It’s 13 weeks until the Kentucky Derby, so we will be seeing many more days like Saturday, when three Derby preps will be run from coast to coast.
Betting
None of the eight highest-scoring teams in NFL history won the Super Bowl, with only the 2013 Broncos, 2007 Patriots and 1983 Redskins even reaching the title game.
The Cardinals, who rank No. 1 in the NFL in total defense, can bounce back and cover Sunday as 2½-point favorites over the Washington Redskins.
Popular favorites Arizona, Carolina and New England went down in Week 4. The San Diego Chargers’ choke job was another stunner.
Instead of a classic NBA Finals opener, the Cleveland Cavaliers turned in a performance that was a colossal disappointment. LeBron James was upstaged by Golden State’s Shaun Livingston.
It is almost impossible to make a sports bet big enough to win a seven-figure amount. Most casinos would blink rather than accept that kind of exposure. But horse racing is pari-mutuel betting.
Oklahoma-Villanova is a great matchup because of Ryan Arcidiacono, a skinny point guard with a last name that is tough to pronounce and a game that proves even tougher. He’s from Philadelphia, where people are inspired by Rocky Balboa and Vince Papale.
Seven touchdown passes should be enough to win a game, yet Drew Brees needed help. He needed the opposing coach to have a brain cramp, and he needed a kicker to deliver. He got it all, because it was one of those days for Brees.
When the New York Giants are in a funk, it’s usually because Eli Manning stunk it up. That’s the popular storyline, and the media sticks to it. It’s routine to target the quarterback in the blame game.
On one good leg, a hobbled Aaron Rodgers had enough to put the Green Bay Packers on the brink of the Super Bowl. Seven months later, he rolled into training camp on healthy wheels prepared to flush a bad memory.
Ohio State is the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, and its status would not change if only two of the three quarterbacks remained. It would seem impossible for coach Urban Meyer to keep Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller happy for the entire season.
American Pharoah looks to have horse of the year locked up. But stakes races — including the Dwyer, Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks back east and Los Alamitos Derby out west — could provide fireworks on Saturday.
The biggest betting event in boxing history never came close to matching the hype. But for Las Vegas bookmakers and those who bet on Floyd Mayweather Jr. — and the sharp money was on the favorite — it might as well be remembered as a classic.
It was April 2, 1990. Jerry Tarkanian, chewing a towel, was on one bench, with Mike Krzyzewski on the other. The UNLV-Duke showdown in the NCAA championship game in Denver was the headline show on the Strip. But Nevada sports books were banned from posting lines and taking action on the Rebels.
When Keeneland moved the Blue Grass back one week, it set up a true Super Saturday. Three big Kentucky Derby preps will go Saturday: the Blue Grass, Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby.