BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, Utah -- Blinding white salt stretches across the earth to distant purple mountain ranges, an otherworldly landscape famous for providing a natural track for racers seeking breakneck speeds but fragile enough that rain can easily break it down.Thousands of adrenaline junkies have descended this week on Utahs Bonneville Salt Flats, coming from as far away as New Zealand, Japan and Russia. In this stark place about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City, they have set up a caravan of campers, tents and trailers as they spend a week trying to beat the clock -- some topping speeds of 400 mph.They haul modified motorcycles, vintage hot rods and roadsters, and custom vehicles that look like rockets or spaceships, with names such as Disturbing Da Peace or Loosenuts Special. Theyll wait for hours in line under the brutal sun just to get a chance to zoom across the flats, hoping to see if their latest modifications help them beat their previous records or go fast enough to earn a spot in the 200 mph Club.While the racers are glad to be back at Speed Week, which runs through Friday, its a bittersweet return after a two-year hiatus marked by disappointments and accusations that federal land managers have failed to protect the unique area.U.S. officials partly blame heavy rains and say theyre trying to preserve the salt by requiring a nearby mining company to pump brine onto the flats each year.Wet weather and rough salt scuttled the major races in 2014 and 2015, and organizers say they no longer find enough smooth salt to set up raceways of 10 miles or more to give many vehicles enough room to hit top speeds and safely slow down.This year, organizers with the Southern California Timing Association found enough dry, relatively smooth salt to eke out three racetracks for Speed Week, the largest of several annual races at the flats.Racers say that while theyre grateful weather has been favorable and theyre whipping across the salt again, they pointed out the less-than-pristine conditions.It looks thinner to me, said Ben York, a driver from Roseville, California, who has been coming to the flats since 2009. His team was trying to break a 334 mph record with their vehicle the Adrenaline Rush, an elongated racecar style known as a Lakester.York said that when the salt is flat, its very good, but this year it feels bumpy and coarse.Compared to past years, its spotty at best, said Dallas Volk of Bountiful, Utah, whose family has been racing at Bonneville for nearly six decades.Volk, 49, who first came to the races as a toddler, was selling T-shirts and other gear out of a trailer to support the Save the Salt organization, one of several racing groups calling for federal land managers to keep the salt from depleting and lobbying members of Congress to step in.You can definitely tell its not the same salt it was five or six years ago, Volk said.His father, Larry Volk, pulled out a pickax and struck it into the salt, revealing a layer of mud about an inch below, creating a speedway thats less hard and fast than it used to be. He said that when he started racing in 1958, they could find 14 miles of speedway where the salt top was 7 or 8 inches thick.Thats what wed like to see it get back to, he said.Monsoon storms are partly to blame for the cancellations, but its unclear exactly why there appears to be a smaller, thinner expanse of smooth salt.The racing community says nearby potash mining is draining a salty aquifer that helps replenish the flats each year.The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the flats, said it requires the mining company to pump several hundred thousand tons of brine onto the flats every winter so that when the area begins to bake under the summer sun, the water evaporates and the salt crust thickens.Racers want to see much more brine pumped on the flats every year and are working with Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart on legislation to restore the area. His office said its still drafting the legislation and would not offer details.Larry Volk said congressional action is a last-ditch effort to try to preserve the area for decades of future racing.Though conditions are poor this year, Volk said the speed demons are still glad to be back.Were racers, OK? he said. Give us anything and well try to race on it. Salomon Shoes Outlet Canada .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Cheap Salomon Canada . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.wholesalesalomoncanada.com/ . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Discount Salomon Shoes . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Ryan Tannehill played a little longer and a lot smoother in his second preseason game. The Jacksonville Jaguars can only hope Blaine Gabbert will do the same. Tannehill completed 5 of 9 passes for 75 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Dustin Keller, and the Dolphins thumped the Jaguars 27-3 in a preseason game Friday night. The Dolphins (1-1) managed just one first down in their first three drives, but Tannehill got things rolling late in the first quarter. He connected with Keller for a 24-yard gain and then found the former New York Jets tight end five plays later for the score. Safety Chris Prosinski got turned around on the play, the first of many mistakes for the rebuilding Jaguars. "He protected the ball well, but lets face it, the offence wasnt all that clean," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "It wasnt until the fourth possession that they started playing better. But early on, it was a little dicey." Jacksonville finished with four turnovers: two interceptions and two fumbled punt returns. Maybe more unsettling for first-year coach Gus Bradley was what happened on the sideline in the second quarter. Receiver Justin Blackmon, sitting out the game while recovering from groin surgery, got into an argument with Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll. The verbal tiff escalated and included several teammates, getting so heated that it got Bradleys attention. "It was a war of words," Carroll said. "I dont know him. They started talking trash, so I talked trash back to them. He kept doing it and kept doing. It was more than one play and he kept talking. I decided to be the bigger man and just let it go. I saw Maurice Jones-Drew get into it also, so they all tried to join up and gang me. "But thats just the spirit of the game. Thats all it is. Its competition. I didnt talk to him afterward. I dont know him. No hard feelings as far as Im concerned." Jones-Drew eventually stepped in and escorted Blackmon to the locker room. Blackmon returned for the start of the season half and apologized to Bradley. Nonetheless, he was in Bradleys office after the game. Regardless of the circumstances, its certainly not an ideal situation for Blackmon. The receiver is suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy. The suspension stems from two alcohol-related arrrests in the past three years.dddddddddddd Blackmon has spent the past two months trying to prove hes changed and more mature. "I just told him, I said, spend your time encouraging our guys and dont get caught up in that," Bradley said. "Why add that to the game already. Youre falling into that. Thats not what we want on the sideline. He understands, but it still happened. Well talk about it as a team and say thats not who we are or what we want to become, so lets take it out of our game." Gabbert, meanwhile, was hoping to make a strong impression in the teams preseason opener. Bradley selected Gabbert as the starter Thursday, saying he earned it after showing poise and progress in training camp. But Gabberts 2013 debut looked a lot like his first two regular seasons. He completed 5 of 10 passes for 19 yards, with an interception. He didnt get much help, though. Rookie receiver Ace Sanders and fullback Will Taufoou dropped passes, and rookie right tackle Luke Joeckel had his hands full with Cameron Wake. The ball off Taufoous hands landed in cornerback Nolan Carrolls arms for an interception. "Its preseason, so we are still trying to sharpen up things," Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis said. "We are trying to see what we are actually good at and what stuff we need to sharpen up. Its a lot of trial and error still going on. Its an ongoing process. We are working out the kinks." The Dolphins, coming off a 24-20 loss to Dallas in the Hall of Fame game on Sunday, made it 14-0 on Jonas Grays 1-yard run in the second quarter. After giving his starters just 10 snaps against the Cowboys, Philbin gave them more work Friday. It included receiver Mike Wallace, who didnt have a catch or a target in his first game since signing a $60 million, five-year contract. He missed the preseason opener because of a groin injury. Former Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne, competing with Gabbert for Jacksonvilles starting job, was slightly sharper than his teammate. Henne completed 8 of 11 passes for 87 yards. He worked some with the first-team offensive line, but finished up with the second unit. Both quarterbacks played without three of the offences top weapons. Jones-Drew, who is recovering from foot surgery, sat out as a precaution. Eight others, including starting receivers Cecil Shorts III (calf) and Blackmon, also were held out for Jacksonville. ' ' '