FanHouse Mike Smith

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) -- What a gal!

Zenyatta overcame early trouble to beat the boys in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, running her record to 14-0 in the most impressive effort of her career.

The 5-year-old mare rallied from last after a poor start and fought off Gio Ponti in the stretch to win by a length at Santa Anita, beating a loaded field of 11 males and becoming the first female to win the Classic in its 26-year history.

"There are tears coming to my eyes. I can't believe it," said trainer John Shirreffs, who eschewed a box seat to watch his star horse from the rail near the finish line.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

As Round 1 of our single-elimination fight tournament involving NFL coaches nears its end, let us recap the action we've seen so far. To view the entire bracket or learn what we're talking about, kindly click on the links below.

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The last thing the Atlanta Falcons wanted on Sunday night was to lose Brian Williams to a season-ending knee injury. But Williams landed funny in the fourth quarter of the Falcons 21-14 victory over Chicago and tore his ACL, forcing Williams to be placed on injured reserve, where he'll miss the rest of the season and require reconstructive surgery. Now, the 18th-ranked Atlanta pass defense must find a new cornerback somewhere on their roster.

"This will be an opportunity for Tye Hill, Chris Owens and Chevis Jackson", said head coach Mike Smith in a press conference Monday. Those three will compete for time in the secondary, playing alongside cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Chris Houston.

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?

First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.

Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.

After a poor showing by the secondary in Saturday night's preseason game, Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith tried hard to not to single out the defensive backfield: "It's team defense," he said. "What I mean by that, is that it starts up front, it goes to the linebackers and it goes to the secondary. It's not just one group."

General manager Thomas Dimitroff wouldn't throw anyone under the bus either, but let it be known that between the time the third preseason game ended and the regular season began, the Falcons would be busy scouring the league for possible trades or free agents to sign. Dimitroff didn't waste any time finding someone.

On Tuesday, the Falcons sent a 2010 seventh-round draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for cornerback Tye Hill.

ATLANTA, Ga -- Everyone loves last-second touchdown passes to win games in the NFL. It doesn't matter if it happens in the preseason.

The Atlanta Falcons' first-team offense moved the ball well in the first half, but quarterback Chris Redman and the second- and third-string units stole the show on Saturday night, as the Falcons beat the San Diego Chargers 27-24 on a touchdown pass from Redman to Eric Weems with nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Redman, who came into the game in the third quarter, completed 15-of-19 passes for 134 yards and compiled a 113.6 quarterback rating. He threw the game-winning pass, but also ran for a 10-yard touchdown earlier in the game.

The Atlanta Falcons are in St. Louis tonight to take on the Rams in week two of the NFL's preseason. Friday night is going to be a pivotal game to begin answering many questions that the Falcons have about depth chart issues and final 53-man roster considerations.

Here are three scenarios to keep your eye on.

Who is going to end up being the third wide receiver?
When Harry Douglas went down with a season-ending ACL tear, the Falcons had immediate openings for a punt returner (see later comments) and a third wide receiver. The team signed veteran free agents Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker soon after the Douglas injury and they are now competing with Brian Finneran and Eric Weems for that No. 3 spot.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons head to Detroit to play the Lions this Saturday, August 15 for their first preseason game. The team has released a preseason depth chart to show an early glimpse at where players stand. You need to remember that the Falcons are less than two weeks into camp and the start of the regular season is still more then a month away. There are many things that can and will change between now and then.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Roddy White and his agent have been quiet during the first nine days of training camp, preferring not to comment publicly on negotiations. The holdout is over and on White's first day in camp, he's making noise.

"We'll have a lot of big, explosive plays this year out of our offense," White said after his first practice with the team.

As you can tell, White is excited to be back in camp, back with the team and back in the huddle. Head coach Mike Smith is just happy to have him back.