03/05/2007 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Circular Quay, the defeated Risen Star Stakes favorite, is the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight three-year-olds for Saturday's $600,000 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. The 1 1/16 mile race is an important stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby.
Owned by Michael and Doreen Tabor, Circular Quay will be ridden by John Velazquez and start from the inside post. The colt was fifth in the Risen Star when avoiding trouble after a spill involving Slew's Tizzy at the top of the stretch.
"He was flying by everybody at the end," said trainer Todd Pletcher after the race. "Obviously, we were very unlucky today, but I wouldn't trade places with anybody now."
Circular Quay was also the defeated favorite in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile when he was second to Street Sense. The chestnut colt has earned $787,434 in six career starts and three wins.
Pletcher comes off last week's sweep of stakes for three-year-olds at Gulfstream Park. His Scat Daddy, ridden by Velazquez, captured the Fountain of Youth Stakes and King of the Roxy took the Hutcheson.
Soaring By, trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Dogwood Stable, will start from post 7. Jockey Edgar Prado getting the riding assignment as the colt makes his third career start.
"Soaring By has been training well and working good," said Dogwood Stable's Cot Campbell. He is 8-1 in the morning line."
Imawildandcrazyguy, second in the Risen Star, will break from the far outside post with jockey Fernando Jara. The gelding made a nice rally to be runner-up to Notional last month at odds of 10-1. Notional is back in California being prepared by trainer Doug O'Neill for the Santa Anita Derby.
Imawildandcrazyguy, owned by Lewis Pell and Michael Eigner, is trained by Bill Kaplan and has won two of nine lifetime starts for $171,775. The three-year- old has been installed at 10-1 in the program.
O'Neill brings Sham Stakes runner-up Liquidity into the Louisiana Derby. The colt will start from post 5 with Corey Nakatani riding and is the 7-2 second choice in the morning line.
Liquidity is owned by J. Paul Reddam and has earned $146,200 with one win in five career starts. The three-year-old closed 2006 with a second place behind Stormello in the Hollywood Futurity.
Completing the field for the 94th edition of the Louisiana Derby are Ketchikan Slew's Tizzy, Birdbirdistheword and Zanjero. All entrants will carry 122 pounds.
Post-time for the Louisiana Derby is 5:43 p.m. (et).
The Louisiana Derby was not held last year. The Fair Grounds' 2006 meeting was conducted at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.
<< Jefferson, Martin awarded NBA weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson of the Boston Celtics and Kevin
Martin of the Sacramento Kings were awarded Player of the Week honors for the
period ending March 4.
Jefferson recorded three double-doubles in the week and aver
<< This Week in Golf - March 8th through March 11th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR -
PODS CHAMPIONSHIP, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club (Copperhead Course), Tampa
Bay, Florida - K.J. Choi is in the unique position this week of defending a
title he won little more than four mont
<< New faces, same results for Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As expected, the Phoenix Coyotes shuffled their roster at
last week's trade deadline, but some fresh faces on the roster have yet to
produce a string of wins.
Granted, it's only been three games since the deadline -- a spa
<< Defending champs on the ropes against Liverpool
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champions Barcelona will have
plenty to do on Tuesday at Anfield as they try to advance to the quarterfinals
of the Champions League by getting past Liverpool.
The Reds bring a 2-1 advantage
Henin flexes her muscle in the desert >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No longer JH-H, the great Justine Henin
recently returned to work, and with only three tournaments to her credit she
already has a pair of titles under the '07 belt.
The gritty Belgian skipped January's Au
Ohio State maintains top spot in men's poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ohio State remained the top team in the latest
Associated Press men's college basketball poll, keeping the No. 1 spot for the
second straight week.
The Buckeyes (27-3) received 70 first-place votes, eight mor
Knee injury sidelines Beckham for one month >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham will
miss the next four weeks after suffering a knee injury in his club's 1-1 draw
against Getafe on Sunday.
The 31-year-old Beckham sustained an injury to the inte
Broncos agree with RB Henry >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos and running back Travis
Henry have agreed to terms of a contract.
Henry's agent confirmed the deal to The Sportsbook Betting Lines and the Denver Post
reported it to be a five-year deal tha
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers SPORTS TRASH TALK
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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