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

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/

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