INDIANAPOLIS -- Sam Schmidt, owner of Sam Schmidt Motorsports, said he respects Buddy Rices decision not to drive his teams third car to try and qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Time is running out to find a replacement. Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 winner, was set to join Simon Pagenaud and Tristan Vautier as Schmidts drivers in qualifying on Saturday, but he chose not to compete. "It was a joint decision," Schmidt said Wednesday in his garage. "I was looking for funding, he was looking for money. If we couldnt give him a proper two or three days of testing, he just didnt want to be involved, which is fine." Schmidt said he would have liked to have Rices experience as part of the team. "The bottom line is, we were doing our best effort to find the funding to get Buddy in a car today to get him an adequate amount of time to practice so he could qualify on Saturday, and at the end of the day, we couldnt find the funding in time." Bryan Clauson, Jay Howard and Katherine Legge are also hoping to land in Schmidts open car. "Theyre usually in here on a revolving door all day long, looking for an update, so weve talked to all of them," Schmidt said. "Were slowly running out of time here, but its not out of the question." An already short amount of prep time is likely to be shorter because of Mother Nature. "With rain looking ominous for the next couple days, best-case scenario is a Saturday-Sunday qualifying thing and go race," Schmidt said. Nike Tanjun Cheap .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Nike Tanjun Discount . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.cheapniketanjun.net/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Nike Tanjun Shoes On Sale . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Nike Tanjun Clearance . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The pending arrival of eight heralded newcomers has allowed Kentucky coach John Calipari to quickly move on after losing out on top recruit Andrew Wiggins. Calipari is confident his large recruiting class will mesh and have the Wildcats back in national championship contention. Calipari acknowledges the challenge of melding the skills of another talented group of freshmen, one featuring six McDonalds All-Americans. Kentuckys latest recruiting class is considered the best in school history, ratcheting expectations of a ninth national championship next season. Wiggins was considered the final piece for a Wildcats title run, but the nations top-rated player committed to Kansas Tuesday. Still, Caliparis believes his class will be successful because junior Kyle Wiltjer and sophomores Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress return to provide experience and leadership for the rookies. His only caveat: expecting too much from his 13-man roster, especially after Kentucky (21-12) missed last seasons NCAA tournament with a highly touted foursome. "Its been laid out for them," Calipari said Wednesday of the expectations. "Now, the question is, will we all have the patience? Will I have the patience? "Theres no choice. It may be ugly early and were playing good teams early. The point is by the end of the year, we have the talent, the size, the toughness, the skill set. ... How we bring this team together will be the challenge of this." Calipari eagerly embraces the mission because of the depth of talent he has attracted. Leading Kentuckys latest group of All-Americans are 6-foot-5 twin guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison; forwards Marcus Lee and Julius Randle; guard James Young; and centre Dakari Johnson. Joining them are in-state players Derek Willis, a 6-foot-9 post player, and guard Dominique Hawkins, the consensus choice as Kentuckys top prep player. Besides being among the nations best at their positions, the versatility of each one could help address several problem areas for the Wildcats. What has Calipari most encouraged is the dominant "Alpha male" characteristics displayed by players, such as the 6-10 Randle -- traits that were missing from last years Kentucky squad that also lacked a returning starter from the previous years championship team. "This team will have maybe two" such players, Calipari said,, "but thats OK.ddddddddddddWhat happens is when you have multiple (Alpha males), which we had on my team two years ago, different guys can lead at different points in the year. When you dont have that Alpha male at all, you have to do things to try to lead yourself as a coach, and your team can never have the kind of success you want." Last season was definitely a cautionary tale about expecting too much from freshmen. Big men Nerlens Noel and Cauley-Stein, guard Archie Goodwin and Poythress showed potential and even made the Southeastern Conferences All-Freshmen team. But as a group they didnt come close to meeting the standard set by Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in leading Kentucky to the title two years ago. Besides being left out of the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats lost at Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT as the top seed. That defeat capped a 4-5 run without the 6-10 defensive specialist Noel, whose season-ending knee injury in February hurt Kentuckys tenuous tournament prospects. Noel has entered the NBA draft and could be the No. 1 overall pick next month. Goodwin is also in the draft pool. Fortunately for Kentucky, 7-footer Cauley-Stein and Poythress skipped the draft to return for more development. They are joined by Wiltjer, Jon Hood and Jarrod Polson. "The guys that came back, shouldve come back," Calipari said. Signing so many scholarship players also points to a lesson the coach said he learned from not having enough last season. The groups arrival has energized Kentuckys already-fervent fan base to the point of predicting an unbeaten season on social media. Calipari warned that any success will require hard work from players and especially the coaches. Calipari said the work starts Monday for him and his staff, who will try to identify each players skills and coaching needs by the time they arrive on June 1 for orientation. Summer visits from former Wildcats, particularly those playing in the NBA, should also help provide direction for the roster. The result is an encouraging outlook that Calipari said wouldve been there no matter what Wiggins decided. "I wish him well," the coach said of Wiggins. "Hes a great kid and hes going to be a terrific basketball player. It didnt change me any. I was confident in this team and the group we had before and after his decision." ' ' '