Funkerstation » my colleague at TSN, Milt

William Pike has been described as being as reliable as a bank ATM: Back whatever he is on and collect. In Saturdays Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) in Perth, Western Australias premier jockey may validate the confidence of so many punters across the country yet again when he partners Perfect Reflection in the first feature of the citys Summer Racing Carnival at Perth.Now into the fourth month of the 2016-17 season, Pikes strike rate of 29.4 percent is as good as any jockey anywhere would imagine. Convert that to a run-rate and he would be knocking on the door of the Australian cricket team. For now, though, a second win in one of Perths toughest and most competitive races is where his mind is at with this $5.50 equal favourite.Im very much looking forward to riding her; she won the main lead-up race, the Lee Steere Classic [1400m, Group 2 on Nov. 5], and that was very good, Pike told ESPN of the four-year-old mares most recent performance.At the mile, I think it will be even better for her. And Ive got lucky with the [No. 2] barrier, too.The tougher Group 1 company may present another challenge, but the Grant and Alana Williams-trained mare stood up well enough to her first task at Group 3 level in Melbourne in February. Her third placing, beaten less than a length by Dont Doubt Mamma (twice a winner in Melbourne during the Spring Carnival) in The Vanity over 1400 metres at Flemington shouldnt be discounted.A blip on her record came when she finished well down the track in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (Flemington, 1600m) in March, but Pike says that it also shouldnt detract from assessing where she is currently at in her preparation.She went to Melbourne at the end of her campaign last time so it isnt fair to compare her then and now. She is a different horse now. With six Western Australian Derby trophies to his name, together with two Perth Cups, Pikes dominance of WA racing is most significantly stamped by his eight jockey premierships across the state.Pike broke a long-standing premiership record in the 2015-16 season with 118 winners in the Perth metropolitan area and more than 200 throughout Western Australia. Hes come a long way over a 16-year career, actually and figuratively.He grew up in the old gold mining town of Coolgardie, 550 kilometres east of Perth. Just as distant is his lineage to Hall of Fame jockey Jim Pike; the legendary rider of Phar Lap and a one- or two-degree relative of Williams grandfather. That association is more of a coincidence as a career in the racing saddle was never really on the radar for Willie.Not at all. My side of the family had nothing to do with racing. Id never been to a racecourse before I came to Perth and started my riding apprenticeship, the 30-year-old said.My uncle saw that I had always liked horses having done pony club and all of that sort of stuff and one day he said I want you to come and meet this person I know, referring to trainer Jack Cockell in Mundijong, situated 90 minutes south of Perth, and who became the WA champions mentor.The winners have kept rolling in. A riding-treble at Belmont last June was followed by a sextet of victories at Kalgoorlie in September. It all adds up to a list of profitable outings that any financial adviser would be more than proud of.But does being such a punters pal add to the pressure for an athlete still well in his prime, and did the prospect of smashing the local record result from a well laid plan?It did sort of just happen but a fair way out I still had my doubts, Pike said of his much lauded previous season. You have those patches where your form isnt so good, and at one point I was worried that I wouldnt even reach 100 [winners]. Somehow is then snowballed.Then they started saying that I was a chance to break the record. I didnt think that was going to happen but then I ended up putting a good margin on it. I did sort of just happen but definitely in between there are a lot of doubts.It all came about because I was able to stay out of the Stewards Room and from the ambulance, basically.Perhaps Pikes reliability emanates more from his attitude to race riding overall rather than just singling himself as a big race performer?Ive always just gone out and done my best no matter what the race is. My preparation for this Railway coming up is no different to any other that Ive ridden in. I want to win every race I go win, but I treat it like every other race just the same.I just want to do my best. I dont feel it [pressure] but sometimes when I go out on a short-priced horse -- and you know that its short because Im on it -- I feel like I want to do well for the punters, but it doesnt always happen.This Railway is a very hard race to win even if you have a good horse, and Im still going to need luck.Good luck, too, Willie. 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It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Willy Caballero Chelsea Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage.After the first two weeks of the regular season in the CFL, parity seems to be the word to best describe what has unfolded. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the only 2-0 team, and the Tiger-Cats are the only 0-2 team but could easily have been in the .500 club if not for a dropped screen pass in the second-to-last play of Week 1 versus the Argos. The leagues offences got off to a fast start in Week 1 with the four opening games producing a total of 277 points, or an average of 69.3 points/game. That average was the third highest scoring first week in the leagues history. In Week 2 the defensive coordinators decided enough was enough, and shaved a hundred points off the top and dropped the total count to 177 points or 44.25/game, although a monsoon in Guelph also contributed. There were a few other interesting developments over the first two weeks that are worth noting. The first that comes to mind is the new wave of receivers that seems to be emerging. With Geroy Simon missing both games to start the season due to injury, the positions all-time leader and senior statesman is still looking for his first catch as a Saskatchewan Roughrider. Nik Lewis, who has known nothing but 1,000-yard seasons in his nine years in the CFL, currently ranks 16th amongst CFL pass catchers. The Alouettes Jamel Richardson, who is entering his tenth season, finds himself out of the top 20 after the first two weeks of the CFL season. Cliche time - "Its not where you start but where you finish." Im sure that all three veterans will start to take their games up a notch and climb back up the list. In fact Simon (age 37) said prior to the Riders game against Calgary that he probably could have played in the contest and will be ready to go this week if the coach and training staff give him the green light. And as long as they stay healthy, Lewis (31) and Richardson (31) will have their big games, and when the dust settles will be past the 1,000-yard mark. However, football fans could be witnessing the beginning of a changing of the guard at the receiver position. It may not be completed this year or even next, but there are some talented young receivers who are quickly making names for themselves. Calgarys Joe West is a big target with strong hands who can also run by people, as witnessed in Calgarys first passing play of Week 2 vs. Saskatchewan when he caught a 64-yard deep ball. He would add a touchdown in that contest, his third of the season after two weeks. Nick Moore of the BC Lions had a monster game in Week 2 in his clubs home opener, pulling in six catches for 107 yards. Moore, who is actually lining up in Simons old position, currently ranks fourth among CFL receivers after two weeks. There are also a couple of young Canadian receivers making some noise early and will be interesting to watch, including the Bombers Cory Watson who is just outside of the top 10 and the Eskimos Nate Coehorn, who is only two spots back of Watson. Also of note after the first two weeks was the first on-field incident that forced the leagues head office to hand out the first fine of the 2013 season. In cased you missed it Saskatchewans Dwight Anderson in Week 1 in Edmonton made what the officials believed was a "throat thrashing" gesture. Anderson aggressively disagreed with the call on the field and proceeded to get a second objectionable conduct penalty, and eventually the fine was added to the punishment. What was not reported was the way thaat head coach Corey Chamblin handled his players lack of composure.dddddddddddd Following the game the team levied its own fine, and asked that Dwight Anderson do some volunteer work in the community. Chamblin explained his philosophy on the punishment when he said, "I think honestly that a players time is more important to them than their money, so when it comes to fines, I think they will better get the message if I take their time not their money." However Chamblin wasnt done just yet. His philosophy in cases like the Anderson case is to try and help the player first as a person and second as a football player. Chamblin said, "every one of us can improve ourselves, and I want to help Dwight improve as a person first, then the rest will take care of itself." As the third part of Andersons punishment Chamblin made the veteran defensive back read a book. Yes, in fact he said that they would both read a book written by Jon Gordon called, "The Energy Bus," and then discuss it together. The book is essentially about how we approach life and work, and how to do it in a positive and forward thinking way. It will be interesting to see how Dwight Anderson responds to what is a refreshingly unique and genuine approach by Corey Chamblin. And finally, speaking of discipline, the Ticats Chris Williams continues to be a topic of discussion, even thought the returner/receiver is sitting out the season over a contract dispute. Lindsey Lamar, the five-foot-nine speedster out of South Florida, is the main reason that Williams name has come up as much as it has in the first two weeks. Lamar is making Tiger-Cat fans forget about Williams in a hurry, as he already has registered a kick return touchdown, and despite some ball handling issues in the monsoon game against Edmonton in Guelph - which produced enough rain to drown a duck - Lamar in about a month in the Hammer has become one of the those guys that gets you up out of your seat every time he touches the ball. I also have to respectfully disagree with my colleague at TSN, Milt Stegall, who suggested that the Ticats have somehow disrespected Williams in a recent panel hit? For the record, it was Williams and his first agent that made the mistake of signing the first contract. Also, while actual numbers have not been made public, it is rumoured that once Williams received NFL interest the Ticats offered him an extension that would have compensated him handsomely, by CFL standards. If he didnt want to extend, because he wanted to give the NFL a shot after this season, Im sure Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young would have been fine with negotiating better money in the 2013 season to ensure he would honour the last year on his deal. Williams is making a mistake or getting bad advice or both. A football players window to play is very small at the best of times. If the tiny returner is afraid of getting hurt by playing out his contract in Hamilton, he should be reminded that you can get hurt in a light strip workout in the off-season, or lifting weights in a gym. Football players have to work on improving every day, because you can bet that the guy they are competing with in camp is improving, and sitting out a year will not help Chris Williams improve his game. The CFL gave Williams a chance when no one knew who he was. If there is any one that has been disrespected here, it is the Canadian Football League and the Hamilton organization, by Chris Williams. ' ' '