to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. "It took m

ALTO DE LANGLIRU, Spain -- Christopher Horner, an American cyclist who turns 42 next month, closed in on the biggest victory of his career Saturday by building his lead in the next-to-last stage of the Spanish Vuelta. Horner, who rides for RadioShack-Leopard, increased his lead from three to 37 seconds over Italys Vincenzo Nibali after the 20th stage. Horner shook off the Giro dItalia winner on the final surge up the foggy peak to end the grueling, 88-mile mountainous ride. "I dont need any time for it to sink in. I know what Ive done," Horner said. "I think everybody at home that was on the couch got to watch a legendary moment that maybe theyll never see again in their entire career. Maybe never again in sports, maybe never again in cycling will you see someone of my age win a grand tour." All that awaits Horner is Sundays last stage and the traditional arrival in Madrid. He collapsed to the ground after pedaling across the finish line in second place, 26 seconds after winner Kenny Elissonde of France. Horner had to be helped to his feet by race officials, and Nibali understood just how good his rival was this day. "I tried everything I could, but I couldnt do it," Nibali said. "It was impossible to shake Horner. I have to settle for second place, but I am not happy." Elissonde finished in 3 hours, 55 minutes, 36 seconds. The route started in Aviles and covered three major summits before ending at the Alto de LAngliru peak. "Its LAngliru, its mythical," Elissonde said. "This morning if youd have told me this I wouldnt believe it," Elissonde. The LAngliru summit was teeming with fans, many having camped out overnight to be there the next day to cheer the cyclists on their way up. Horner withstood Nibalis challenges on the ascent, the narrow mountain road crowded on both sides by raucous fans and thick fog limiting visibility. When the Astana rider apparently had spent all his energy, Horner pulled away using his high-riding stance. "That Nibali would put such an attack at the finish like that and make it so epic and unbelievable for the fans, to see him attack 10-15 times -- whatever it was -- Im sure the fans must have been on the edge of their seats every moment of it, of every pedal stroke that I did on the final climb," Horner said. Former winner Alejandro Valverde of Spain is set to finish third. The Movistar rider is 1:36 behind Horner, with Rodriguez a distant fourth at 3:22 back. "Horner was the strongest and we have to congratulate him for the victory," Valverde said. "His performances surprised us at the beginning, but not now." Avonte Maddox Jersey . We wonder if the price of a Roberts rookie card has at least gone up a few cents? Tribute Tweets #Padres Tony Gwynn had 287 career plate appearances against #Braves trio of Maddux, Glavine, & Smoltz, he hit . Michael Bennett Jersey . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Haloti-Ngata-Eagles-Jersey/ .S.-Portugal game on June 22 in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus. FIFPro, the international soccer players union, had pressed FIFA to avoid the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather. Mike Wallace Jersey . Raymond, 31, started 15 regular-season games for the Stamps in 2013, racking up 51 tackles. He also returned two kickoffs for 79 yards including a 61-yarder. Custom Eagles Jerseys .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.SUNRISE, Fla. -- With a relatively young team, Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon is of the belief that the club needs an experienced coach behind the bench. And with that, Peter Horacheks time as interim coach is over. The Panthers fired Horachek on Tuesday, after Florida went 26-36-4 under him this past season. Horachek had no previous NHL coaching experience before replacing Kevin Dineen on Nov. 8 and while Tallon lauded the interim coachs work with the club, he simply thinks that a change in direction is needed. "We just felt as a group that it wasnt quite the right fit with the direction that were headed in," Tallon said. Tallon said theres no timetable for finding a new coach, other than that the team wants to make a hire before the draft in late June. He said Peter Laviolette -- who was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers after only three games of this season -- is on his list of candidates, and theres also speculation that he could target former Nashville coach Barry Trotz. "Were going to interview every possible candidate and take our time and make the right decision," Tallon said. Horachek had been the coach of Floridas AHL affiliate in San Antonio before being summoned to lead the Panthers. Tallon said Horachek will not remain with the organization in any capacity. The team will urge the next coach to keep assistant coaches John Madden and Brian Skrudland, both of whom Tallon has in high regard. Horacheks fate was decided in the last few days and he accepted the move when told Tuesday in a "classy" manner, Tallon said. The coaching decision is one of many changes for the Panthers in recent months, with more moves coming. The team was bought last fall by New York businessman Vincent Viola, had a change in the executive ranks when Michael Yormark left as team president earlier this year, and the Panthers brought back longtime fan favourite Roberto Luongo late in this season. Plus, the team has sttockpiled plenty of picks in the next two drafts and won the right to draft No.dddddddddddd 1 overall this year. "Were not starting over," Tallon said. "Weve got a lot of young players on our team now, well have a few more added each year as we move forward and now we have to surround them with the right NHL players and pieces that we will attack in free agency or by trading some of these assets that we have." The Panthers have had seven different coaches in their last 10 seasons, with Dineen the only one in the group to take Florida to the playoffs. And the next coach will be Tallons third since he took over in Florida. Hes hoping history repeats itself with this move. Tallon was most recently the GM in Chicago and his third coach there was Joel Quenneville -- who led the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. "It took me three in Chicago to get it right," Tallon said. "So its not an easy task. Its all about getting it right. Yeah, its important. Thats why were going to take our time and really investigate and interview various candidates and do our homework and try to get the right fit." Florida finished with the second-lowest point total in the NHL this season and missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. The Panthers last won a playoff series in 1996, the year they lost to Colorado in the Stanley Cup finals. "He did a good job," Tallon said of Horachek. "He came in a worked hard and tried to turn things around in a hurry." Florida ranked 29th in the 30-team NHL in goals scored this season, plus were abysmal on special teams. The Panthers ranked last in the league with a 10 per cent power-play success rate -- the worst percentage posted by any team since 2000-01 -- along with a 76 per cent penalty-kill rate. The Panthers were out of the playoff race early once again, finishing 27 points out of the eighth and last post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. ' ' '