.Britains Tim Henman returns a shot to compatriot Andy Murray during their first round match Thailand Open tennis tournament in Bangkok September 27, 2006.[Reuters] It took the former British number one 55 minutes to win the first set after Murray crawled back into the match from 5-2 down. Tim Tebow Jersey Tweet Patrik Berglund scored twice and Sweden struck for three goals in the second period to claim a 6-2 win over the United States on Wednesday at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Kosice, Slovakia, to win Group C. Luol Deng Swingman Jersey . Mattias Sjogren had a goal and two assists, Marcus Kruger, Jimmie Ericsson and David Petrasek also scored and Viktor Fasth stopped 30 shots for Sweden, which moves into Group F for the Qualification Round and will face France on Friday. Cam Fowler and Blake Wheeler had goals for the U.S., which will face Canada on Friday. "They did a good job of coming at us with a lot of speed, and theyre patient at re-grouping," U.S. defenseman Jack Johnson told the IIHF website. "Its tough to play against, but I thought that there were times we took it to them. We gave up six goals -- youre not going to win a lot of games doing that." Berglund and Fowler traded goals 72 seconds apart late in the first period before Sweden took control of the game in the second. It started with a turnover by U.S. goalie Al Montoya, who played a puck from behind his net directly to Mattias Tedenby. He pushed it out in front, where Kruger scored into an open net. Sjogren scored midway through the period off a drop pass from Ericsson and Berglund struck again to make it 4-1 with 4:44 left in the second, snapping home a loose puck that Montoya was unable to control. "I think were getting better," Fasth offered. "We started badly by losing to Norway, but we didnt play as well as we can. Last game and now these were huge steps, so hopefully we can keep it going." Czech Republic 2, Finland 1 Milan Michalek and Jaromir Jagr scored and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 31 shots as the Czech Republic edged Finland in Bratislava, setting up a much-anticipated rivalry game on Friday against host Slovakia. "They knew the importance of the game. They wanted to win the game as badly as we did but we played the way we wanted to and our goalie played awesome," Czech forward Martin Havlat told the IIHF website. Michalek got the scoring started on a Czech power play in the second period, one-timing a feed from Marek Zidlicky. Jagr doubled their advantage by scoring early in the third, just after Finland had finished killing off another penalty. Pavelec was just 20 seconds away from a shutout when Anssi Salmela beat him after Finland had pulled its goaltender, but they couldnt find the equalizer. Denmark 3, Latvia 2 Mads Christensen scored in a shootout to lead Denmark to victory in Bratislava, earning them a Qualification Round berth and relegating Latvia to the Relegation Round for the first time since 2007. Christensen also had both of Denmarks regulation goals, while Martins Cipulis and Jekabs Redlihs answered for Latvia. Norway 5, Austria 0 Anders Bastiansen scored a goal and set up three others as Norway cruised to a win in Kosice and wrapped up its spot in the Qualification Round. Eerikki Koivu, Mathis Olimb, Jonas Holos and Lars Erik Spets also tallied for Norway. Ron Artest Swingman Jersey . The 44-year-old Spaniard, who played in seven Ryder Cups and was Europes vice-captain for the last two matches, was appointed captain on Tuesday. He succeeds Colin Montgomerie, who guided Europe to a 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory at Celtic Manor, Wales, in October. Falcons Jersey . Jason Richardson finished with 21 points, D.J. Augustin scored 17 and Gerald Wallace added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats (5-10), who won for just the second time in their past seven games. Michael Oher Nike Jersey . Louis in Fridays first round of the Entry Draft. The chain reaction started nearly two weeks earlier, when St. Louis surprised the hockey world by obtaining goalie Jaroslav Halak from the Montreal Canadiens in a bold trade just days after the Stanley Cup Final. Alex Ovechkin Jersey .C. - Welterweight Josh Koscheck knocked out Japans Yoshiyuki Yoshida with a pair of sledgehammer-like punches two minutes 15 seconds into the first round of the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" fundraising card Wednesday night. Kevin Faulk Nike Jersey .8 billion) starting on Thursday. ? ? The batch is the 7th of its kind the MOF has issued this year. ? Related readings: China to issue $3.8b of treasury bonds China to float 26b yuan T-bonds China to issue $3.LEXINGTON, Ky. - The trainer of euthanized filly Eight Belles adamantly defended the way jockey Gabriel Saez handled the Kentucky Derby runner-up. In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Larry Jones said Saez applied the whip only to prevent Eight Belles from crashing into the rail. "This filly in every race has tried to drift toward the rail," Jones said. "Its her comfort zone, and Gabriel knows this. This kid made every move the right move, and I hate it that theyre wanting to jump down his throat. He did not try to abuse that horse to make her run faster. He knew he was second best, that she wasnt going to catch Big Brown." Jones spoke while travelling from Churchill Downs to Delaware with his other prized filly, Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell. Jones is scheduled to have a news conference Tuesday morning near the paddock at Delaware Park. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for Saez to be suspended, contending he should have noticed an injury and pulled the horse up rather than applied the whip. In a statement Monday, Saez said Eight Belles never indicated anything was wrong. "All I could sense under me was how eager she was to race," Saez said. "I was so proud of her performance, and of the opportunity to ride her in my first Kentucky Derby, all of which adds to my sadness." PETA also announced plans to protest the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority on Tuesday, arguing for major changes, including a ban on using the whip or racing horses younger than 3. KHRA executive director Lisa Underwood said Monday that racing stewards found no evidence of wrongdoing by Saez. The authority also released a statement responding to PETAs proposals, arguing that many of them were premature or unnecessary. The Humane Society of the United States also weighed in Monday, arguing that horses are becoming more fragile because theyre being bred for speed, not durability. "There are problems coming to light more than ever - problems related to breeding," said Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society president. "Breeding too many horses, and waiting for someone else to clean up the problem. And breeding them for body characteristics that make these animals vulnerable to breakdowns, especially those spindly legs on top of these stout torsos." Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian at Churchill Downs during the Derby, acknowledged there was merit to that argument. He suggested there should be more financial incentives for horses who display longevity, rather than just the ability to come up big in one huge race. "The value of a horse is no longer related to how much he can win on the racetrack," Bramlage said. "Its related to how likely he can get you to one of those events. The breed creeps toward a faster and faster individual, but that individual may be brilliant because they have a lighter skeleton. Were inadvertently selecting for the wrong thing." Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line and was euthanized on the track. Kevin Kolb Jersey. Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said there will be an autopsy to determine cause of death. Jones said he has watched the race from various angles and found that not only did Saez do nothing wrong, but everything right. "Were putting him on multimillion-dollar horses, and I think this kid represented our business as professionally as could be run," he said. "If I were to run in the Derby tomorrow, Id put him right back on my horse." Jones acknowledged changes could made to make the sport safer, although he doubts any would have saved his filly from what he called a freak injury. Stewards could, for example, mandate lighter whips or riding crops, Jones said. However, he said his training program takes great care to make sure no horse is abused, even in a rush for the finish. "My horses dont come back from races with welts on their body," Jones said. "Very seldom do we find a mark on these horses. I dont think we need to make (the whips) out of foam rubber, but you could get to a happy medium where you know its not going to hurt them and the horse would still know what you want them to do." Jones said some of his horses dont respond to the whip at all. In fact, this year Jones petitioned officials at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas to let him send out a jockey without one. Jones petition was accepted despite initial concern the jockey wouldnt be able to control the horse. Waldrop said one of PETAs suggestions, that whips should be banned, would cause horses to be out of control on the track, producing far more injuries. "Forcing a jockey to give up a whip would be like forcing a NASCAR driver to give up his steering wheel," Waldrop said. As for the prospect of changing dirt tracks to synthetic ones, Jones said he supports continued research on how that will improve safety. He insisted, however, the track at Churchill Downs was not to blame for the loss of Eight Belles. "Churchills track was as close to perfect on Saturday as it could be," he said. "The moisture in it was wonderful." Jones said he hadnt yet decided where Proud Spell would run next but acknowledged the loss of Eight Belles has taken a toll on his team. "Im sure the way this affects us mentally, well probably bounce too far to the conservative line for a little while, being probably too safe on our horses," he said. "Were having a hard time getting this in perspective and behind us. These horses are very dear to us. I never got to say goodbye to her." Emotions were still running high at Churchill Downs on Monday, where the Kentucky Derby Museum was considering putting up a card for visitors to sign, museum spokeswoman Wendy Treinen said. A vase of flowers had been left at the museum, with a card that read, "Eight Belles, you were courageous and beautiful and we will miss you, but never forget you." Associated Press Writer Malcolm Knox in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report. Wholesale Jerseys. The visit is the first by a Chinese premier in 16 years and also the first by Wen as premier. Special Coverage:Wens Four-Nation Tour Related readings: Chinese premier leaves Japan for Mongolia Premier enjoys morning run at park in Tokyo Premier Wen arrives in Tokyo on official visit Chinese premier, South Korean president meetDuring the visit, Wen will hold talks with his Mongolian counterpart Sukhbaataryn Batbold, and meet President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and Damdingiin Demberel, chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, to exchange views on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern. ' ' '