11/01/2008 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Hornaday, Jr. overcame a one-lap deficit to win Friday night's Chevy Silverado 350K Craftsman Truck Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway. The No.33 Chevrolet driver and defending series champion led the final 40 laps and finished just under a second ahead of Kyle Busch.
Hornaday recorded a season-sweep at Texas as he won here in June. It was his sixth victory of the season and the 39th of his career.
With the victory, Hornaday is just six points behind leader Johnny Benson, making it the closest margin in the series with two races to go. Only Phoenix and Homestead remain on the schedule.
"I'm pretty good at Phoenix, and Johnny's pretty good there too," Hornaday said. "We're going to go down there and see what happens."
Benson was never a factor throughout the race, but rallied as he passed Todd Bodine and Colin Braun in the final laps to score a third-place finish and retain the points lead.
"It was tough," Benson said. "Those guys were just starting to slow down, and the adjustments that we made were just good."
Bodine and Braun rounded out the top-five.
Pole sitter Rick Crawford led the field to the green flag, but Busch immediately moved to the front as he passed Cale Gale for second and then dove underneath Crawford and grabbed the top spot.
On the second lap, Gale spun and slammed into the wall, taking several other drivers with him. Crawford, Jon Wood, TJ Bell and Ryan Lawler were also involved in the incident. Crawford suffered minor damage to his right-front fender and had to pit several times during the caution, while Gale, Wood, Bell and Lawler were all forced out of competition.
When the race resumed on Lap 11, Hornaday worked his way to the front as he passed Travis Kvapil for the second spot. But Max Papis, in his first-ever Truck Series start, temporarily interrupted Hornaday's efforts as Papis made contact with the wall for the second caution on Lap 16.
Hornaday finally caught Busch on Lap 53 when Busch got caught in lap traffic and Hornaday moved underneath him to take the lead for the first time.
But Hornaday gave up the lead five laps later when he pitted for the first time. During Hornaday's stop, Jack Smith cut a left-front tire and hit the inside wall on the backstretch.
The caution put Hornaday a lap behind in 16th.
However, David Starr and Chad McCumbee made contact and crashed on Lap 65, allowing Hornaday to get back on the lead lap. By Lap 93, he was back in the top-five just before Donny Lia spun in the infield grass and came to a rest on pit road for the fifth and final caution.
Kvapil won the battle off of pit road and led the field for the restart on Lap 98. Busch restarted third and passed Erik Darnell for second, but could catch Kvapil for the lead.
Hornaday was back in command for the final time when he caught Kvapil and then moved around him on Lap 107. Busch then stole the second spot from Kvapil the following lap.
Hornaday grabbed the lead for the final when he drove around Kvapil. Busch then caught Kvapil for the second spot. Kvapil faded in the closing laps and ended up finishing seventh.
The next race is scheduled for Friday, November 7, at the Phoenix International Raceway.
<< Clippers G Davis leaves game with bruised tailbone
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers guard Baron Davis
left Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets with a bruised tailbone. His
return is listed as questionable.
Davis, who signed a five-year, $65 million cont
<< Gay sends Grizzlies over Magic
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay scored a game-high 29 points,
including the game-winner as time expired to lead the Memphis Grizzlies in an
86-84 victory over the Orlando Magic in the team's home opener.
O.J. Mayo added 17
<< Stars' Richards scratched
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Stars center Brad Richards was a
scratch for Friday's 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks because of a lower
body injury.
Richards, who has three goals and five assists for the Stars this se
<< Garnett leads Celtics past Bulls
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett posted a double-double with 18
points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Boston Celtics in a 96-80 rout of the
Chicago Bulls at TD Banknorth Garden.
Garnett, who became the youngest player in
Hansbrough expected to miss at least two weeks >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina senior forward Tyler
Hansbrough, the reigning national player of the year, will likely miss at
least two weeks because of a stress reaction condition in his right shin.
Hansbroug
Clippers G Davis leaves game >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers guard Baron Davis
left Friday's 113-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets after injuring his left
hip/tailbone, he did not return.
Davis, who signed a five-year, $65 million contr
Iverson, Nuggets come back to upend Clippers in OT >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Iverson scored 25 points, including
nine in overtime, as the Denver Nuggets overcame an 18-point halftime deficit
to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-103, at Staples Center.
Nene scored 22 poin
Roy, Blazers edge Spurs >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 26 points on 10-of-18
shooting to help the Portland Trail Blazers hold off the San Antonio Spurs for
a thrilling 100-99 triumph at the Rose Garden.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points on 1
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
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According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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