Whats not to like about Super Saver this week?

Mr. Pete Mitchell was right on the money on Derby Day and those that ran in the Derby will have to really improve to turn the tables it appears.

With all the news shooters, those that didnt run the Derby, the race could come down to experience and conditioning.

The fact of the matter is that fresh faces really do not really fare well in Baltimore.

Only 7 Preakness winners since 1970 have skipped the Derby but three of those winners Red Bullet and Bernardini and last years winner cashed in the last 10 years.

Super Savers versatility is his calling card and his ability to be placed anywhere and still perform looms the key to victory.

Even though Super Savers winning Beyer in Louisville (104) is on the light side, he must be respected.

Smarty Jones only put up a 107 and the best since 2002 of 111 was posted by the legendary Barbaro.

Six is the number of Derby winners the last 12 years to repeat in the Preakness.

In the last 11 years 7 Derby runner-ups came back to compete in Baltimore and none of them won but 4 were in the money.

Bettors have to be cautious before taking a swing at a big price in the Preakness if history tells us anything.

The highest price winner in the history of the race has been 23-1 when Master Derby scored so players have to pick their spots.

Here’s how it may just unfold.

Look for new player Caracortado to be on the muscle early. He was the beaten chalk two back, was forced to steady in the Santa Anita Derby and can give you :45 and change speed. His trainer Michael Machowsky is far from a household name but he has won with 32% of his starters this year alone.

Look for Jackson Bend to be more involved early too. He worked just under a minute for Nick Zito recently and was well within himself.

That would leave the garden trip to Super Saver, who was known as a speed horse early in his career but proved in his last 2 races that he could track and still perform.

At the top of the lane Jackson will start to feel the pressure and drop out of it. Ike will dig in as well as he can but cannot stop the force known as Calvin Borel with his Super horse.

In the final furlong Lookin at Lucky will finally get through from his lucky post 7, Paddy O’Prado will be in the mix the entire journey, Aikenite will be making his late move after hugging the rail and Pleasant Prince with be running fastest of all down the lane.

The move at the windows that could be rewarded is to key Super Saver top in the exacta and trifecta with Aikenite, Coracortado, Pleasant Prince, Paddy OPrado and Lookin at Lucky in the minor slots.

Good luck and lets hope that bankroll is padded for the Belmont Stakes in 3 weeks.

It happened sometime last year, when we were either watching Tiger Woods hit balls or play a round of golf, when Hank Haney confided that he was having issues with his biggest client.

The latter had run afoul of the law, was distracted by personal issues and was unable to commit himself fully to the reconstruction of his golf swing. Distractions were plentiful. That much was visually obvious with the results.

Hank Haneys work with Tiger Woods yielded 31 titles, including six majors. (Getty Images) “Then there was the jail sentence,” Haney said.

Relax, everybody. Haney was talking about the oversized and outrageous Charles Barkley, who had to serve a DUI sentence in Arizona in the middle of taping Haneys television show last year, basically ruining any chance the coach had of cohesively curing that sequential muscle spasm that passes for Barkleys swing.

A few short months later, Barkley looked like presidential timber compared to the issues that Woods eventually would face. Somehow, Haney soldiered through the rest of the television series despite Barkleys personal travails, though he never did fix what ailed the round mound of rebound.

Monday, after seven seasons of serving as the whipping boy for Woods golfing shortcomings, the coach bailed on his true prime-time superstar rather than endure more of the often scathing critical reviews.

Roughly five hours after Woods appeared at a press conference outside Philadelphia and reaffirmed for the umpteenth time that he and Haney were not at odds, the coach pulled the plug on the Woods show, which had become more head-turning than anything a TV script writer could have imagined.

Haney posted a lengthy statement on his website Monday night that was as notable for the sentiments it addressed as it was for what it implied.

“Just so there is no confusion I would like to make it clear that this is my decision,” Haney wrote. “Tiger Woods and I will always be friends, but I believe that there is a time and place for everything and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas.”

Moving forward into a pointed stick in the eye would feel like a comparative family vacation at this point, compared with the verbal beat-downs he was enduring for being a member of Camp Woody. Haney was particularly annoyed at the criticism he took last week, when NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller suggested that Woods needed to dump the coach and move back to a swing reminiscent of 2000, part of a stretch that included winning seven of 12 majors.

Instead, with Woods mired in the midst of the biggest controversy in golf history, the coach severed ties. Given that nobody at the moment is pulling punches as it relates to expressing harsh opinions about anything relating to Woods personal or professional life, it quite possibly was only going to get worse for the Texas-based coach. A gamble or not, Haney made the right decision.

It has to represent a first. Former world No. 1 Nick Faldo once famously fired David Leadbetter by fax. Haney severed ties with Woods via e-mail and the Internet. You know, the same way Woods insolently communicated with the world during much of his offseason scandal. Ah, the irony.

In many ways, the nexus between Woods and Haney never seemed ideal. After working with Tigers old running mate, Mark OMeara, Haney eventually took over in 2004 and became the golf equivalent of a lightning rod on a church steeple. Whereas Butch Harmon is a savvy, public person who openly cou he still shows up in the media center when his clients win big events, Haney was a relative shrinking violet, at least publicly. Unbeknownst to the masses, Haney sometimes bristled and sent e-mails to writers if he believed unfair shots were being taken at Woods.

Their record speaks for itself. Before Haney, and this can nearly be stated as an unqualified absolute, Woods either won tournaments or finished well out of the picture. While Woods didnt run away with titles by record numbers as often under Haney, neither was he out of the Sunday mix as often.

