03/14/2007 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southwest Stakes winner Teuflesberg heads a field of nine for Saturday's $300,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/16 mile event is the final local prep race for the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 14.
The Oaklawn stakes for three-year-olds have become important preps leading to the Kentucky Derby. In 1998 Victory Gallop won the Arkansas Derby before finishing second in the Run for the Roses. Smarty Jones turned the Rebel Stakes-Arkansas Derby-Kentucky Derby triple and two years ago Afleet Alex won the Arkansas Derby on his way to wins in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes after a third in Louisville.
Teuflesberg is trained by co-owner Jamie Sanders, and has won five of 14 career starts for more than $467,000. His first win of the year came in the Southwest Stakes after a third place finish in the Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds.
Stewart Elliott will once again be aboard Teuflesberg as Elliott tries to duplicate his winning ride on Smarty Jones in 2004.
"The Triple Crown run on Smarty Jones was tremendous," said Elliott. "Even today, people come up to me and ask about the colt and the events. We relive the moment."
Elliott and his mount will start from post 4.
Officer Rocket, second in the Southwest Stakes, gives trainer Bob Holthus a chance to record his third straight win in the Rebel Stakes. Holthus sent out Lawyer Ron and Greater Good to win the race. The trainer has a total of five Rebel Stakes victories, dating back to Spike Nail in 1964.
Owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Officer Rocket will break from post 6. His regular jockey, Calvin Borel, will be at Tampa Bay Downs allowing Luis Quinonez the opportunity to ride the three-year-old.
"Sure, I wish Calvin had been able to stay on Officer Rocket," Holthus said, "but considering the circumstances, he had no choice, especially knowing that he would be facing a similar conflict on April 14."
Last year Officer Rocket claimed two stakes at Arlington Park, the Arlington- Washington Futurity and the Spectacular Bid, but is still seeking his first win as a three-year-old.
A pair of colts coming off their maiden wins are expected to get considerable attention. Curlin won his debut by more 12 lengths at Gulfstream Park early last month. Flying First Class broke his maiden at Oaklawn by eight lengths.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Curlin will be ridden by Robby Albarado on Saturday from post 8. Following the win majority interest in the colt was sold to a partnership of Padua Stables and Stonestreet Stable.
Flying First Class will start from post 2 with Eclipse Award winner Edgar Prado in the saddle. The three-year-old is trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas for Ellwood Johnston.
Completing the field for the Rebel in post position order are Wannabeinclued, Sumac, U D Ghetto, Xchanger and Going Ballistic.
The Rebel Stakes is carded as race 10 on Saturday and will be televised by ESPN with a scheduled post-time of 7:04 p.m. (et).
<< Matthews: "I have never taken HGH"
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Under scrutiny from Angels owner Arte Moreno to
speak out about recent steroid allegations, embattled outfielder Gary Matthews
Jr. finally released a statement on Wednesday declaring his innocence.
"I have ne
<< Time to fill out those brackets
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The four number-one seeds are the four
favorites to win this years NCAA Tournament, with Florida heading the list.
The Gators are 4-1 as of Tuesday afternoon, to win back-to-back titles, and
the team is curre
<< DePaul signs AD Ponsetto to extension
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DePaul University director of athletics Jean
Lenti Ponsetto signed a five-year contract extension on Wednesday.
Ponsetto was hired as AD in July, 2002. A highlight of her tenure came when
the Blue Demons
<< Aldridge, Jack, Randolph and Roy give Blazers a solid nucleus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Zach Randolph, rookie LaMarcus Aldridge and
Brandon Roy and point guard Jarrett Jack give Portland a solid foundation for
what looks to be a very bright future.
Randolph leads the Trail Blazers in scoring (23.6 p
Stotts fired in Milwaukee >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Terry
Stotts on Wednesday.
In his second season as head coach, the Bucks have posted a 23-41 this year.
Last season Milwaukee went 40-42, qualifying for the postseas
Bucks' Bogut fined for obscene gesture >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut was fined
$25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans in the fourth period of
the Bucks' loss to Toronto on Monday.
The incident occurred with less than a minu
Rangers' Young has surgery for cut on ear >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young is
expected to miss at least a week of action after undergoing a minor procedure
on his left ear to close a cut.
Young suffered the injury during Tuesday's sprin
Lampard's penalty pulls Chelsea to within six points >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea moved to within six points of
league-leaders Manchester United with a 1-0 win at Manchester City on
Wednesday.
Frank Lampard scored the lone goal of the match from the penalty spo
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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