10/14/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The buzz began following his double-digit victory in a maiden race on the turf at Saratoga in 2007. He did not race again until the Gulfstream Park meet in early 2008.
Big Brown lit up the sky with a commanding win in the Florida Derby from the far outside post. The colt convinced the skeptics by easily taking the Kentucky Derby from the unheard of assignment of post 20.
"I don't see that he beat a great Derby field," trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. said after Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, "so I wouldn't know how to judge things." Like Secretariat (in 1973), that was best crop I've ever seen in my life, and he beat 'em, he took 'em to the cleaners every time he ran against them. I'm not one to compare him against past horses. It just wasn't a strong Derby field other than our horse."
Dutrow was probably correct in his evaluation of the crop of three-year-olds in 2008. They have not proven to be quite as good as the group from 2007. However, Big Brown was given every disadvantage in the Run for the Roses and still won convincingly.
Two weeks later Big Brown and rider Kent Desormeaux won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico to move within one win of sweeping the Triple Crown.
"Anybody that watched the race could see Kent never hit him with the stick that I could see," observed Dutrow. "Kent might have asked him to run for a 16th of a mile when he turned for home just to put the race away and glided to the wire. I'm going to be under the impression that he's going to be awful tough to beat in the Belmont."
Three weeks later the unimaginable occurred. Big Brown's last place finish in the Belmont Stakes, after being eased by Desormeaux, will never be properly explained.
Given time off, Big Brown made his next start in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park as the 1-5 favorite. It's a race that will be remembered by everyone who saw it. Big Brown let Coal Play set the pace. Coal Play appeared to be on his way to an upset.
Trainer Nick Zito had already shocked the world when his Da' Tara won the Belmont Stakes. This time he sent out Coal Play and seemed again to be set for an upset.
"I thought we had a helluva shot turning for home," Zito said. "I thought to myself 'We could do this again.' I'm very happy right now. We made him (Big Brown) run, that's for sure. But this is good for racing. Coal Play ran a big race."
Down the stretch Big Brown drifted to the outside and looked to be unable to catch Coal Play.
"I thought we were in trouble at the quarter-pole," noted Big Brown's majority owner Michael Iavarone. "Nick Zito's horse ran so big. He kicked away from us and I thought we were in trouble. This was another dimension for Big Brown, he showed his heart and courage."
Big Brown found something late down the stretch to catch Coal Play and avoid another shocking loss.
Dutrow kept Big Brown ready for the Breeders' Cup Classic by starting him in a turf stakes at Monmouth. The win in the Monmouth Stakes over Proudinsky was impressive, because the colt showed he could meet a challenge.
"The way he dug down this afternoon showed his true heart and his true courage," noted Iavarone. "There is nothing he can do that will surprise me any more."
However, that would prove to be Big Brown's final race. The leading three- year-old of 2008 has been retired following a hoof injury suffered during training.
The anticipated match-up with Curlin in the Breeders' Cup Classic will never take place. Big Brown is assured of being named 2008 Eclipse Award winner as champion male three-year-old.
"My family and I are saddened to learn of Big Brown's career ending injury during his morning workout," Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin, said in a statement. "I have always said what an incredible horse Big Brown is and that the bay colt brought energy and excitement to our industry, especially during his run at the Triple Crown.
"I am equally disappointed that Big Brown and Curlin will never compete against each other. It was a dream of mine and thousands of other fans of the sport. Now, we all join together in wishing Big Brown a speedy recovery."
Disappointment is the appropriate word. Dutrow said a lot through the summer about his horse versus Curlin. It was the most anticipated pairing in a long time.
We can only wish Big Brown the best in his new career as a stallion. May he produce competitive thoroughbreds that we can enjoy watching compete.
<< Report: Cowboys' Felix Jones out with hamstring injury
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones
is reportedly going to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a left hamstring injury suffered
in Sunday's loss against Arizona.
According to the Dallas Morning News, starting ru
<< Anderson, Browns completely dominate Giants
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Anderson threw for 310 yards and a pair
of scores to lead a potent offensive attack, and the Browns picked off Eli
Manning three times, on the way to a 35-14 thrashing of the New York Giants,
handing
<< Peverley, Dumont score in shootout to help Preds edge Hawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Peverley and J.P. Dumont each found the
back of the net in a shootout, helping the Nashville Predators spoil the
Chicago Blackhawks' home opener at the United Center by a 3-2 margin.
Peverley and
<< Canadiens overtake Flyers with four-goal third period
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roman Hamrlik finished with a goal and one
assist as Montreal used a four-goal third period to shake off Philadelphia,
5-3, at the Wachovia Center.
Andrei Kostitsyn, Mike Komisarek, Robert Lang and
Wild battle Thrashers in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will hit the road for the first time
this season, as they head to Atlanta to take on the Thrashers at Philips
Arena.
The Wild, who went 19-17-5 as the road club a year ago, start a three-game
swing toni
Flames, Avs' meet in Northwest Division clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Northwest Division clubs seeking their first
victories of the season will meet tonight in Calgary, as the Flames welcome
the Colorado Avalanche to the Saddledome.
The Avalanche began the season with back-to-back
Ducks, Kings try to get in win column in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Crosstown rivals Anaheim and Los Angeles will both try for
their first wins of the 2008-09 season, as the Kings welcome the Ducks for a
battle at the Staples Center.
Both clubs are off to an 0-2-0 start to the campaign. An
Sharks shoot for 4-0 start against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks will aim for the first 4-0 start to a
season in franchise history tonight, when they welcome the Columbus Blue
Jackets to HP Pavilion.
The Sharks are 3-0-0 for the second time in three seasons, having a
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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