In an e-mail on Tuesday morning to CBSSports.com, Haney said all the validation he requires is in the numbers.

“I feel great,” Haney wrote. “I am incredibly appreciative of the opportunity that I had to coach Tiger Woods. It has been a great experience and I have learned a lot.

“I appreciate the fact that you have seen through all the smoke screen and have taken note of Tigers record with me helping him. That is the bottom line as far as I am concerned.”

Woods won 27 percent of his starts before hiring Haney and 35 percent after making the switch. Over the past 2½ years, despite massive physical issues with his knee, Woods winning percentage increased to 44 percent.

“Needless to say, I am very proud of my record with Tiger Woods,” Haney continued in the e-mail.

Swing changes were instituted for a couple of theoretical reasons. The rounder, one-plane swing espoused by Haney would ultimately make Woods more consistent and take some strain off his ailing left knee, which has had four surgeries. Starting in 2005, Woods has won 31 PGA Tour titles and six majors. In that span, he has 57 top-10 finishes in 78 tournaments. In all that time, he has finished worse than 30th nine times, including missed cuts and withdrawals.

There have been no wins in 2010, of course, though he has posted an MC and WD in succession, marking the first time in his career that he finished out of the official money in consecutive starts. For Haney, the catcalls were only going to increase, a case not so much of perceived guilt by association, but culpability.

Poll Will Tiger Woods regain his form on the golf course? Yes: Hes Tiger Woods after all No: Too injured too many distractions

It was probably only a matter of time before Haney was blamed for Woods physical issues of the past week. After all, Woods laughabl during which he plowed into a tree at 3 had “absolutely zero” connection to the crick in his neck. Woods hasnt yet seen a doctor, but of course, he insisted there was no possibility of a cause-effect scenario. Uh, hitting too many golf balls. We can guess that the guy standing beside him on the practice range was going to take some heat, like he was responsible for the steamy particulars of Woods 144-day exile.

Consider Woods week at the Players Championship, where he walked off the course in the final round, citing neck spasms. Woods earlier had chided the media for noting that he hit five balls in the water in a nine-hole practice round, claiming that he was working on an unspecified swing change (Haney looks bad). Woods quickly explained that he had found a fault in his swing and fixed it himself (Haney looks worse). Then Woods went out and continued to spray the ball all over Pete Dyes former mudbog (Haney looks like a dead man walking). Worse, Woods never once mentioned that he was hurting, so eyes predictably turned toward Haney, who was left to twist in the wind.

There were other instances over the years in which Woods threw Haney under the wheels via verbal omission. Woods has lost a dozen tournaments over the past two or three years because of his streaky putting, which wasnt Haneys fault. Haney mostly suffered in silence, uncomfortable in the fishbowl. the world No. 1 had become Haneys lone tour client. They had plenty invested in one another. Haney has hosted two Golf Channel shows, erected four golf centers in the Dallas area, opened a major international junior academy in Hilton Head, S.C., and once served as an ESPN analyst for several seasons. Clearly, its anybodys guess as to whether Haney will continue to thrive at this level as a marketable golf brand without his ties to Woods.

So, just for the sake of discussion, ask yourself this: How hot would the kitchen need to be for you to consider taking that risk?

The little giant slayer, Tim Clark, takes home his first U.S. title at The Players Championship, while Lefty misses a chance to move up to No. 1 and the guy currently occupying that slot heads home early with another injury nobody knew he had sustained. CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling saw it all at Sawgrass.

Up

Clark and Sawgrass stand tall First, the good news. Tim Clark, who had hauled home more cash than any other player who hadnt won a PGA Tour event, finally got off the schneid at one of the biggest events in the game. To understand how the 5-foot-7 pro walks the razors edge in an era of ball-bashing giants, consider that he stands 179th in driving distance at 266.3 yards. Clark doesnt have the physical stature or strength to rip the ball out of the rough, either. Hes a lot like you and me in that his margin of error is virtually nil when staring down the big boys. “I have to play perfect,” he said. “I have to hit fairways. If I miss a fairway here, Im in trouble.” TPC Sawgrass again proved itself to be the most democratic course on the PGA Tour. From long knockers like Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods to straw-and-spitward plinkers like Fred Funk and Clark, everybody has a chance at the fifth major. By the way, in the awards ceremony, which Tim looked taller, Clark or Finchem? Like the tournament, it was too close to call.

Why I like Johnny Miller No question, he crosses the line at times. I think we all can agree on that point. Hall of Famer Johnny Miller is a guy who sits in the broadcast booth at times and pulls a club, swings hard and worries about the yardage to the flag after the balls in the air. That was the case last week when Miller torched Hank Haney, the swing coach of Tiger Woods, stating in an NBC Sports conference call that Woods ought to flush the teachings of his swing guru and revert to his old technique. He was way out of line, of course, because Haney had nothing to do with Woods offseason travails, and the world No. 1 has posted the most consistent finishes of his career in the Haney era, which began six years ago. But I would rather listen to Miller crawl a bit too far out on the limb than endure hearing player apologists who decline to take a hard stance on anything stronger than club selection. There should always be room for honesty in sports broadcasting, since skewed homerism, especially in coverage of team sports, has become de rigeur. Long may Miller ramble and reign.

