Cuts » en place over the last couple of years continues, I might

As the 1977 Wimbledon champion, Virginia Wade is still the last British woman to have won a Grand Slam singles title.But Wade is adamant she could soon lose that status. Jo Konta, who this week propelled herself into the worlds top 10, could emulate her next season by becoming the first British woman for 40 years to score a major singles title.This has been an astonishingly fast rise into the elite by Konta, who just over a year ago had a triple-digit ranking. She is now the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1984 to be inside the top 10 after she made the final of last weeks China Open. Now Wade has suggested that Konta, who reached the semifinals of this years Australian Open, could go further.The way the womens game is at present, with the top players being fantastic at times but also inconsistent with their performances, it seems that there is an opportunity for someone with excellent mentality and a steady belief. So Jo seems to have those qualities, Wade told ESPN.Whether she can get into the top couple of spots in the rankings and possibly win a major, will to my mind [be determined by] how she paces herself and whether she gets the right balance of tournaments and matches, and of course a slice of luck with opponents. Keeping physically healthy and also keeping fully motivated will be very important.Wade suggested that Konta, who is playing in Hong Kong this week as she seeks qualification for this months WTA season finale in Singapore, will need to consolidate next year.I do believe when you rather suddenly rise higher, it is imperative to consolidate that position rather than to just look forward to more success, she said. In other words, one has to make sure you beat the opponents ranked lower than yourself and then the next chapter takes care of itself.Pam Shriver, an ESPN analyst and former US Open finalist, also suggested that Konta needs to establish herself in the elite.Its a big 12 months for Konta to consolidate and prove she is more like Angelique Kerber and less like Eugenie Bouchard. I have been tricked frequently in recent years into thinking players were ready to maintain status as a top ten player, or major winner or contender, only to see the player take many backward steps and struggle to recover confidence, Shriver said.Sustaining Top-10 play and remaining healthy are both vital to continued success, so lets wait and see for a while longer. This climb has been impressive and I have become a fan of her work ethic and demeanour on the court.More than anything, Wade has been impressed by Kontas mental approach. I think it is brilliant how far Jo has come in the last year. The first time I really paid attention to her improvement was last year at Eastbourne, where she showed such resolve on the court, plus a forehand that no longer lets her down on big points, Wade said.Now, watching her in the last few weeks play exceptional tennis, I am really impressed not only with those same things but her confidence, concentration and application on the court. I only wish her the best of luck. Jalen Hurd Womens Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Roger Craig Womens Jersey . JOHNS, N. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Dee-Ford-Jersey/ . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Jimmy Garoppolo Womens Jersey . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Ronnie Lott Youth Jersey . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. We are going to take a circuitous route to get to a point I want to make, but bear with me. In this instance, the long way home is the interesting way home.Lets go back for a moment to Kentucky Oaks Day. Remember how Carina Mia had to run in the Eight Belles Stakes on the undercard because she didnt have enough points to get into the oversubscribed Oaks, not for performance reasons, but because of other circumstances beyond her control (the quarantine at Payson Park, Carina Mias winter quarters)? And remember how Carina Mia was so impressive winning the Eight Belles as miles the best that more than a few people opined the fillies in the Oaks were quite fortunate they didnt have to face Carina Mia that day?Okay, now lets flash back to Belmont Stakes Day, to specifically the Acorn Stakes on that tremendous undercard. The Acorn is a prestigious race; its not the Oaks, but its a terrific event, and it was Carina Mias opportunity to extract revenge on the circumstances that prevented her from competing in the Oaks, not to mention two major Oaks figures -- the winner, Cathryn Sophia, and Go Maggie Go, second-best in the Oaks after finishing a tough-trip fourth, and winner of the subsequent Black-Eyed Susan. And Carina Mia did gain a measure