The Dodgers are reeling losing their last 6 games and 8 of their last 10 and they look to get back in the W column with their Ace on the hill tonight. L.A. is in the basement of the NL West 6 games back of the Rockies.
Uh, the New York Knicks do know, don’t they, that as the playoffs advance into the next round, the competition tends to get a little better?
It’s been said so many times that it no longer needs repeating, but we’ll do it anyway:
The Eastern Conference quarter final series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders had all the makings of a laugher after Pittsburgh’s 5-0 Game 1 win but suddenly this series has become one of the more entertaining matchups in the postseason. There are momentum swings galore, plenty of goals and urgency by both teams to overcome the others’ intensity. Pittsburgh currently leads the series 2-1 but it hasn’t been easy. On Tuesday night the Penguins will look to take a stranglehold in their series and to take some wind out of the sails of a motivated and hard working Isles squad.
There weren’t many that gave the Minnesota Wild a chance in their quarter final series with the Chicago Blackhawks but the underdogs may have found a formula for success against the President’s Trophy winners – hitting the Hawks early and often. The Wild benefitted from an uber-physical game plan Sunday when they recorded the overtime win against the overwhelming favorite in the series. Repeating the task will be difficult indeed for Minnesota – Chicago has been sensational all year and they did not lose back-to-back games at any point during the regular season.
The New York Rangers return home Monday night with some work to do – down 2-0 to the Washington Capitals and struggling to find any sort of offense. The Rangers perhaps deserved a better fate in Game 2 but lost in overtime to put them in the 2-0 hole. A low scoring game is predicted once again – the teams scored a total of four goals in Game 1 and were held goal-less during regulation of Game 2.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have two games under their belts – playoff jitters are not an excuse anymore and if they improve in Game 3 like they for Game 2, Leafs fans could go home very, very happy Monday night.
The Warriors pulled off the biggest upset in the first round of the playoffs beating the 3rd Denver Nuggets in 6 games and now they face the 2nd seed Spurs, who easily swept the Lakers in their first round playoff series. NBA lines have the Spurs as big 8.5-point home favorites with a total of 201.5.
Imagine a Bulls-Heat series with an in-his-prime Michael Jordan going up against LeBron James?
The Braves won their last game, but they have really cooled off after their scorching start losing 7 of their last 10 games. They still lead the NL East with a 2 game lead over the Washington Nationals.
The Giants have taken the first 2 games in this series and they have done it in dramatic fashion with both games being won by walk off home runs.
The 2013 Triple Crown horse racing season for three-year old thoroughbreds gets underway this Saturday afternoon with the running of the Crown Jewel of the series; the Kentucky Derby. Run on a 1 ¼ mile dirt track at Churchill Downs, this grade I stakes race features a field of 20 horses competing for a total prize purse of $2 million.
The following is a closer look at my top favorite, contender and longshot for Saturday’s race with odds provided by Sportsbook.
The Favorite
There are a few quality horses in this category, but the one that I have pegged as the favorite to win the Derby is Verrazano at +400. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, this colt comes into this race with a perfect 4-0 record in four previous starts.
After winning a maiden weight special and allowance race at Gulfstream, he really burst onto the scene with a victory in the Tampa Bay Derby this past March as a 2/5 favorite in his first graded stakes race.
Verrazano cemented himself as one of the favorites to win on Saturday after winning the grade I Wood Memorial as a 4/5 favorite in early April.
The Contender
The early odds on Goldencents are +1000, but he could easily move up to be one of the top three or four horses in the field depending of the outcome of the draw for starting positions.
As a two-year old, this colt broke his maiden in his first start at Del Mar and then went on to finish second in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont and first in the Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs to close-out a very successful juvenile campaign. [ad-1605881]
With Doug O’Neill as his trainer, Goldencents won the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita in early January in his first stakes race as a three-year old.
Following a disappointing fourth-place finish in the grade II San Felipe Stakes in early March, he moved right back up the ranks with a huge victory in the grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 6.
The Longshot
This is one of the strongest fields in years for the Kentucky Derby as there are a number of horses with longer odds more than capable of upsetting the field late Saturday afternoon.
One horse in particular that is starting to draw quite a bit of attention is Mylute at +2500.
This horse has gained a reputation as an excellent sprinter so the added distance of this race is a concern; however trainer Tom Amoss and jockey Rosie Napravnik have done a great job with him as a three-year old to build his endurance.
His best finish in a major stakes race this year is second in the grade II Louisiana Derby on March 30, but Mylute still has upset potential written all over him.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a much more difficult time with the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarter final than most thought – but the result was what almost everybody predicted. Minnesota played almost the perfect road game, they held one of the best offenses in the game to one goal during regulation with their backup goalie, they stayed out of the penalty box and they still lost.
The biggest mismatch of the postseason continues Friday night when the New York Islanders attempt to gain a little respectability against the Pittsburgh Penguins – a team that beat them in relatively easy fashion in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter final. Sound easy?
Tonight’s game between the Rangers and the Red Sox is one of a couple of division leaders. The Red Sox have the best record in baseball, are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and they lead the New York Yankees by 2.5 games in the AL East.
This rivalry is one of the best in baseball and tonight’s game is the first one of a 3 game series. The Giants are only .500 in their last 10 games, but they have won 3 straight and only trail the Rockies by a single game in the NL West.