Fishin for another title One way or the other, Rob Allenby was going to be celebrating this week. The Aussie veteran, who finished a stroke behind Players Championship winner Tim Clark after a series of putts down the stretch just missed, is entered this week in the Mike Schmidt Winners Circle Invitational in South F despite the fact that he never wins anything. Allenby, who has a 60-foot boat named Cmon Aussie and a full-time captain in his employ, cracked that he hands out earplugs to those on other boats because of the noise his hard-partying crew makes all night. Allenby recently cracked, “We almost never win anything, except the prize for most beer consumed.” With $1.026 million in runner-up earnings, he can afford to soak a lot of brain cells.

Tiger, neutered Takes one to know one, Pat Perez admits, which is why the admittedly hot-running Californian thinks that Woods will never regain his swagger until he stops internalizing his outbursts and gets back to his old style of play. Which is to say, let the golf balls, clubs and F-bombs fly. Perez told the Golf Channel that with the media watching his behavior, Woods l back in him,” Perez said. “But he knows he cant do that, or hes just going to get hammered by the media if he does anything. But thats him. Hes like me. He gets upset. He doesnt accept mediocrity. Thats part of whats made him g but the results change along define, copy and save the previous sentence on your computer screen, because its probably the first time I have so much as insinuated that Anthony Kim has done the prudent thing as it relates to his golf career. Fighting a nagging thumb issue all year, and trying to pick the best time to have surgery, the 24-year-old American last week elected to go under the knife and get it over with. Kim indicated in Charlotte that playing on the Ryder Cup team is his biggest goal for the year, and since he is facing three months of recovery time, he ought to be able to get his game sharp in time to make the matches in October. He didnt lose any ground this week and still stands a solid No. 2 on the U.S. Ryder points list.

Down

When silver linings get tarnished Overnight, Lee Westwood went from being poised to be named the best active player in the world to a guy painted as a guy who cant win the big one. All it took was another header with the 54-hole lead, this time at the so-called fifth major. This letdown came four weeks after he was beaten after having the third-round lead at the Masters. It made me harken back to the previous Sunday, when Westwood waited around to congratulate management stablemate Rory McIlroy after the latter shot 62 to win in Charlotte. McIlroy, who had been nipped on the final day of the season by Westwood in the European Tour finale, rushed up to Lee and said, “Thats how you finish off a tournament.” McIlroy was happily speaking of his own success that day, of course, though there now seems to be some unintentional double meaning. After finishing T3 or better in various instances at the four majors since mid-2008, Westwoods fans and English countrymen are wondering what itll take for him to seal the deal, too. Being in position to win so frequently is notable. Failing in such rapid succession is forgettable.

Shades of mediocrity Tiger Woods looked like David Caruso. Off and on. On and off. For a player who had never before regularly worn sunglasses on the course until this year, the shades shielded his eyes and didnt offer us much insight into what he was feeling Sunday when he bailed from The Players Championship in the middle of the final round, having skidded to near the bottom of the pack. Woods isnt expected to play for another three weeks at the earliest, when he possibly defends his title at the Memorial Tournament, though he hasnt committed. Late Sunday, Woods said on his website that he visited the fitness trailer before all four rounds at TPC Sawgrass. “They suggested that I get an MRI on it this week because I might have a bulging disc in my upper back,” Woods said. This is the second serious injury that Woods has hidden in the past two years, and two days earlier, he had gushed about how he was jogging again and able to practice without limitation. Small wonder that theres beginning to be a huge credibility disconnect with some fans and media. At this point, many no longer give him the benefit of doubt anymore.

Hats off to the caddies Greg Rita died after a lengthy battle with brain cancer two months ago with little fanfare outside the closely knit fraternity known as PGA Tour caddies, which is both a shame and an embarrassment. The Jacksonville, Fla., resident was well-liked and respected, which was obvious given the litany of top players he worked for over the years. Last week, caddies placed a “GR” patch on their hats, and proceeds from the annual Wednesday contest on the 17th hole, where caddies fork over a few bucks to take a crack at the famed island green, were given to Ritas wife and 4-year-old son. One very prominent caddie who attended Ritas memorial service said only one of the players Rita worked for over the years bothered to attend, Scott Hoch. Rita also worked for Curtis Strange when he won back-to-back U.S. Open titles, for John Daly when he won the British Open, and for David Duval, Mark OMeara and Gil Morgan. Thats a shameful turnout, fellas. In fact, its inexcusable.

No. 2 on the charts, No. 1 in their hearts Last week marked the second time in as many years that Phil Mickelson entered the Players Championship with a chance to knock Tiger Woods off his perch as world No. 1, but Lefty didnt come close to pulling off the required victory (Woods pretty obviously did his part). Still, the tectonic shift in their noggin-to-noggin comparisons continued unabated. Dating to last fall, Mickelson has finished ahead of Woods in five consecutive mutual starts, winning three times and finishing second in another. Mickelson finished T17 at Sawgrass and Woods didnt finish at all. With Mickelson expected to play at Colonial in two weeks and Woods out for an undetermined length of time with his apparent neck injury, it no longer seems like a matter of if Mickelson will supplant the reeling Woods, but when.

Baying over Ebay Yet another element of the Woods soap opera last week dealt with the matter of a set of old Titleist blade irons that turned up on eBay, being hawked by a former club rep for the manufacturer who said the world No. 1 used them while winning the wraparound Grand Slam in 2000-01. Woods, who detests folks making money off his name more than he does losing to Lefty, denied the clubs were legit. While walking in the second round, Woods was overheard by CBSSports.com telling the caddie of one of his playing partners: “I gave him a set. I dont know if I use give to somebody?” Probably not, but at this point, with Woods credibility in the toilet, who are we expected to believe, especially when the club rep says he has witnesses who can attest to the irons validity?

