teams waiting for the next game have to set up in the co

My Dad has been telling me about the great racehorse Arkle. Did he win all his races? asked Simon HarringtonArkle didnt quite win every race he entered, but the famous horse ended up with 27 wins out of 35, a pretty good record for a steeplechaser, especially one who received tough handicaps later in his career.Arkle was foaled in April 1957, and lost his first two outings -- flat races under National Hunt rules -- in Ireland late in 1961, before finally making the winners enclosure in his third race, the Bective Novice Hurdle at Navan in January 1962. Five more runs followed in Ireland -- bringing three wins, a fourth and an unplaced -- before Arkles Cheltenham debut, in the Honeybourne Chase in Nov.1962: starting as favourite, he won by 20 lengths. After another win in Ireland he was back at Cheltenham in Mar. 1963 for the festival, and romped home in the Broadway Chase -- again by 20 lengths.There were four more races in Ireland in 1963: Arkle started as odds-on favourite in all of them, and won all four. But there was a setback at Newbury in the Hennessy Gold Cup in November, when Arkle slipped at the 19th fence and ended up third, behind Mill House and Happy Spring. Mill House -- The Big Horse -- loomed large again in 1964 when, after three more wins in Ireland, Arkle started the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the first time. There were only four entrants, and Arkle beat Mill House by five lengths.At Gowran Park in Oct. 1964 Arkle started at 5-1 on -- and won again, before returning to Newbury and beating Mill House in the Hennessy. A week later he went to Cheltenham for the Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup, and finished a close third behind Flying Wild and Buonanotte.He was soon back to winning ways, finishing first in a handicap at Leopardstown in Feb. 1965, and a fortnight later trounced Mill House by 20 lengths in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The following month Arkle won the Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown; later in the year, also at Sandown, he won the Gallaher Gold Cup by 20 lengths -- a warm-up for the Hennessy Gold Cup, three weeks later at Newbury, which he start at 6-1 on and won by 15 lengths. A month later Arkle tackled the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park for the first time: heavily handicapped, he still started at 7-1 on and beat Dormant by a distance.After a close-run win at Leopardstown in Feb. 1966, Arkle returned to Cheltenham and crushed Dormant by 30 lengths to complete a Gold Cup hat-trick. That November, giving away 35 pounds to Stalbridge Colonist in the Hennessy at Newbury, Arkle was pipped by half a length.An easy victory followed at Ascot, and then Arkle lined up for his 35th race, the King George at Kempton Park. Starting at 9-2 on, Arkle led most of the way, but lost out by a length to Dormant in the end. He was very lame after the race, and a broken bone was discovered: despite treatment, it proved to be the end of his stellar career.The only horse since Arkle to complete a hat-trick of Cheltenham Gold Cup victories is Best Mate, from 2002 to 2004. Cheap Adidas Ultra Boost Australia . -- 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 . Cheap Authentic Ultra Boost . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. http://www.cheapultraboostaustralia.com/ .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Adidas Ultra Boost Australia . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Adidas Ultra Boost Discount . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The Lahaina Civic Center sits on a hill above Honoapiilani Highway in western Maui, barely visible among the tropical trees and police station.The outside of the building is nondescript even up close, looking more like a school auditorium than a basketball arena. Same thing on the inside, with its upstairs, YMCA-style lockers and cage-like windows overlooking the court.Yet every November, the Lahaina Civic Center transforms into something else: one of college basketballs most raucous venues.Its like a high school gym being there, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Sunday, the eve of the Maui Invitational. The noise is loud, people are close to you. I think its neat. This time of year you want to play in front of an excited crowd, an arena where everything is close. Theres just so much you can gain from an experience like this and in a building like that. Theres really nothing like it.The Maui Invitational has become the top in-season tournament on the college basketball schedule, annually luring some of the best teams from across the country to the second-largest island in the Hawaiian chain.This years eight-team field has combined for 14 national championships and 40 Final Fours, and three teams are ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll : No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 9 Wisconsin.The three-day tournament, which starts Monday, also includes Tennessee, Oklahoma State, UConn, Georgetown and host Chaminade.At the center of this basketball-topia is the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center.Built in 1972, the building is used as a public civic center 50 weeks out of the year, hosting high school basketball leagues, volleyball games, karate practices and community events.The two weeks of the Maui Invitational brings some changes to the civic center -- signs and banners, TV lights, cushioned chairs in front of the bleachers -- but its still nowhere near matching the massive, modern arenas found across the rest of college basketball. It didnt even have air conditioning until the 2005 tournament -- after North Carolina coach Roy Williams complained about condensation on the floor.Its hard to adapt an old building with such character into a 2016 basketball arena that everyones used to, said Mark Starsiak, director of events for KemperLesnik, which operates the Maui Innvitational.ddddddddddddI tell teams every year: `Its the most unique experience youll have walking from the locker room all season. If you have any questions, Ill try to answer them.Calling the Lahaina Civic Center quirky is like saying basketball players are tall.The court, outside of the massive Maui Invitational logo at midcourt, is like a high school hardwood, with volleyball court and vertical basketball lines crisscrossing the court.The seats are like something out of Hoosiers, old bleachers that are practically on top of the court and only go up a dozen-or-so rows.The locker rooms are unlike anything in college basketball.Those are on the second floor, up a narrow stairwell that leads to a common area with taekwondo and wrestling lines on the floor, with nothing but a black curtain separating the teams. The common room also has cage-like windows that overlook the floor, though the view has been obscured a bit with the massive Hawaiian-themed banner at the west side of the arena.The lockers are the old, metal bring-your-own variety, with four concrete chairs, a single whiteboard and showers that dont always work.Because of the small confines, teams waiting for the next game have to set up in the common area and often can be seen at the bottom of the stairwells as the previous game is about to end.Leave your strategy for the hotel because your opponent is right through there, Starsiak said, pointing at the black curtain. Anything you say can and will be used against you on the court.With all the pampering teams and players usually get, it might seem like the civic centers inconveniences would be a drawback.Instead, the quirkiness and quaintness adds to the charm of the building and the tournament, often making the players feel like theyre back in high school.And because of the venues size, the noise and atmosphere inside the Lahaina Civic Center is like nothing else in college basketball.The environments great, Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. The fans are right on top of you, you feel the emotion of the fans the whole time. Much like this entire tournament, the game is a unique experience.---For more AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '