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09/27/2011 - Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, October 2. Race: Kentucky Indy 300. Site: Kentucky Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 2:45 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 300. 2010 winner: Helio Castroneves Television: Versus. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
The IZOD IndyCar Series will run its penultimate race of the season on Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. And the championship battle in the series is at its best right now.
After finishing second in last week's race at Motegi, Japan, Will Power reclaimed the top spot in the point standings. Dario Franchitti's eighth-place run there put the two-time defending series champion 11 points out of the lead.
Power also earned the Mario Andretti Trophy for winning this year's road/street course title. It's the second straight year the Team Penske driver has won the honors.
"It's an honor to win the Mario Andretti road course award again," Power said. "Now we need to keep going and finish the season strong on the ovals."
Luckily for Franchitti, the last two races of the year are contested on 1.5- mile ovals. The season concludes October 16 at Las Vegas.
Franchitti held a comfortable 62-point lead over Power after last month's race at Mid-Ohio, but Power has progressively gained on Franchitti since then, doing so on the road/street courses (Sonoma, Baltimore and Motegi).
"If you win or if you lose, you always look at the championship as a whole," Franchitti said. "[Motegi], Loudon, Texas, Indy and on and on, you always look at these things, but Will can do the same with his races."
Last year, Franchitti trailed power by 59 points late in the season, but he bounced back in the final four races -- all of them on ovals -- to steal the title from Power by just five points.
Franchitti has yet to win an IndyCar race at Kentucky but has finished no worse than ninth in his last four races here, including a fifth-place run in 2010.
Power's best finish in three races at Kentucky is eighth, which came last year. He led 83 of 200 laps in that event.
Dan Wheldon will race in the series for the first time since his surprising victory in the May 29 Indianapolis 500. Wheldon is scheduled to drive the No.77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car in place of Alex Tagliani.
Kentucky will be an opportunity for Wheldon to prepare for Las Vegas -- a race in which he would collect a $5 million bonus if he takes the checkered flag.
"I can't thank Alex enough for letting me drive his car in Kentucky and to work with the team in preparation for Las Vegas," Wheldon said. "I'm really excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with everyone at Sam's team. They were a large part of our winning effort in May, and I'll do my best to get back to victory lane."
Wheldon has posted five top-five finishes in eight starts at Kentucky. He started and finished third in last year's race here.
Twenty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Kentucky Indy 300.
<< Nationwide points battle moves on to Dover
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday,
October 1. Race: One Main Financial 200. Site: Dover International Speedway.
Track: one-mile oval. Start time: 3:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 200. 2010
Winner: Kyle Busc
<< Stewart aiming for third straight Chase win
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, October
2. Race: AAA 400. Site: Dover International Speedway. Track: one-mile oval.
Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 400. Miles: 400. 2010 Winner: Jimmie
Johnson. Television
<< This Week in Auto Racing October 1 - 2
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The next race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup
championship takes place this weekend at Dover International Speedway. The
Nationwide Series is also at Dover. The Camping World Truck Series joins
IndyCar
<< Rays turn triple play against Yankees
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays turned a crucial
triple play during the sixth inning of Tuesday's game against the New York
Yankees.
With the Yankees leading, 3-2, and nobody out with the bases full, catcher
Russell
Petersen's HR in ninth boosts Marlins over Nats >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Petersen crushed the game-winning solo home
in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Florida Marlins to a 3-2 win
over the Washington Nationals at Sun Life Stadium.
Doug Slaten (0-2) got the first
Milestones aplenty as Phils dispatch faltering Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies reached several
milestones Tuesday and continued the wild card-leading Braves' freefall with a
7-1 drubbing in the penultimate game of the regular season.
The NL wild card race h
Triple play, Joyce HR keep Rays tied for wild card lead >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A triple play in the sixth inning kept
the Rays from getting too far behind, and Matt Joyce's seventh-inning homer
put them in front.
Both plays likely saved their season.
Joyce's three-run blas
Buehrle, White Sox edge Blue Jays in first game without Guillen >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the first night without manager Ozzie
Guillen, pitcher Mark Buehrle dazzled in what may be his last start as a White
Sox.
Buehrle pitched seven shutout frames to lead Chicago past Toronto, 2-1, in the
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your VISA Sportsbook needs.
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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