The Preakness Stakes must feel the horror of middle child syndrome as those children often have the sense of not belonging, they fight to receive attention from anybody and they feel like they are being ignored, which drives their insecurity.

But the second jewel of the Triple Crown has come out of that phobia in the last few years and has become a true gem.

In the last several seasons, the Preakness has been an inspirational race of courage, agility, joy, triumph and loss and it has also become quite an attraction.

Last year Rachel Alexandra, coming off a 20 and a quarter length win in the Kentucky Oaks, set :46 /35 and 1:11 splits on way to a 108 winning Beyer in the 2nd jewel just holding off Derby hero Mine That Bird.

Two years ago Big Brown won by a larger margin in the Preakness but his Beyer figure was 8 points less at 100.

In 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin had his coming out party. Bernardini played the villain and got the money the day Barbaro was fatally injured on that infamous May Day in 2006.

Agility was the order of the day in 2005. A rose by any other name could not have been sweeter than the athleticism shown by Jeremy Rose staying on Afleet Alex. Reminiscent of when Alysheba almost fell at the top of the lane in the 1987 Kentucky Derby, Rose almost was catapulted from his saddle when eventual 2nd finisher ducked out badly from a left-handed whip.

The visual reminded of a move Baltimore Bullet Earl Monroe used to make in his heyday and Alex was so close to hitting the track, he had to have dirt up his nostrils.

Smarty Jones continued his amazing streak in 2004 and the year before Funny Cide had the masses singing ‘New York, New York’ in 2003.

The quick turn on the investment War Emblem burst on to the Baltimore scene fresh off his Derby score while Red Bullet and Point Given cashed in the first 2 renewals of the decade.

Stats are stats, and they have their place but instead of recounting every little obscure thing about the 2nd jewel of the Triple Crown, like the fact that only 7 started in the first Preakness in 1873 or that the Preakness has been run at 7 different distances from a mile, to a mile and a half but at the current 1 and 3 sixteenths of a mile since 1925, let’s look at a recent history of where the winners have come from geographically and literally and what type of wager has been successful in recent years.

Beware of wedding crashers in the Preakness and we’re talking new shooters here.

There will undoubtedly be fresh faces this year in the Preakness, runners who did not run in the Derby but fresh faces really do not really fare well. Only 7 Preakness winners since 1972 have skipped the Derby but three of those winners Red Bullet and Bernardini and last year’s winner cashed in the last 10 years.

The reality is that the Derby winner has dominated in the Preakness the last 12 years as 7 took the 2nd jewel; two ran second, one ran third, one ran 6th and Barbaro, of course, did not finish.

Dine on these stats.

Since 1960 only 5 Preakness winners went flagfall to that’s all.

The d?j? vu thing has not happened all that often in the Preakness as the last Derby exactas to be duplicated was in 1999 and the last trifecta duplicated the year Affirmed won the Triple Crown, 1978.

The race has NOT been a gold mine for prices as favorites have won over 50% of the time in the history of the Preakness and only 10 have paid higher than 11-1 all time.

Last, but not least, speed kills in Baltimore.

Of the last 13 Preakness Stakes run, the half-mile leader has only won once, and that was by the superior filly last year.

The second race in the 2010 Triple Crown will run Saturday May 15th, at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, where some of the top horse in the world will compete in the online betting Preakness Stakes. The Grade One Stakes race will be run by three-year thoroughbreds with a total prize purse of $1, 000, 000 available to be won. Although there has been lots of speculation about which horses will run as part of the field, and several trainers have declared their intentions to enter, there is only one horse that has been confirmed, which is Super Saver. The 2010 Kentucky Derby winner will be gunning for consecutive Triple Crown victories as the biggest story of the early horseracing season has become Super Saver jockey Calvin Borel’s quest for the illustrious, and of course elusive Triple Crown.

What: Horse Betting
When: May 15th 2010
Where: Pimlico Race Course Baltimore Maryland 135th Edition of Grade I Preakness Stakes for 1 mile 3/16th distance on dirt. Purse $1.1 Million dollars
Who: Thoroughbreds- Aikenite, A Little Warm, Bushwhacked, Caracortado, Dublin, Hurricane Bend, Ice Box, Jackson Bend, Lookin at Lucky, Paddy O’Prado, Pleasant Prince, Schoolyard Dreams, Super Saver, Turf Melody

The Favourite On The Preakness Odds: Super Saver

It will be difficult to bet against jockey Calvin Borel’s ability to repeat with Super Saver at the Preakness Stakes after he ran as an 8-1 odds in terrible conditions at the Kentucky Derby and emerged victorious. Although it was an excellent performance by the horse to finish 2 ? lengths ahead of the next closest horse, an enormous amount of credit has to be given to Dorel, who has won three Derby’s in the past four years, and revealed his winning strategies to reporters immediately after the race. Dorel manipulated his horse in to position on a rain soaked, muddy dirt surface that was hardly fit for such an extravagant event, then made his move to the inside and pulled ahead for the victory. Although no horse has been able to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed won all three races all the way back in 1978, and in the history of the sport only 11 have been able to accomplish that feat, the trio of determined horse, capable jockey, and excellent trainer have horse betting enthusiasts thinking although improbable, it’s not entirely unlikely. Even should he not be able to win all three, there is still a good chance that Super Saver can take the Preakness. Only two years ago Big Brown opened the season with a pair of Triple Crown victories. In 2004, Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby by 2 ? lengths, and then was even better when he competed in the Preakness Stakes, winning that race by over 11 lengths. Success carrying over from the Kentucky Derby over to the Preakness Stakes is far from unprecedented, and there is no reason not to expect that with this group leading Super Saver to the gate, this horse should not be the favourite.

