outside the Sherman tack room. At one point in the conversation, California Chrome came to his webbing, as if stepping up in his own defense. But in fact, he had caught wind of a horse passing by, and, well, California Chrome was compelled to let the stranger know who was boss.California Chrome became a stakes horse by winning the Graduation for California-breds at Del Mar 37 months ago. Now, Rodriguez can sweep through the photos on his smartphone to display his travels with Chrome -- Kentucky, New York, England, Dubai, and then Dubai again. He also will share pictures of his ranch in southwestern Mexico, some 80 acres of rolling land near the Rio Verde in the state of Jalisco. Thank you, California Chrome.Here is the three-bedroom house Rodriguez built with attached double garage. Here is the brick barn for his horses and the high-walled corral for his white beef cattle. Here is the iron gate to Rancho Rodriguez, flanked by brick pillars topped with imposing horse-head sculptures.Ill be 59 the last day of this month, Rodriguez said. In three years, I retire to my ranch.And leave the Shermans in the lurch? What about those California Chrome babies who could be hitting the track in 2020?Thats okay, Rodriguez said with a smile. My son will be here. ' ' '