of revenge, winning the Acorn as clearly the best, beating both Cathryn Sophia and Go Maggie Go.Somewhat lost in that intriguing Carina Mia-Kentucky Oaks storyline was the performance of the runner up in the Acorn, Off the Tracks. Off the Tracks showed a lot of potential winning both of her starts last year, including a strong score in the Schuylerville Stakes. She romped in the Margate in her first start this year despite being announced as being nowhere near completely fit. She was then switched over to trainer Todd Pletcher, and followed with what was her only unsatisfying outing, a third as the 4-5 favorite to Go Maggie Go in the Gulfstream Park Oaks.But as flat as Off the Tracks was in the Gulfstream Oaks was as good as she was in defeat in the Acorn. Off the Tracks was held up in traffic from late on the far turn to nearly mid-stretch in the Acorn, costing her momentum, while Carina Mia got the jump on her with a clear, unobstructed run on the outside. Im not suggesting that Off the Tracks would have beaten Carina Mia in the Acorn with a clean trip. No one knows that. But what we do know is, Off the Tracks finished strongly once clear, was beaten only a little more than a length, and, notably, finished ahead of both Cathryn Sophia and Go Maggie Go.That was the setup to Off the Trackss start in Saturdays Mother Goose at Belmont Park, another race that, among other things, put the form of the Kentucky Oaks to the test, and other race that threw shade on the Oaks form.Off the Tracks faced three opponents in the Mother Goose who ran in the Kentucky Oaks -- Lewis Bay, who finished a good third; Mo dAmour, who finished fifth; and Rachels Valentina, the daughter of the heralded Rachel Alexandra who was widely expected to rebound off a sixth in the Oaks as the favorite. And Off the Tracks was simply much, much better than all of them.ddddddddddddOff the Tracks set the Mother Goose pace under pressure, and while Belmonts main track was quite fast on Saturday, her fractions of 22.79 seconds, 45.53, and 1:09.62 were very strong for a race for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles. Thats why when Lewis Bay, who did stumble at the start, but who also sat a beautiful inside trip off the pace, tipped out at the top of the stretch with dead aim on Off the Tracks, she looked 2-5 to inhale Off the Tracks and win decisively. Instead, Off the Tracks turned back and ran away from Lewis Bay like she wasnt even there. This was powerful stuff.As for Mo dAmour, she clunked along to finish a non-threatening fourth. And in Rachels Valentinas defense, she also stumbled at the start. But still, she really gave it up in the stretch after holding sweet early outside stalking position and finished fifth, again as the favorite.Its funny. When a division has a leader as dominant as Songbird is in this years 3-year-old filly division, the rest of the division is, far more often than not, weak and uninspiring. Not so with this years 3-year-old filly division, though. Its stunning how there are so many legitimately good ones, even in the face of Songbird.Lucky us.Quick notes* She is a Grade 1 winner and twice Grade 1 stakes placed, so shes set for life. Nevertheless, I honestly feel bad for Rachels Valentina. Given that her mom is Rachel Alexandra, how can she ever live up to expectations?* I like early-season 2-year-old racing. Its good for the game, and its good for 2-year-olds. That said, I usually dont put much stock in early-season 2-year-old stakes results, which is why 2-year-old rankings dont appear in my Watchmaker Watch until mid-August. However, if the resurgence in early 2-year-old racing that seems to have taken place over the last couple of years continues, I might reassess.But my skepticism of early 2-year-old stakes is being put to the test by the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs. I thought the Bashford Manor was, in relative terms, a very strongly run race. The final time of 1:09.39 for six furlongs is impressive compared with the 1:11.01 fillies needed to complete the Debutante Stakes just 34 minutes later. Classic Empire came from inside, outside, and inside, and from well off the pace to catch the very speedy Recruiting Ready, with the rest of the Bashford Manor field a city block up the track. I think both a very nice prospects.* Its anyones guess if he will improve for the experience, or if he will return to his free, front-running style, but Danzing Candy clearly did not like being rated early in the Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita, and could only finish second at 1-5. It wouldnt matter so much if Danzing Candy werent so talented. But he is very talented, as he showed when he won the San Felipe over Mor Spirit and Preakness winner Exaggerator. ' ' '