the first time in 10 seasons.Its been a tough season, Freeman said. A lot of guys in that locker room deserve better. Four and eight is not where we want to be.Freeman also said he believed Helfrich could return the team to national prominence.Mullens was in Texas with the College Football Playoff sel

Churchill Downs will award a Japanese horse an automatic berth in next years Kentucky Derby under a new program assigning points to participants in two Japanese stakes races, the track announced on Monday.The two one-mile dirt races at Tokyo Racecourse will be the Cattleya Sho for 2-year-olds on Nov. 26 and the Hyacinth for 3-year-olds, expected to be run early in 2017, according to a release from Churchill and the Japan Racing Association.The two-race series is structured along the lines of a points system Churchill implemented in 2013 to designate starters in the Kentucky Derby, which is the most prestigious race in North America. Under Churchills system, the top 20 points earners in a series of 2-year-old and 3-year-old stakes races are allowed to start in the Derby, provided the horses were nominated to the Triple Crown.The new Japanese series has the potential to reduce to 19 the number of Derby starting berths open to horses participating in the larger series. In a release, Churchill said the horse earning the most points in the two-race Japanese series will be offered an invitation to compete in the Derby, and if the invitation is accepted, one slot will be reserved for the Japanese horse.This year, Lani became only the second horse based in Japan to run in the Derby. Lani, who was bred in Kentucky, earned his spot in the Derby by winning the United Arab Emirates Derby, a Dubai race that is part of the points-based system established by Churchill for Derby qualifiers. Lani finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby under jockey Yutaka Take, who is enormously popular in Japan.The Kentucky Derby simulcast is not available in Japan, which strictly limits the number of foreign races that can be offered in the country for betting. Japans betting market is one of the largest in the world, however, and Churchill, like other U.S. companies, is eager to make inroads into the market.Also on Monday, Churchill said that the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs would replace the Grey Stakes at Woodbine in the 2016-17 points series for the 2017 Derby. The Sam F. Davis is a dirt race for 3-year-olds usually held in February, while the Grey Stakes is a race for 2-year-olds conducted over Woodbines artificial surface.Cheap Enos Slaughter Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Cheap Mike Shannon Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. http://www.cheapstlouiscardinalsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-albert-pujols-jersey . JOHNS, N. Cheap Willie McGee Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Cheap St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations.EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregons run as one of the nations elite teams came crashing to a halt this season.Now the question is, was the year just an anomaly?The Ducks, who just two seasons ago were playing in the first College Football Playoff championship game, wrapped up a season to forget with a 34-24 loss to the Oregon State Beavers in the 120th Civil War. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak in the series.It was one of many streaks that would fall this season. Oregon finished 4-8 overall and at the bottom of the Pac-12 North standings at 2-7 -- snapping a run of nine straight winning seasons in conference play.The final loss meant that Oregon wouldnt be making a postseason appearance for the first time since 2004. The Ducks had finished every season ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2007.It also threw coach Mark Helfrichs future with the team in doubt, as well as the direction of the program. Just moments after the Ducks left the field at Oregon State, Helfrich was asked about his job security.Nobodys job is safe in college football, he said. Thats just the nature of the beast.Oregon hasnt fired a head coach since 1976 when Don Read was let go after three seasons.At the final media availability of the season, the morning after the Civil War loss, Helfrich said he had called athletic director Rob Mullens to inquire about his status. The two were going to meet this week.Helfrich tried to be positive, but conceded it was out of his control.We needed to win more games this year and I get that, he said. There are a lot of factors involved there but all that stuff is up for debate and determination by people that arent me. I think weve got a great team coming back, a very talented team coming back, and thats exciting.The Ducks started the season with promise, ranked No. 24 in the preseason AP poll. For the second straight season, Oregon brought in an experienced graduate transfer at quarterback -- this time Dakota Prukop from Montana State.The Ducks also hired a new defensive coordinator, former Michigan coach Brady Hoke, who installed a 4-3 scheme. Matt Lubick was promoted from within to replace departed offensive coordinator Sccott Frost, and David Yost was named quarterbacks coach.ddddddddddddThe defense appeared shaky but the Ducks nonetheless won their first two games, against UC Davis and Virginia. A 35-32 loss at Nebraska started a five-game slide -- the longest for the Ducks in 20 years -- which finally ended at home with a 54-35 victory over Arizona State on Oct. 29.While mired in the losing streak, the Ducks benched Prukop in favor of freshman Justin Herbert, who in the end was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season.Herberts first start was a daunting one, against No. 5 Washington. The Huskies routed the Ducks 70-21 to snap a 12-game losing streak in the series. But Herbert would go on to finish the season ranked fourth on Oregons all-time list for completion percentage at 63.5 percent. He threw for 1,936 yards and 19 touchdowns with four interceptions in nine appearances.Junior Royce Freeman, mentioned as a Heisman Trophy hopeful at the start of the season, rushed for 945 yards and nine touchdowns but was slowed by injury. A possible NFL draft prospect, Freeman said after the Civil War that he had not made a decision on whether to return for another college season.Oregon didnt lead the Pac-12 in rushing for the first time in 10 seasons.Its been a tough season, Freeman said. A lot of guys in that locker room deserve better. Four and eight is not where we want to be.Freeman also said he believed Helfrich could return the team to national prominence.Mullens was in Texas with the College Football Playoff selection committee on Monday. He issued a statement regarding the future of the program with no hints as to where it was headed.Now that our season is complete, I will evaluate all aspects of our football program, as I do with all of our sports after their seasons have ended, the statement read. That evaluation includes meeting with Coach Helfrich in the coming days to discuss the future of Oregon football.---More AP college football: -www.collegefootball.ap.org and -https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '