tington felt its one the team had to make. Pittsbu

BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, Italy -- Colombias Nairo Quintana showed off his climbing strength and increased his lead in the Giro dItalia with a victory Friday in the 19th stage, a mountain time trial. Quintana, runner-up at last years Tour de France, clocked 1 hour, 5 minutes, 37 seconds over the 26.8-kilometre (16.7-mile) route from Bassano del Grappa to Cima Grappa. Italys Fabio Aru finished second, 17 seconds behind, and Colombias Rigoberto Uran was third, 1:26 behind. "I had a great feeling and I took full advantage of it," said Quintana, who rides for the Movistar team. "I was really well prepared." After his second stage win in this years race, Quintana moved 3:07 ahead of Uran in the overall standings. Aru moved ahead of Pierre Roland into third, 3:48 back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal dropped to ninth overall after finishing 26th in Fridays stage. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was 138th Friday and sat 155th overall. Giuseppe Martinelli, Arus team director with Astana, continued to discuss the controversial 16th stage, which was also won by Quintana amid questions whether the dangerous descent from the Stelvio pass was supposed to be neutralized or not. "I think that conditioned the race," Martinelli said. "Quintana probably would still have won but not with a three-minute advantage (on Aru)." The opening five kilometres (three miles) of the time trial were nearly flat but then the road tilted uphill dramatically, reaching a gradient of 14 per cent at one point. Many riders changed bikes after the flat section, going from a specialized time trial version to their regular road bikes for the climb. Quintana even changed his helmet. "It only cost me a few seconds," Quintana said. "I was really calm. We practiced it." Stage 20 on Saturday is the races last mountain leg, a 167-kilometre (104-mile) route that starts in Maniago and finishes with a climb up the demanding Monte Zoncolan. "I think I already did today what the fans wanted to see," Quintana said. "Tomorrow I hope me and my team can control the stage." The race ends on flatter ground Sunday in the northeastern port city of Trieste. Mike Conley Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . Pironkova, who was ranked outside the top 100 despite reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 2010, beat three top 10 players in Sydney, 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani, 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Kerber. http://www.thegrizzliesofficial.com/Auth...zlies-Jersey/.m. on Friday. Granger was acquired from the Indiana Pacers last Thursday for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, but never played a minute for Philadelphia. The 76ers also received a 2015 second-round draft pick in the deal. Lorenzen Wright Jersey . Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D. Custom Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice tweeted an apparent goodbye after a report about his pending release.PITTSBURGH -- Languishing near the bottom of the NL Central a year after making the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldnt wait any longer for struggling left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez to get it together. The Pirates designated the 35-year-old veteran for assignment Thursday, less than 24 hours after Rodriguez gave up six runs in 1 2-3 innings in a 9-8 victory over Baltimore. "In our mind we felt best served to cut ties because in my mind Im thinking, You know what? Ive seen guys of his ilk pitch backwards and recreate themselves. ... We didnt feel that was our best option," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes healthy his arm is healthy. He said it best, Sometimes you give everything you got and its not good enough." Rodriguez was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in six starts this season. He spent time on the disabled list earlier in the year with a right knee inflammation. Though he insisted the knee was "OK" after his poor outing on Wednesday, Rodriguez allowed he was frustrated by his ineffectiveness. The Pirates plan to fill Rodriguezs spot in the rotation with either right-hander Brandon Cumpton or left-hander Jeff Locke, an unlikely All-Star a year ago. Cumpton is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts with Pittsburgh this season and has been dominant at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he is 4-1 with a 1.35 ERA. Locke is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA at Triple-A. "Wevve got a really good, real challenging decision," general manager Neal Huntington said.dddddddddddd "Weve got the ability to make a change if it doesnt work or have another option come up if we face another injury while we probably will." Cutting Rodriguez will be costly for a team with one of baseballs lowest payrolls. Acquired in a trade with Houston in 2012, Rodriguez is scheduled to make $13 million this season, with the Pirates picking up $7 million of the tab. Rodriguez went 11-10 with a 4.16 ERA in 30 starts with the Pirates. Huntington acknowledged the move will certainly raise eyebrows in a clubhouse that began Thursday at just 19-26 and well back of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Yet Huntington felt its one the team had to make. Pittsburghs starting rotation -- a major strength while the team pushed to its first playoff berth in more than two decades last fall -- has regressed significantly. The four starters not named Gerrit Cole are a combined 1-17 this season. Pittsburgh replaced Rodriguez on the roster Thursday by activating catcher Russell Martin from the disabled list. Martin hasnt played since straining his left hamstring against St. Louis on April 25. He will have to serve a one-game suspension for his role in a brawl against the Milwaukee Brewers last month and is expected to return to the lineup on Friday against Washington. ' ' '