Pick: Super Saver

The Second Tier – Ice Box, Noble’s Promise, Paddy O’Prado, Lookin’ At Lucky

With Super Saver leading the field in to the Preakness Stakes, there will be a couple of horses tight on his tail once more when the horses leave the gate. Ice Box wasn’t far from the finish line behind Super Saver at the Kentucky Derby, but has been listed by trainer Nick Zito as being doubtful to compete in the May 15th race after his thoroughbred endured such a tough race a week ago. Noble’s Promise finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby after taking the early lead at the quarter pole, and after originally being listed as doubtful for the second leg of the Triple Crown, has been upgraded to possible. Trainer Kenny McPeek met the group of managing partners that handles the horse, and a decision on whether Noble’s Promise will end up running or not should come down by the midway point of next week, as horses will be expected to arrive in Baltimore in the couple of days before the race. Paddy O’ Prado was a 12-1 odds on horse at the Kentucky Derby, and wound up placing third after an excellent run. It is difficult to assess how much of his showing can be attributed to his ability to deal with the muddy track conditions, but after his performance should definitely be in the running to appear in the top-three again. The final horse that should be considered in the second tier will be Lookin At Lucky, the thoroughbred that was the favourite to win at the Kentucky Derby, but placed sixth after getting unlucky by drawing the inside post position. His jockey told reporters before the race that if his horse was unable to establish inside position out of the gate, they would have no chance of showing, and that was the way the race played out. Now, with it being highly improbable that he will again draw an unfortunate position, Lookin At Lucky will be looking to avenge his tough finish by winning at the race.

Pick: Lookin At Lucky

The Longshots – Dublin, Line of David, Aikenite, A Little Warm, Jackson Bend, Hurricane Bend, Turf Melody, Schoolyard Dreams, Caracortado

One horse that has beaten Super Saver already in 2010 is Line of David, who beat the Kentucky Derby winner at the Arkansas Derby earlier in the year. Another horse that is probable to enter the Preakness Stakes, Dublin finished third behind Super Saver at that same Arkansas Derby, and although he finished seventh at Kentucky, trainer D. Wayne Lucas felt as though poor racing conditions and a bit of bad luck played the biggest factor in that, and Dublin could be a long shot to show.

Pick: Line of David

2010 Preakness Stakes Odds Predictions and Outlook

It is hard to predict a winner so early on, especially considering how much the post positions and track conditions play in to the result, as was illustrated at the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Calvin Borel did an excellent job with Super Saver in the first leg of the Triple Crown, and it would be hard to bet against him to make it two in a row. Lookin’ At Lucky was unfortunate to draw the inside post, especially under such harsh conditions, and will be looking to rebound. Should Ice Box run, he could be a long shot to show.

Sports Betting Pick: Super Saver

This time, injury was added to insult.

World No. 1 Tiger Woods was driven off the course on Sunday with an apparent neck injury, his comeback in tatters, his short-term future in doubt, his reputation bruised.

Then, as if on cue, while he was being treated in the PGA Tour fitness trailer, an airplane appeared overhead trail TailoftheTiger.com.”

Gallery members look for the whereabouts of what turns out to be Tigers last shot of the day. (AP) That particular website sells golf balls emblazoned with the faces of a dozen of his alleged mistresses.

Outside of being served divorce papers while standing in the first tee box, the reincarnation of Woods career couldnt get much worse. Every time he seems to be at low ebb, the haymakers keep coming.

For the Tiger bashers, and there are legions of them at this point, the scandal and ensuing comeback has been the gift that keeps on giving. If you thought cosmic karma was involved in the feel-good story of Phil Mickelson winning the Masters as Woods made his comeback after a 144-day layoff relating to the worst scandal in golf history, well, providence and kismet were standing next in line.

Whos got next? Fate and destiny are swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle, like Canseco and McGwire.

Scuffling along at 2 over par for the day, and moving slowly between shots, Woods blew his tee ball on the seventh hole into the pine straw located to the right of the cart path. Fans near the tee said Woods spoke to a marshal and asked for someone to summon assistance.

He punched out short of the green, shook hands with playing partner Jason Bohn as caddie Steve Williams picked up his ball, then hopped into a cart. Woods, his caddie, publicist and members of his security team were whisked to the clubhouse.

Bohn said there was no indication during the round that Woods was hurt, though he did recall seeing Woods rotating his neck on the first tee, working on his range of motion. Yet Bohn thought nothing of it.

“I dont know his routine,” Bohn said.

Bohn, who had three back surgeries in 2008, said that when Woods told him he was quitting, he was surprised and thought he had suffered a wrist injury from an earlier shot. When he extended a hand and said goodbye, however, the world No. 1 blanched.

“Once I shook his hand I could see he was in some pain,” Bohn said.

While in the cart, Williams told XM Radio that the injury was sustained before the round, and Woods said in the locker room that the issue actually predates the Masters, where he made his first start of 2010. After talking to reporters briefly in the locker room, Woods walked gingerly up the steps into a tour treatment trailer, where he remained for 27 minutes.

