HOUSTON -- Not everything was bigger in Texas on a hot and humid weekend in which a pair of small IndyCar teams claimed the commemorative cowboy boots from the Grand Prix of Houston. Los Angeles Dodgers Jersey . Sam Schmidts drivers went 1-2 on Sunday for the first time in team history as Simon Pagenaud grabbed the win and led rookie teammate Mikhail Aleshin to the checkered flag. Pagenaud used the win, his second of the season, to climb back into the championship race. He came to Houston trailing Will Power by 91 points, and cut it to 59 after the two races. "Its fantastic for the race team and the entire organization," said Pagenaud, who admitted after the race to feeling "a little faint" from temperatures that soared into the 90s. "The whole team has elevated to top team level." Aleshin, the first Russian to compete in IndyCar, was a career-best second for his first podium and said a tire problem nearly prevented him from making it to the finish. "Its definitely an amazing day for the team," he said. "We are one of the fastest cars on the track and I think we did an amazing job today. The whole team did an amazing job." Third went to rookie Jack Hawksworth, his first career podium. It capped a breakthrough weekend for the British driver, who finished a career-best sixth Saturday. "Its been rough this year, weve been fast sometimes and just not quite made it happen," said Hawksworth. "Weve not quite put it together and today we did." A day earlier, Dale Coyne Racing scored its first win of the year with rookie Carlos Huertas. The rookie led a Colombian sweep of the rain-soaked podium alongside countrymen Juan Pablo Montoya and rookie Carlos Munoz. It was a race Pagenaud thought he should have won. He spent the previous week training in California for the heat and humidity, and won the pole for the first race of the doubleheader. His race was ruined, though, first by a spin and then when he was collected in Scott Dixons crash. He finished 16th in the first race. "I was so disappointed Saturday because we had such a fast car this weekend," he said. Power, the points leader, rallied from another poor qualifying effort to put himself in position for a third-place finish. But he failed to make it to the finish line when a part broke on his car two laps from the finish. Pagenaud, Aleshin and Power had peeled away from the pack, leaving Hawksworth behind for a spirited battle to hold on for fourth-place. Then Power went off course and fell to 11th. Still, he entered the weekend with a 39 point lead in the standings and that was unchanged. Hoping to close ground on Power this weekend was Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, who was ninth Saturday but started from the pole on Sunday looking for a win. Instead, he was chasing Pagenaud from second for the lead early in the race when he drove into Sebastien Bourdais. Castroneves had been setting up his pass of Pagenaud and apparently didnt see Bourdais when he suddenly tried to cut into the same lane as Bourdais. Castroneves wound up 21st. "I was attacking and trying to pass Pagenaud, and I had no idea (Bourdais) was there," Castroneves said. "When I am attacking, I cant have my eyes on the back. Its absolutely ridiculous why the guy had to put the car over there. Its the rules of traffic, when a guy hits a guy in the back, its his fault. I am upset, yes, because we had a great car and its just a shame to have drivers like that who do not use common sense." The contact broke Bourdais front wing while he was running third, caused him to fall through the field, but he rallied to finish fifth, behind Charlie Kimball, despite the damage. It marked consecutive top-five finishes for the first time this season for Bourdais. "He changed lanes and we made pretty heavy contact," Bourdais said of Castroneves move. "That busted my front wing pretty good. After that it was a tough fight. I had to be really creative to compensate for the balance of the car." Huertas, winner Saturday, and Munoz, who finished third on Saturday, both failed to finish on Sunday and were the first two cars out. It was a topsy-turvy weekend like that in which Munoz was the only driver from the big three teams -- Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske -- to earn a podium. Brandon Beachy Dodgers Jersey . -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs. Howie Kendrick Jersey . Auld made 37 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It was Ottawas first game without starter Anderson, who is out indefinitely after cutting his hand Wednesday night, and it was evident the team wasnt sure how to deal with the change in goal.SOCHI, Russia – Sitting on the plane amongst the plethora of his St. Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. It wasnt until he touched base on the ground here in Sochi and separated from all but his Team Canada teammate and defensive partner Jay Bouwmeester that the magnitude of what lay ahead really set in. The 24-year-old Pietrangelo is among the youngest to wear the red Maple Leaf in 2014 as youth infuses what was previously a veteran-laden squad. Like fellow youngsters 23-year-old Matt Duchene, 24-year-old Jamie Benn, 23-year-old John Tavares and 24-year-old P.K. Subban, he is getting his first opportunity (of many) on the grandest stage and his NHL head coach couldnt be happier for it. "Hes just going to get better," said Ken Hitchcock, the bench boss in St. Louis and an assistant coach for Team Canada. "Any time you can experience something like this, it makes you a better player." The chance to train, practice and play amongst the countrys very best and compete, in the days ahead, opposite the worlds very best is a large part of the appeal as is the opportunity to represent Canada on the world stage. But in advising his Blues centerpiece prior to the Olympics, Hitchcock wanted Pietrangelo to absorb and understand just how high and intense the hockey will get, even amongst his own NHL teammates and future opponents. "Like dont expect Patrick Berglund to be what he is. Hes going to go up another level," Hitchcock said of the Blues centre, one among 10 players from St. Louis selected to play in these games, tied with Chicago and Detroit for the most in the NHL. "Dont expect Alex Steen to be what he is. Hes going to go up another level and thats just the way it is. "So dont be surprised because people play with passion ... Their sweaters and the crest on their sweaters is just as important for them as it is us. I said just dont be surprised by everybodys A-game when its out there." Pietrangelo has also heeded the advice of Bouwmeester – who is set to participate in his second Olympics – peppering the 30-year-old in the days and weeks leading up to their arrival in Russia. "I was able to pick his brain about the experience and he was pretty much bang on with everything he said," said Pietrangelo, who has 41 points in 57 games for the Blues this season. The best part, Bouwmeester advised, was the opportunity to take in the Olympic experience alongside other Canadians, not just those on the two hockey teams, but skiers, curlers, skaters, those in sports unfamiliar to the King City, Ontario nattive. Brett Anderson Jersey. "You see the skaters, you see the skiers on TV and you know that youre part of that group," Pietrangelo said. "Youre sitting in the lunch hall, the dinner hall now and you see them and you say hi and then you go out there and watch them on TV, its pretty special." On the ice, it was absorbing the complexities of the bigger international ice surface and systems employed by head coach Mike Babcock. Technical questions leveled at Hitchcock at an instructive Tuesday afternoon practice. "...he wanted to know, on defensive reads, whats his role because we play a different way [in St. Louis], especially on the back-check," Hitchcock said, noting Pietrangelos studious nature. The fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft is part of a youth revolution thats gradually crept into Team Canada and the hockey world. It was quietly prominent in Vancouver when a 21-year-old Jonathan Toews, 20-year-old Drew Doughty and 22-year-old Sidney Crosby all emerged at various points en route to gold, and its risen to new heights in Sochi. Gone from that triumphant squad on home turf are hardened veterans like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow, replaced by a new wave that includes Pietrangelo, Duchene, Subban, Benn and Tavares. "We knew that when 2010 ended, there was going to be a changing of the guard," said Blues GM and Team Canada management member Doug Armstrong. "For quite of few of those players, their time had come. A lot of them are retired now. And you really cant keep these young players down." That would include Pietrangelo, who has surged to the heights of the defensive position on a powerhouse Blues squad, one that is tied for second-best overall with 84 points at the break. Still in just his fourth full NHL season, he is sitting fourth among all NHL defenders in points this season while averaging more than 25 minutes per game on one of the leagues preeminent defensive teams. A member of two Canadian World Junior teams – including a gold-snatching squad in 2009 – Pietrangelo was brought along carefully by the St. Louis organization, who signed him to a seven-year, $45 million contract this past summer. He played in just 17 games in the two years that followed his draft, rare patience that is quickly being rewarded. "Its hard to argue that right now," said Pietrangelo, gazing around at where he stood on Olympic ground. "Its a tough thing to go through as a young player. You always want to be playing at the highest level, but to see where I am right now, they were investing their time and money in me and they were going to make the best decision for me. Thats how I looked at it. Id like to think that its working right now." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
