The Ducks likely will slip in Mondays poll off their 66-49 loss at Baylor, but they

Horse trainers go to weird and wonderful lengths to find an edge and Brooke Somers may have unearthed the newest - Gregorian chants.Professional sporting stars around the world listen to music in the lead-up to matches to get the in the zone.And that was the tonic rookie trainer Somers used to get I Am Magnificent to relax before he scored a major upset in Wednesdays TAB Rewards Handicap (1200m) at Warwick Farm.Somers was emotional after he won at $51 but composed herself to reveal the unorthodox training method.Everyones going to say Im crazy, Somers said.I made him iPod earmuffs.He was wearing earmuffs up until we got him into the mounting yard and he listens to Gregorian chants and Baul singing.The Baul people are a group of people who hail from the Bengal region across India and Bangladesh while Gregorian chants are associated with the Roman Catholic church.He has earplugs in so that just blocks everything else out, Somers said.Its a bit crazy but youve got to think outside the square.I Am Magnificent gave Somers, who has eight horses in work at Hawkesbury, her first city winner at her first attempt.Oh my god - can you believe it? she said.Hes got more ability in his left foot than most horses ever have and to be able to get him to show what he has today is really exciting.Choice Larga ($5.50) and Louie See Kay ($5) filled the placings.I Am Magnificents jockey Josh Parr sat outside leader In The Vanguard before letting his horse go in the straight.Brooke said to me a big part of getting this horse to race well is keeping him settled and thats exactly what he was today, Parr said.Veteran trainer Fred Cowell teamed up with in-form apprentice James Innes for a rare metropolitan win with Bettabet Red.Cowell has been most well known in recent years as trainer of multiple stakes winner Mighty Lucky, who has been the small Gosford stables most frequent visitor to Sydney.On Wednesday Bettabet Red came down the highway to win the Australian Turf Club Handicap (1600m) and give Innes his fifth win from his last 15 starts.Earlier, two-year-old filly Jessamin stamped her credentials for the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic with a classy maiden win. Arizona Diamondbacks Pro Shop . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. 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EUGENE, Ore. -- An embarrassing road loss to Baylor may prove to be a valuable lesson for Oregon.If the fourth-ranked Ducks want to meet their own lofty expectations, theyll have to earn it on the boards.Two days after losing by 17 points to the unranked Bears, Chris Boucher had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Oregon to its 27th consecutive home victory, 76-54 over Valparaiso on Thursday night.Boucher was coming off a 12-point, two-rebound performance against Baylor.His activity allowed him to him to have the 25 points, Oregon coach Dana Altman said. He had no defensive rebounds the other night and we lost the rebounding battle by 11.Tonight we won it by 13, and that was the difference in the game.Jordan Bell added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (2-1), who took control early in the second half with an 11-4 run fueled by Bells eight points to open a 52-38 lead. Bell scored 12 points in the second half as Oregon shot 15 of 27 from the field.That was our goal, just to go inside, Bell said. Against Baylor we went 3 for 21 at the 3-point line, so we just wanted to go inside.Alec Peters led the Crusaders (3-1) with 24 points to become the schools second-leading career scorer. Tevonn Walker added 12 points.Valparaiso shot just 23.3 percent in the second half as Peters was its only starter to make more than half of his attempts. The Crusaders finished 4 of 21 from 3-point range.I think its pretty evident that we are not shooting the ball very well, Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich said, and to beat a team like Oregon youre going to have to hit shots from the outside.Backup freshman point guard Payton Pritchard had nine points and five assists for the Ducks, who led by as many as 25 points in the second half.Oregon had a 40-27 rebounding edge and blocked six shots.Altman said his teams size and rebounding ability should be what sets the Ducks apart.If youre not beating people on the boards, youre not taaking advantage of your athleticism, he said.dddddddddddd Our goal should be a plus-eight or -nine on those boards for the season, and if we do that, itll be really positive for our team.The Ducks played again without preseason All-America Dillon Brooks, who continues to recover from offseason foot surgery. Altman was noncommittal about the junior forwards availability for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational when Oregon opens play Monday against Georgetown.I dont know if hell play in Maui, Altman said, and if he does, it wont be very much.BIG PICTUREValparaiso: Coming off a 30-win season and deep run in the NIT, the Crusaders were held 28 points below their season average while shooting just 32.1 percent from the field against the Ducks.Oregon: The Ducks likely will slip in Mondays poll off their 66-49 loss at Baylor, but they may regain Brooks services while in Hawaii.POLL IMPLICATIONSDespite Thursday nights win, Oregons best-ever No. 4 ranking likely will take a hit after its 66-49 road loss to unranked Baylor on Tuesday.STAT OF THE NIGHTBoucher, who has scored in all 38 games hes played at Oregon, had 18 points by halftime and missed his career high by one.HIGHLIGHT REELThough not known for his ball-handling, the 6-foot-10 Boucher flashed some nifty moves when he picked off a cross-court pass, dodged a Crusader at mid-court, dipped inside another off the dribble and smoothly threw down a one-handed dunk in the first half to cap a 9-0 run.UP NEXTValparaiso plays Alabama on Monday in Las Vegas at the four-team MGM Grand Main Event. The Crusaders will face either BYU or Saint Louis on Wednesday before heading home.Oregon heads to Hawaii to play Georgetown on Monday in the first round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Ducks will face either No. 9 Wisconsin or Tennessee on Tuesday. ' ' '