“I might have a bulging disk,” he told a reporter at one point.

Bill Haas, hoping to do some stretching exercises before starting his round, wandered into the same trailer and said hello to Woods. It appeared the physios were working on Woods neck area.

“Yeah, thats what it looked like,” Haas said. “I walked in and his eyes were closed, and I said hey, and he was staring straight up.”

Outside the trailer, Woods Toyota SUV was positioned a few feet from the door, engine running, poised for a quick escape with one of Woods private security staffers at the wheel. Six uniformed members of the St. Johns County Sheriffs Department encircled his vehicle, like a Secret Service detail protecting the president. It was the definition of overkill.

As he left the trailer, trademark red shirt untucked, he climbed into the backseat of the Toyota as the plane trailing the banner circled overhead, indirectly rubbing Woods nose in his latest personal disaster.

The hits at his expense just kept on coming. Former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger sent out a note on his Twitter page reading: “Could this have been prevented by a good Swedish massage?” </p now the line stretches around the massive Sawgrass clubhouse. Of course, he brought the scrutiny and shame upon himself, and he isnt doing himself any public-relations favors by continuing to hide his medical issues.

Interestingly, on Friday, Woods was asked about the state of his left knee and right Achilles and said there were no issues. In recent weeks, Woods claimed he sustained the Achilles injury in 2009 and didnt disclose it to anyone, seeking treatment from a controversial Canadian doctor currently under investigation by federal officials in two countries for his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs. He never disclosed the injury until four weeks ago at the Masters.

Looks like Woods, forever secretive and suspicious, if not downright paranoid about projecting a bullet-proof image, had concealed yet another one.

“Ive been playing through it,” Woods said. “I cant play through it anymore.” It marked only the third time he has withdrawn as a professional, and the first time he had bailed out in the middle of a round. He withdrew from Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 1998 when the final round was postponed for several months, then caught a cold while playing in the rain in Los Angeles in 2006 and withdrew before the third round.

Woods, 34, said he had been experiencing pain and numbness, which would seemingly indicate a nerve issue in the neck area. It could also explain why Woods has been so short off the tee this week, ranking last in driving distance among the 70 players who made the cut.

The sudden exit caused a flurry of panicked activity as tour officials found out about the WD. Rick George, an executive vice president with the tour, walked up to a tour security official outside the fitness trailer and said, “Whats going on here?”

Nothing good, to be sure.

George then stuck his head in the fitness trailer after he heard about the commotion.

“Theyre working on him,” George said. “I just wanted to see how he was feeling.”

Pretty despondent, most likely.

Never before had Woods finished out of the official money in consecutive starts. Last week, he shot a second-round 79 and missed the cut in Charlotte, posting the highest 36-hole score of his career. The 79 was the worst round ever on American soil, and he compounded the criticism when he stopped trying with three holes remaining.

After his round on Friday, he was asked specifically about whether he had any residual issues with his knee or Achilles and said he had begun jogging again. But of course, n and Woods doesnt volunteer anything, lest his aura of invincibility be lessened.

Make that further diminished.

At this point, are there anything but shards remaining?

One round away from one of the biggest wins of his career, Lee Westwood of England knows what to expect on the final day of The Players Championship.

Not only because of his 16 years and his 30 victories worldwide, or his 54-hole lead last month at the Masters.

Saturday on the TPC Sawgrass was enough of a reminder.

Westwood watched a two-shot lead turn into a two-shot deficit. Over the final hour, Robert Allenby picked up three shots on the last three holes, while Heath Slocum dropped four shots on the last six holes.

The day ended with Westwood hitting a daring shot with a 6-iron through a gap in the trees for a par on the 18th hole for a 2-under 70 to finish the third round with a one-shot but the course is as significant as the names behind him on the leaderboard.

“There was no real scope for thinking about anything else other than what I was doing,” Westwood said. “Its that kind of golf course. If you play well, birdies are available. If you dont hit good shots, they penalize you. Thats what good golf courses do to you.”

This day, there was a little of both.

Mickelson suddenly was back in the picture, along with that No. 1 ranking, because of his 66 that put him five shots behind.

Tiger Woods was not, courtesy of a bogey-bogey finish for a 71 that put him 10 shots behind.

Allenby was five shots behind when he walked off the 13th tee. He made up ground quickly with a 6-iron to about 12 feet on the par-5 16th for eagle, then a 12-foot birdie on the island-green 17th that curled into the side of the cup. He shot a 67 to get in the final group.

“Thats the thing,” Allenby said. “You dont know whats going to happen out there. All you can do is just play your own golf. But I knew I had to push it a little bit just to try to get within reach. Obviously, the leaderboard changed a couple of times through the back nine. Luckily for me, I did well on the finishing holes.”

Westwood was at 14-under 202.

“The golf course changed a lot. It got really firm this af gave myself a lot of chances, missed a couple, but all in all, I was pleased with the way I played. I didnt make too many poor shots out there.”

He certainly didnt on the 18th after his drive landed in a drain grate. He took a free drop, saw a gap in the trees and hit a 6-iron onto the green to give himself another shot at winning.

“Had to go under one limb and then over the next lot of trees,” Westwood said. “It just looked perfect for the trajectory.”

Mickelson began the day nine shots out of the lead, same as Woods.

They went opposite directions, however. Mickelson didnt make a bogey until the final hole for a 66 to put himself back into the picture, just five shots behind Westwood. The 10 players ahead of him have a combined 14 victories on the PGA Tour.

“I feel like things started to click a little bit today, and I think Ive got one more low round in me,” Mickelson said. “I just hope that it will be enough, that Ill be within striking distance.”

To reach No. 1 for the first time in his career, Mickelson has to win and have Woods finish out of the top five. Woods did hit part with a bogey-bogey finish for a 71 that put him 10 shots behind in a tie for 45th. Woods final bogey came after he popped up another 3-wood and had to hit fairway metal to the green.

It was the second time this week he hit a fairway metal for his second shot to a par 4.

“I had it going for a little bit,” Woods said. “I thought if I could have birdied 16 and 17, Id have been right back in the tournament.”

Even for the 14 players separated by five shots, so much depends on Westwood and Allenby.

U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, the only player in the top 10 with a major, didnt make a birdie until the ninth hole in his round of 69. He was at 12-under 204, along with Torrey Pines winner Ben Crane (68) and Francesco Molinari of Italy, who had a 71.

Slocum, who won the opening playoff event last year against a cast of stars, ran off three birdies in four holes around the turn to reach 15 under until a three-putt from the fringe below a steep ridge on the 13th changed everything. Slocum also bogeyed the 15th, then dumped his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th for a double bogey. After all that work, he shot 72.

“What Im going to have to do tomorrow is play perfect and finish strong,” Slocum said.

His poor finish put him at 11-under 205, three shots behind and tied with Tim Clark (66), Charley Hoffman (69) and Chris Stroud (66), a newcomer to this stage.

Westwood closed out both of his nines well. He hit a towering 5-wood over the trees on the par-5 ninth for a simple up-and-down for birdie, then the 6-iron on the 18th through the trees. His lone birdie on the back required a small break when his tee shot went through some pines and left him only an 8-iron to the green at the par-5 16th.

Sage veteran that he has become, Lee Westwood kept his prominent ears open and, the smirk notwithstanding, his mouth mostly shut.

Old dogs and new tricks and all.

Lee Westwood reacts on No. 6 to one of the few that got away. (AP) Westwood, 37, played the first two rounds of the Players Championship with Rickie Fowler and Jason Day, the second- and third-youngest members of the PGA Tour. His radar was switched on.

“It was quite funny listening to them talk about the same things I used to talk about 16 or 17 years ago,” Westwood laughed.

The kids should have been the ones paying attention.

Showing no signs of backing down at the games biggest events anytime soon, the Masters runner-up shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at TPC Sawgrass.

As Westwood was talking about his round after singing his card, Fowler walked past, long hair peeking out from under his fashionably flat-billed cap, wearing flashy colors. The old man schooled them lots of fairways, lots of greens, a few good putts,” Fowler said admiringly. “You know, the way you are supposed to do it.”

For Westwood, its becoming more of a surprise when he in contention at the games top events.

Four weeks ago at the Masters, Westwood played in the final group with Phil Mickelson, who capped a storybook week with his third green jacket, despite another solid effort from the Englishman.

Amazingly, it ma in the past two years, Westwood has finished T3 or better at all four of the major championships. The Sawgrass event is roundly considered the fifth-biggest event in the pantheon.

“Im not going to go away,” Westwood said. “Im going to keep trying until one of them goes my way.”

Now ranked fourth in the world, Westwood has solidified his reputation as the best player never to have won a major. The Players is a half-tick lower, though the players and course are pretty comparable to a Grand Slam slate.

At some point, the balls got to bounce his way if he keeps sticking his spiked foot in the door often enough.

“I am not doing much wrong, am I?” he asked rhetorically.

Westwood was the 54-hole leader at the Masters but was hardly hanging his head after Mickelson blew past him with a series of mind-blowing shots down the stretch. Tougher to stomach was his defeat at the British Open last year, when he three-putted the 72nd green to miss a playoff by a shot.

Given his many dalliances at the majors already, they represented two tough defeats, though they left Westwood with decidedly different taste in his mouth.

“The British was difficult because he bogeyed three of the last four holes,” said Billy Foster, Westwoods caddie. “At the Masters, he did pretty much everything right. The mood was very upbeat.”

That was not so much the case last week when Westwood showed up at the Quail Hollow Championship after two weeks off, feeling rather flat and listless. He finished T38, though he stuck around to watch running mate Rory McIlroy, 21, hoist the winners trophy.

“He was rusty last week,” Foster said. “Hes back where he left off now.”

Actually, Westwoods manager said he saw the lamp go on in a money match on Wednesday, when Westwood made the winning putt as he and fellow Englishman Ian Poulter won $100 apiece from Irish lads McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

“His eyes lit up,” said Chubby Chandler.

Now the scoreboard is doing likewise. Westwood already has 12 birdies and an eagle in his first 36 holes, which left him two shots off the tournament record.

Curiously, Westwood hasnt had much luck at Sawgrass, unless you happen to have a very long memory. The PGA Tour, of course, remembers every twisted nuance of its signature event. So when Westwood plopped down in the interview room, it was quickly noted that over a decade has passed since he had finished in the top six here in both 1998-99.

“Youre right,” Westwood deadpanned. “Thanks.”

After plunging out of the global spotlight with a mid-career slump, Westwood rebuilt his game and seems better positioned than he was a decade ago to finally deliver the goods.

“The quality of his hitting [then] was nothing like this,” Chandler said.

Westwood had a hard time answering a series of probing questions relating to the then-and-now quality of his career. But on a similar front, he didnt have much difficulty talking about the amusing chasm of age and experience in his threesome over the first two rounds.

Westwood has a 9-year-old son who is closer in age to Fowler and Day than his dad.

“I let them do most of the talking,” Westwood said of his playing partners. “I was just listening in. But thats what happens as you get older, isnt it? Everybody else seems to get younger.”

Older or not, the best news for Westwood is that hes still getting better, too.

Who: Thoroughbreds – Drosselmeyer, Crider
What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Dwyer, The Lone Star Derby
Where: Belmont Park, Lone Star Park
When: Saturday, May 8th

Drosselmeyer got his fair share of press on the Kentucky Derby trail, but was unable to crack the Derby lineup due to insufficient graded earnings. He’ll go favored in The Dwyer on Saturday at Belmont Park, and a winning effort could make him a serious player in The Belmont Stakes. Let’s take a look at The Dwyer, and a brief glance at The Lone Star Derby as well.
There’s a good chance of an off track at Belmont Park on Saturday, and Drosselmeyer has already shown that he can handle a track with some moisture in it, having broken his maiden by six lengths at Churchill Downs on a track labeled “good”. His Beyer Speed Figures have been inching upward in three starts as a 3YO, and another forward move seems likely, given his relatively light 116-pound impost. There’s very little pace in this race, but Drosselmeyer demonstrated in his maiden breaker that he can be effective from close range. I’ll bet him to get over the hump with a win at odds of 3-2 or better. Soaring Empire’s Florida Derby was a toss out…I’m expecting him to rebound and hit the board at a square price of 9-2 or higher.
The Lone Star Derby is unlikely to produce a Belmont Stakes participant, but if one does emerge, it’s likely to be the Bob Baffert trainee Game On Dude. By Awesome Again out of a Devil His Due mare, this lightly-raced gelding should handle the 1 ?-mile distance of The Belmont Stakes. As for Saturday, Game On Dude figures to get a hot pace up front, which should set up his late run. His Derby Trial wasn’t much, but he may not have cared for the muddy track, and note the addition of blinkers for this engagement. The Baffert/Garcia combo has been quite potent on the West Coast, so perhaps they can work their magic with “The Dude”. Crider should get up for a share in what appears to be a chalky affair.
Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling.

The great Reggie Jackson gets credit for the saying ‘the straw that stirs the drink’ but in the equine world, the guys that make it go are the trainers.

A thoroughbred trainer has to be part soccer mom and part Marine drill sergeant. He has to know when to coddle and when to throw the gauntlet down.

And just like in horse races every single day, the best horse doesn’t always win. When training a runner specifically for the grueling Triple Crown trail it is not enough to ‘breed the best to the best and hope for the best’, but you also need heart, luck, and the correct conditioning strategy.

Face it; a racehorse can weigh 1,000 pounds, running upwards of 40 miles per hour on legs that are supported by ankles as big as humans. To succeed, they need good care and excellent training.

A trainer is responsible for the care, management, and daily needs of a thoroughbred. On the runner’s way to getting fit, the trainer must condition the horse properly and then enter him in the correct types of races.

Racehorses are athletes, and athletes have to practice, even if Allen Iverson didn’t like to put in the practice time.

The nuts and bolts of training are tested and true but each horse must also be looked at as an individual. A runner will tell you by his demeanor and his manner how he is doing and if he can take the next hurdle.

A normal day for a trainer would be to start the first of three feedings early in the morning, around 4:00 a.m., before the workouts. Mid morning, after cleaning and grooming, another meal will be given to the horse. The main meal will come in late afternoon, which traditionally consists of oats, sweet feed, grains, corn and maybe sweetened with molasses.

The work for the day could be a number of different chores. Early in the process, just walking or jogging will loosen up some of the muscles. Strong gallops are used to build stamina and to put a ‘foundation’ under a horse so he has something in reserve when the going gets tough.

A solid series of works or breezes are needed to get the horse racing fit. It is more important to have the works spaced correctly rather than have the times be off the charts. It is all a matter of style. Some horsemen, guys like the late Bobby Frankel, Neil Drysdale, and Zenyatta’s trainer John Shirreffs, seldom ask their horses for sizzling speed in the mornings.

Trainers like Mel Stute, who mentored 1986 Preakness winner Snow Chief, and Bob Baffert, who has done very well in the Derby over the years, always send their charges through the morning workouts briskly and often have them post best of the morning bullet works.

Racing today is all about money and early money. The cash put up for juvenile racing is staggering and it pretty much forces a lot of hands to coax ability out of their stock as early as possible. Horatio Luro, who won two Kentucky Derbies with Decidedly and Northern Dancer, believed in patient and careful handling and as he put it ‘not squeezing the lemon dry’.

A good trainer can’t make a slow horse run. The horse has to have talent, but a good trainer can bring out the best in a horse by finding out what the runner does best. A trainer has to figure out if his runner is a speed horse or a horse that will go a distance of ground. All horses are different. A trainer has to be super observant and just like a lot of things in life it’s the small things that count. Every sign of energy a horse shows, or lack there of, must be evaluated and worked on.

It is often a case of trying different things to get a horse to run better.

Lastly, some horses just have that magical thing called IT. Talking about Seattle Slew before he beat Affirmed in the Marlboro Cup, former rider Angel Cordero: “He was bouncing in front of Affirmed, doing some dancing right in front of him. I said, look, he’s trying to psyche Affirmed. It was like what Muhammad Ali would do to Joe Frazier. The great horses know how to be the boss, and he had the power.”