CYPRESS, Calif. -- Feisty in the gate and wide throughout the race, Accelerate won his third consecutive start in Saturdays $201,035 Los Alamitos Derby, but only after surviving a six-minute inquiry into an incident in the final furlong.Accelerate finished a head in front of 3-1 Semper Fortis, who was 1-1/2 lengths clear of Blackjackcat, the 5-2 second choice. The stewards focused the inquiry on whether Blackjackcat was compromised when jockey Gary Stevens took up late when in tight quarters.Stevens also claimed foul against Semper Fortis. The incident did not affect the order of finish, the stewards ruled.We didnt feel it cost him, steward Tom Ward said. We thought they were going away from him.Ward made the decision with stewards Kim Sawyer and David Nuesch.Accelerate ($3.80) ran 1-1/8 miles in 1:48.48. The Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby was the colts graded stakes debut.Ridden by Tyler Baze, Accelerate was three wide on the first turn, raced outside on the backstretch and was four wide on the turn. He did not take the lead until the final strides.It was a game effort, trainer John Sadler said. He was much the best in my opinion.Semper Fortis led by 1-1/2 lengths with a furlong to go, but could not hold off Accelerate, who was racing at 1-1/8 miles for the first time.Blackjackcat was followed in the order of finish by Mishegas, Curlin Road, Sugar Buzz, Chris and Dave, and Arizona Moon. The Los Alamitos Derby was the richest race of the tracks September meeting, which concludes on Sunday.Accelerate, by Lookin at Lucky, is owned by Pete and Kosta Hronis. Purchased for $300,000 as a yearling at Keeneland, Accelerate lost his first three starts from mid-April to mid-June, but is unbeaten in three starts around two turns. He won two one-mile races at Del Mar -- against maidens on July 28 and the Shared Belief Stakes for 3-year-olds on Aug. 26.He got behind the calendar, Sadler said. He wasnt ready early. Were excited about him. We hope we have a Saturday horse for next year.Accelerate has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $236,880. Yogi Berra Yankees Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Thurman Munson Yankees Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.yankeesrookiestore.com/Yankees-Derek-Jeter-Kids-Jersey/ .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. C.C. Sabathia Yankees Jersey . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Thurman Munson Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Notre Dame will count this as progress after a week of upheaval and adjustments for a beleaguered defense. They might have been only leprechaun-sized steps forward, but the Fighting Irish will take it.Notre Dame tightened up its tackling and held Syracuse to seven points in the second half, and DeShone Kizer made up for most of the Irishs ills with one of the best passing games in school history.Kizer threw for a career-best 471 yards and the Fighting Irish snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Syracuse 50-33 Saturday.In the first game since coach Brian Kelly fired coordinator Brian VanGorder, the Irish (2-3) allowed more than 30 points for the fourth time this season and 489 yards to Syracuses up-tempo spread offense.I wasnt crazy about going against this offense. I much rather have been going against something a little bit different because of their tempo and how they spread you out and with all the freshman DBs that (we) play. Thats not always the greatest matchup, Kelly said. But I felt like the morale was really good on Wednesday and thats what I was looking to get back. The morale.The tackling on punt coverage still needs work. Syracuses Brisly Estime had a 74-yard return late in the first half that setup a touchdown and left Kelly fuming on the sideline. Estime added a 38-yard return.Kizer made it all OK for Notre Dame at MetLife Stadium.He connected on three touchdown passes -- two to Equanimeous St. Brown -- that covered at least 54 yards each and ran for a score. Kizer hit a rough patch at end of the first half when he took a 17-yard sack that knocked the Irish out of field goal range and threw an interception.Kelly said he told Kizer at halftime to stop trying to force big plays.When we went back out, relaxed up, took his words and ran with it, said Kizer, who threw for more yards in a victory than any quarterback in Notre Dame history.Eric Dungey passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three scores for Syracuse (2-3).THE TAKEAWAYSyracuse: The Orange defense has already been shredded by Lamar Jackson and Louisville and now Kizer and Notre Dame. An in-season fix seems unlikely. The middle of the field always seems to be open against the Orange secondary.dddddddddddd.That is a very, very young defense, first-year Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. You have to give them time to grow up.FYI: Clemson and Deshaun Watson play the Orange on Nov. 5.Notre Dame: Kelly elevated Greg Hudson from analyst to coordinator and got more involved in the defense this week. Kelly kept his pledge to play more defensive players and make tweaks. The Irish mixed in some 3-4 alignments and their defensive backs changed techniques to better guard deep routes. Cornerback Luke Cole was moved to nickelback, lining up inside instead of out.There is still work to be done. The secondary, at times playing four freshmen, was porous and the front got little pressure. Positives: The Orange ran for only 3.4 yards per carry and the Irish did a solid job of tackling after the catch. Syracuse had 266 yards in the last three quarters.We need to continue to improve on tackling, defensive lineman Isaac Rochell said. I would say we did better, but we still left a lot out there.ONE FOR THE NEW GUYThe players picked Hudson to lead the singing of the alma mater after the win. They did it acapella since the band didnt make the trip.He put a lot of power in the position coaches hands and he put a lot of power in our hands as player and said, `Lets just come together as a family, safety Drue Tranquill said.TOUCHDOWN PER MINUTEThe first five minutes produced five touchdowns, one for each possession. Plus, Notre Dame had its second blocked PAT returned for a 2-point defensive conversion this season. The Irish did it against Texas, too. Jarron Jones got the block again and this time Cole picked up the bouncing ball and scored.Add it all up and it was 23-13 Irish with 10:06 left in the first quarter.They have a dynamic offense and when they come out its a big splash, Babers said