Preakness 2018: Payouts, Results...And Another Triple Crown?

Every NBC analyst picked him to win. The crowd cheered him in the post parade. And even though most of us at Pimlico could see him for only a couple of furlongs, Justify capped off a dreary Preakness day with a tour de force performance that will have racing fans salivating for a second  Triple Crown in four years.

The favorite went off at 2-5 and paid $2.80 to win, topping a $27.40 exacta for $2 and a $148.30 trifecta. Bravazo was a half-length back in second, with Tenfold a neck behind in third.

The win gives trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh Preakness win, while rider Mike Smith got his second.

The announced attendance for the Preakness was 134,487, down slightly from last year, and likely a higher number than actually showed up for one of the worst weather days in Preakness history.

Justify is owned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing, and  WinStar Farm. He was bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and sold for $500,000 as a yearling. With  his win in the Preakness, his lifetime earnings, undefeated in five races, is $2.9 million.


Rain had fallen relentlessly in Baltimore for much of this week, and Preakness day dawned misty and rainy. The track was designated "sloppy" (standing water on it) early on and remained that way throughout the day, even though rain stopped by mid-afternoon. Fog had begun to roll in and by Preakness post time, the track was shrouded in cloud, the horses visible only when directly in front of the grandstand, shortly before the winner's circle.

Complete Preakness payouts

$2 double: $4.60

$1 superfecta: $372.50

Continued from page 1

$1 trifecta: $148.30

$2 Pick 3: $15.00

$2 Pick 4: $87.60

$2 Pick 5: $339.40

20 cent Pick 6: $41.04

source : https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresagenaro/2018/05/19/preakness-2018-payouts-results-and-another-triple-crown/2/#31fa4f434e2c

Astros' A.J. Hinch after Texas school shooting: 'I want answers, I don't want to offer any more condolences'

On Friday morning, 10 people — nine students and one adult — were killed at Santa Fe High School in Texas when a teenager opened fire before classes began, a law enforcement official not authorized to comment publicly told USA TODAY.

Ten other people were wounded, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during an afternoon news conference.

The shooting at the school outside of Houston was at the top of everyone's mind, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch used his media availability before the team's Friday night game against the Cleveland Indians to address the tragedy — and made a call for change.

"I don't have the words. I'm here in front of a bunch of cameras trying to make people feel better when I don't think the situation should ever happen. There's no reason for our schools to be combat zones," Hinch said.

"It's turning that way ... we started the season with a conversation like this in Florida, and now we're talking about it in our own city and it's going to be a different city, and then another city and then another city.

"Thoughts and prayers are great. They're not fixing the problem. Until we fix the problem, whether it's how we believe in ... whether it's guns, safety, security.

"I want answers, I don't want to offer any more condolences, I want to find answers."

Contributing: Mary Ann Cavazos Beckett, Rick Jervis, Julie Garcia, Bart Jansen and Christal Hayes, USA TODAY Network

Terrell Owens rips Jason Garrett, says it's 'mind-boggling' the Cowboys' coach still has job

Terrell Owens ripped Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett in a radio interview Wednesday, saying at one point that he believes it's "mind-boggling" that Garrett still has a job.

Owens told 105.3 The Fan that he thinks players like wide receiver Dez Bryant have become scapegoats for the team's offensive performance, when it's really Garrett's fault that the Cowboys have "pretty much been at a standstill" during his tenure.

"When you really look at it, it doesn't make sense for Jason Garrett to continue to have his job," Owens said on The Fan. "(The Cowboys are) not really expanding or not really progressing with the organization, even as a team, under his coaching tenure there."

(Photo: The Associated Press)

Owens, who was voted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year, spent three seasons in Dallas over the course of his 15-year career. He overlapped with Garrett when the latter was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008.

The 44-year-old Owens also drew an NBA comparison, pointing to the Toronto Raptors' recent firing of head coach Dwane Casey. Casey went 320-238 (.573) in seven seasons with five playoff appearances, including one trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Garrett has gone 67-53 (.558) in seven-plus seasons with two playoff appearances.


"(Casey) was voted unanimous coach of the year, has taken Toronto to the playoffs, had three straight years of winning 50-plus games and then they don't make it beyond what the expectations are within that organization and he gets fired," Owens said on The Fan. "And then you have Jason Garrett, who has no accomplishments, not even close to that, and he continues to still have a job.

"It all boils down to players being the scapegoat for his inability to lead the team as he should. For me, it's mind-boggling. I don't understand it. And I think Jerry (Jones) — again, he's the owner at the end of the day, he has to feel good with himself about the decisions — but I just don't understand why this guy still has a job."

source : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2018/05/18/terrell-owens-rips-dallas-cowboys-coach-jason-garrett/622376002/

At least 1 dead after graduation shooting in Georgia, police say

Police say an argument after a graduation ceremony Friday night led to a shooting that killed at least one person in Georgia.

According to Clayton County Police, the shooting happened after a graduation for Perry Learning Center, which prepares students for careers as an alternative to traditional high schools. The shots were fired in the parking lot of Mount Zion High School, which provided overflow parking for people attending the ceremony in Jonesboro, about 20 miles south of Atlanta.

In a statement, police confirmed that one person died from the shooting.

The Clayton County Fire Department confirmed that two other people sustained injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

The county schools’ safety chief, Thomas Trawick, says people going to their cars got into an argument that led to the shooting. He said he couldn’t provide details about the injuries and had no information about any suspects.

Trawick said his initial reaction “wasn’t pleasant,” given that 10 people were killed earlier in the day in a school shooting in Texas.


“The last thing you want to do is have a situation at a graduation that results in anyone being injured, and definitely not being shot,” he said.

Video from the scene showed several police cars outside the location.

"We didn't know what to do," Latrallo Presley, a witness of the shooting, told WXIA-TV. "We just ran... running from the parking lot, running from everywhere. People were stumbling over each other. I was shook."

The shooting comes on the same day as the mass shooting at a Texas high school left at least 10 people dead. Clayton County Police Chief Thomas Treywick told WXIA-TV he was heartbroken to get the call of a possible shooting at the school.

"It was not pleasant," Treywick said. "I was emotional because the last thing you want to do is have a situation at a graduation that results in anyone being injured."

In a statement, the Clayton County School district's superintendent said they were "saddened that such an incident has occurred that overshadows such a positive ceremony involving an exceptional group of graduating seniors."

source : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/18/georgia-school-shooting-graduation/625528002/

NBA playoffs: Cavaliers thrash Celtics in Game 3, climb back into Eastern Conference finals

With their season on the line, even the NBA’s most unpredictable team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, could be counted on to bring a big effort in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night.

So while the exact margin — a 116-86 throttling of the Boston Celtics — will come as some surprise, the fact Cleveland cut its deficit in half isn’t surprising in the least. LeBron James was not going to be swept.

Saturday’s win sets up Game 4 back in Cleveland Monday night, the game that should determine which of these teams go to the NBA Finals.

“They will be ready in Game 4,” James said of the Celtics in his postgame interview with ESPN’s Doris Burke. “[Celtics Coach Brad Stevens] will have his guys ready.”

If Cleveland can win again Monday, it seems unlikely he’ll be denied a victory in Boston in one of Games 5 or 7. Given how poorly the Celtics have played on the road in these playoffs (more on that in a minute), expecting them to win in Cleveland to either stay alive or close out the Cavaliers in Game 6 seems like too much to expect.

If Boston can win Monday, though, the Celtics will go back home for Wednesday’s Game 5 with all of the momentum, and the Cavaliers, a fragile team to begin with, could easily break having to face a 3-1 deficit.

Sure, the Cavaliers did that two years ago to beat a far better team, the 73-win Golden State Warriors, and win an NBA title. But this isn’t the same Cavaliers team — not by a long shot.

It doesn’t need to be, though, to beat Boston three more times. After losing Game 3, Boston is now 1-5 in six road games in these playoffs. The Celtics are 15th among 16 teams in field goal percentage in the playoffs and 15th in three-point field goal percentage on the road. They now have been outscored by 75 points in those six games, an average of 12.5 points per game.

That’s a lot of data that points to Boston having trouble winning in Cleveland. If the Celtics can find a way to reverse that trend in Game 4, the series will be in their hands.

As is usually the case when teams switch venues in a series, the supporting players rose and fell depending where they were playing. All five Cavaliers starters finished in double figures, led by 27 points and 12 assists from James. Cleveland shot 17-for-34 from three.

More importantly, the Cavaliers simply looked more engaged. They were playing hard from the start, flying around the court defensively in an effort inspired in part by making shots.

“It was a combination of both,” James said. “More importantly when we broke down defensively we had guys flying at guys … not giving up on plays like in Game 1 and 2. That was a big part in us being a lot better defensively today.”

That shot-making began with George Hill, who got off to a hot start and scored 13 points — all in the first half — to help Cleveland open up a 20-point halftime lead. J.R. Smith had hit two shots in the first two games, including no threes, but hit three triples in Game 3. Kyle Korver went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, scoring 14 points off the bench.

Kevin Love went just 4-for-14 from the field, but finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Tristan Thompson had 10 points and seven rebounds and formed a devastatingly effective pick-and-roll partnership with James.

It was basically everything Cleveland didn’t get in the first two games from its supporting cast.

“George Hill was phenomenal from the start, being aggressive,” James said. “Even though Kevin wasn’t hitting shots early he was being aggressive. J.R. was hitting shots. Tristan was being really good screening and rolling.  We had our focus, and offensively and defensively we were good.”

Boston, meanwhile, got none of that. Jayson Tatum was good, scoring 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The rest of the Celtics, though, were awful. Boston shot 39 percent from the field overall, and just 6-for-22 from three. The Celtics had four fast break points after getting 11 and 12 in Games 1 and 2, respectively.

All of this was expected. Cleveland was desperate and Boston had the 2-0 advantage. It now sets up the game that will truly decide this series Monday night.

Whoever wins that game becomes the favorite to advance. LeBron James isn’t done yet.

source : https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/05/19/nba-playoffs-cleveland-cavaliers-boston-celtics-game-3/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.550095ec5403

Helicopter airlifts trapped residents as lava from Hawaii volcano speeds up, air quality diminishes

Air quality has diminished in Hawaiian neighborhoods as molten lava from the Kilauea volcano sped up Saturday on an unpredictable path with no clear signs of stopping.

So far, 22 lava vents have opened over the two weeks since magma from the volcano shot into neighborhoods in the southern area of the Big Island.

Lava in one vent near the Leilani Estates subdivision was advancing at 300 to 400 yards per hour early Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The vent has diminished air quality in parts of the Puna district in the southeast corner of the island because of plumes of poisonous gases emitted from the lava and burning vegetation.

A new explosion was reported late Friday that sent ash rocketing up 10,000 feet in the air. The volcano is far enough from homes and businesses that ash has had little effect on life on Hawaii's Big Island.

The unpredictable path of lava led to one stream crossing a street and threatening a new area east of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens, where 40 structures, including 26 homes, have been destroyed over the last two weeks.

The lava closed in on 40 homes in the rural area and trapped at least four people who were evacuated by county and National Guard helicopters, according to the Associated Press. 

Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has been erupting on and off for hundreds of thousands of years and has been has been erupting continuously since 1983 with only occasional pauses of quiet activity. The latest episode began May 3.

More explosive eruptions from the summit are still possible and scientists don't know when they will stop.

“We have no way of knowing whether this is really the beginning or toward the end of this eruption,” said Tom Shea, a volcanologist at the University of Hawaii, told the AP. “We’re kind of all right now in this world of uncertainty.”


The area affected by lava and ash is small compared to the Big Island, which is about 4,000 square miles. Most of the Big Island and the rest of the state’s island chain are unaffected by the volcanic activity on Kilauea.

Officials have been constantly reminding potential visitors that although the volcano looks mean, the rest of the state is safe. Even on the Big Island, most tourist activities are still available and businesses are open.

Contributing: The Associated Press.

source : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/19/hawaii-volcano-helicopter-rescues-trapped-residents-lava-speeds-up/625715002/

After Texas school shooting, Houston police chief says he's 'hit rock bottom' with inaction on gun control

The head of one of Texas' largest police departments says he has had enough with inaction on gun control.

In the hours after a mass shooting at a Texas high school, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo posted a lengthy explanation on Facebook about gun rights and the need for change.

"I know some have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I’ve hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue," he wrote. "I have never accepted the status-quo in anything I do and I’ve never accepted defeat. And I won’t do it now."

Friday's attack at Santa Fe High School is only the latest high-profile act of violence in the state, and Acevedo, has had to cope with. In November, six months ago, 26 people were killed during a church service in the small town of Sutherland Springs. On Friday, 10 people, mostly students, were killed while sitting in class.

"I will continue to speak up and will stand up for what my heart and my God commands me to do, and I assure you he hasn’t instructed me to believe that gun-rights are bestowed by him," Acevedo said.

He added that he'd spent the day dealing with the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which is about 35 miles from Houston — seeing children die and an officer clinging to life after being shot in the attack — and asked that people please not say "anything about guns aren’t the problem and there’s little we can do."

"I'm not ashamed to admit I've shed tears of sadness, pain and anger," he wrote. "This isn’t a time for prayers, and study and inaction, it’s a time for prayers, action and the asking of God’s forgiveness for our inaction (especially the elected officials that ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing)."

Texas is known for its friendly gun laws, including the right to openly carry handguns for law-abiding residents who have taken a safety course and obtained a permit.

Last year, just before the church shooting, the state lowered the application fees for handgun licenses from $140 to $40. The law also allows applicants to take its safety classes online, instead of a classroom, in addition to at least one hour of shooting range instruction before taking a shooting test.

Texans are allowed to openly carry shotguns and rifles in most places with the exceptions of certain areas where it's expressly forbidden, such as bars and some schools, though a campus carry law allows licensed students to carry a concealed weapon on a school's campus.

source : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/19/texas-school-shooting-houston-police-chief-calls-gun-control/625751002/

Serena Williams attends royal wedding before playing French Open

Serena Williams was among the celebrity guests who made a splash arriving at the royal wedding on Saturday morning.

Williams, who is a friend of Meghan Markle's after the two met in 2010, posted shots of herself on Instagram getting ready "super early" for the big day. Williams, accompanied by her husband Alexis Ohanian, looked stunning in a pink dress gathered at the waist and a matching fascinator.

Before the ceremony, cameras showed Williams chatting with Idris Elba inside St. George's Chapel. She was seated next to actress Abigail Spencer, a co-star of Markle's on Suits.

For the evening party, Williams changed into a Valentino gown.

The tennis star is expected to play in the French Open later this month, the first major championship she'll enter since giving birth to the couple's baby girl last September. The first round begins May 27.

Winning her last major championship at the 2017 Australian Open, Williams has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of the Open era. She has won the French Open three times in her career.

She recently attended an event to speak with kids at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the French Riviera, which is run by her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

In a recent interview with wtatennis.com, Mouratoglou said Williams returned to the game too soon after a difficult pregnancy but it was a wake-up call to help her better prepare for Roland Garros.

"Serena will play the French Open to win it," he said. "Can she do it? Serena can achieve anything — after being her coach for six years, I'm even more sure of that statement."

source : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2018/05/19/serena-williams-attends-royal-wedding-before-playing-french-open/625618002/

Who is Prince Edward, what are his children’s names and why is he not a Duke?

Prince Edward was the baby of the royal family for many years, being the Queen and Prince Philips’ youngest child.

The monarch is different from his brothers though, in that he has the title of Earl, and has since 1999. Tenth in line to the throne, Edward has also not ever really found a calling in life, after not fitting into a military life and not finding major success in entertainment either. But he is also a family man and has his own heraldic flag, so that’s something. Here’s what we know about the Earl of Wessex…

Prince Edward was born at Buckingham Palace in March 1964, making him 54. His siblings are Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne. He attended Gibbs School, Heatherdown School and finally Gordonstoun School where he was Head Boy. Edward went to Jesus College, Cambridge despite getting a C and two Ds at A-Level, rather than the straight-A grades required, which caused controversy at the time.

He achieved lower second-class honours in History, and he had been sponsored by the Royal Marines to the tune of £12,000 towards his tuition on the condition of future service. But life in the Royal Marines was sadly not for Edward and he dropped out of training after less than six months. Bizarrely for a royal, Edward then opted for a career in showbusiness.

He commissioned the 1986 musical Cricket from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for his mother’s 60th birthday celebration. This led to a job offer at Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatre Company, where he worked as a production assistant on musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Cats, and his duties are thought to have involved making tea for the artistic staff. Through this endeavour he met celebrated stage actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for three years.

But his 1987 venture into TV via the game show It’s A Royal Knockout! was disastrous. Critics called the show – which featured Edward, Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and Princess Anne – cringeworthy and the Queen was reported to massively disapprove. That didn’t deter Edward from setting up his own production company, Ardent, which reported losses every year but one with its documentary and drama output.

Embarrassingly, a two-man Ardent film crew invaded the privacy of Prince William in 2001 while he was at St Andrews, angering the young prince. This led Edward to step down from his role as production director in 2002, and he used his mother’s Golden Jubilee events that year as an excuse for leaving. Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40

Since then, Edward’s primary role has been to fill in for his ageing and ailing father Philip at certain events, principally as the president of the Commonwealth Games and of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. In 2014, his mum also appointed him Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Edward’s personal life has been undramatic, as he married PR boss Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, after five years together. They have two children together – Lady Louise Windsor, 14, and James, Viscount Severn, 10.

When Edward got married he and his wife took the titles Earl and Countess of Wessex, which came as a shock because all male children of the sovereign are given the title of Duke when they marry. Even the Queen’s grandsons have been given the title of Duke. Instead, it’s thought Edward actually wanted to be linked to the Earl of Wessex, his favourite character from the movie Shakespeare In Love. It’s also been suggested that Edward was made Earl because the title of Duke of Edinburgh will go to him when his father, the current Duke of Edinburgh, dies.

source : https://metro.co.uk/2018/05/19/prince-edward-childrens-names-not-duke-7551633/