Michael Vick’s father said he asked his son to give up dogfighting, or to at least put property used in the venture in the names of others to avoid being implicated, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also Thursday night, a report on ESPN.com cited an unidentified ESPN source saying Vick will not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dogfights when he enters a guilty plea in…
Some of the world’s most valuable thoroughbred stallions have been placed in quarantine after a suspected outbreak of equine influenza, threatening this year’s lucrative Australian breeding season. The racehorses, which shuttle between Britain and Australia for the northern and southern seasons, are among 52 in New South Wales and 27 in the state of Victoria placed under 30-day quarantine by…
Albert Pujols didn’t come close to a home run, his streak ending at five consecutive games. The Florida Marlins finally built a lead they could not squander. Josh Willingham homered twice with a career-best six RBIs, including a grand slam in the third inning, helping the Marlins end an eight-game losing streak with an 11-3 victory over the St.
Bob Wickman has seen about enough of Adam Dunn in key situations at Great American Ball Park. Dunn hit a two-run homer off Wickman in the 12th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 9-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night for their third straight win. Last season, Wickman gave up a game-ending grand slam to Dunn that gave the Reds a 9-8 win over Cleveland.
Billy Wagner couldn’t close it out. Trevor Hoffman couldn’t, either. After two of baseball’s best closers flopped again Thursday night, Heath Bell had enough moxie to hang on for his first major league save. Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres outlasted the New York Mets 9-8 in a wild game that included blown saves by Wagner and Hoffman.
Understudy David Garrard only played two series, but that was plenty of time to upstage Jaguars’ starting quarterback Byron Leftwich. After the Jaguars’ offense sputtered into the third quarter under Leftwich, Garrard came into to lead Jacksonville to a pair touchdowns and a 21-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
So what if it’s August and he’s missing his two top receivers and his starting left tackle? Drew Brees is already showing off his Pro Bowl form for the New Orleans Saints. The same cannot be said of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose murky quarterback picture was only muddied further Thursday night as Brodie Croyle struggled and a nearly perfect Brees led the Saints to a dominating 30-7 victory.
Street Sense will be the horse to beat again at Saratoga Race Course — this time the Kentucky Derby winner was made the overwhelming 3-5 favorite for Saturday’s $1 million Travers Stakes. Last month, Street Sense won the Jim Dandy as the odds-on choice in his first start since his Triple Crown chances ended with a narrow loss in the Preakness on May 19.
