Betting Odds - Graffiti - Podcast

=== Wednesday, July 25, 2007 ===

=== BASEBALL ===

Baltimore Orioles - Placed pitcher Chris Ray on the 15-day disabled list; recalled pitcher Cory Doyne from Norfolk (Int.).

Detroit Tigers - Activated pitcher Tim Byrdak from the 15-day disabled list.

Oakland Athletics - Placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on the 15-day disabled list; recalled infielder Donnie Murphy from Sacramento (PCL).

Kansas City Royals - Placed pitcher Scott Elarton on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.

Milwaukee Brewers - Acquired pitcher Scott Linebrink from the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitchers Joe Thatcher, Will Inman and Steve Garrison; reinstated outfielder Bill Hall from the 15-day disabled list; optioned outfielder Tony Gwynn to Nashville (PCL).

Minnesota Twins - Optioned outfielder Darnell McDonald to Rochester (Int.).

Oakland Athletics - Placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on the 15-day disabled list; recalled infielder Donnie Murphy from Sacramento (PCL).

San Diego Padres - Recalled pitcher Clay Hensley from Portland (PCL); optioned outfielder Terrmel Sledge to Portland.

=== BASKETBALL ===

Toronto Raptors - Signed forward Maceo Baston to a two-year contract.

=== FOOTBALL ===

Arizona Cardinals - Signed defensive tackle Alan Branch.

Buffalo Bills - Signed linebacker Paul Posluszny and running back Dwayne Wright.

Chicago Bears - Signed defensive end Dan Bazuin to a four-year contract.

Dallas Cowboys - Signed wide receiver Isaiah Stanback, guard Doug Free, kicker Nick Folk, fullback Deon Anderson and defensive backs Courtney Brown and Alan Ball.

Minnesota Vikings - Signed cornerback Marcus McCauley.

New York Jets - Signed linebacker David Harris.

Oakland Raiders - Signed running back Michael Bush; released safeties Jarrod Cooper and Darnell Bing; placed wide receiver Jonathan Holland on injured reserve.

Philadelphia Eagles - Signed quarterback Kevin Kolb to a four-year contract.

San Francisco 49ers - Signed running back Thomas Clayton.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Signed linebacker Quincy Black; claimed offensive lineman Enoka Lucas off waivers from the Houston Texans; released quarterback Zac Taylor and guard Anthony Wollschlager.

Tennessee Titans - Agreed to terms with wide receiver Eric Moulds; released wide receiver Clint Solomon.

=== HOCKEY ===

Atlanta Thrashers - Re-signed forward Jim Slater to a multi-year contract.

Chicago Blackhawks - Signed forward Patrick Kane to a three-year contract.

Edmonton Oilers - Signed forwards Jacob Micflikier and Ben Simon.

New Jersey Devils - Named Larry Robinson, John MacLean, and Tommy Albelin assistant coaches; named Jacques Caron goaltending coach.

Philadelphia Flyers - Re-signed left wing Riley Cote to a one-year contract and left wing Boyd Kane to a two-year contract.

St. Louis Blues - Re-signed forward Lee Stempniak to a multi-year contract.

Tampa Bay Lightning - Re-signed defenseman Doug Janik to a one-year contract.

Washington Capitals - Re-signed center Brooks Laich.

=== COLLEGE ===

Army - Named Matt Reid assistant baseball coach.

Duke - Named Brad Berndt associate athletic director.

Eastern Washington - Named Jamie Matthews assistant men’s basketball coach.

Indiana State - Named Amy Siegel assistant women’s basketball coach.

La Salle - Named Williams Thomas volunteer linebackers coach; named Scott Laughead athletic communications assistant.

Long Island - Named Richard James strength and conditioning coach.

Saint Louis - Named Sean Harrington director of basketball operations.

Houston, TX - Carlos Lee belted the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning and gave the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the finale of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park.

Eric Munson also homered for the Astros, who have won three of four.

Houston starter Matt Albers threw five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Chad Qualls (6-3) gave up two hits and one run in one inning for the win and Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save in eight opportunities.

Jeff Kent homered for the Dodgers, who have lost five of seven.

Los Angeles starter Derek Lowe was lifted after facing one batter in the fifth. It is unknown why he was removed, but he was visibly angry as he left the field and he threw his glove in disgust in the dugout. He surrendered one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. D.J. Houlton (0-2) pitched two innings. The only hit he allowed was Lee’s homer.

Munson hit his third homer of the year in the third, a one-out shot to right.

Houston threatened in the fourth. Lee singled with two outs, stole second and advanced to third on a single by Mike Lamb. Lowe, though, got out of trouble by inducing Luke Scott to ground out to first, ending the inning.

Kent’s lead-off homer in the seventh marked his 15th of the season, tying the game.

Lee, however, put the Astros ahead for good with his 20th homer of the season in the home half, a bomb to left leading off.

Game Notes

Kent has reached base safely in 36 straight games, the longest streak in the majors this season…It was Albers’ first start since May 23 after appearing in eight games as reliever since he was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on June 28…A day after saying he would retire at the end of the season, Craig Biggio became the 21st player to appear 2,800 games in his career…Attendance was 31,498.

St. Louis, MO - Ted Lilly won his sixth straight start, as the Chicago Cubs downed the rival St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1, in the middle of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

The stretch of success ties a career high, as Lilly (11-4) won a career-best six straight starts from August 25-September 21, 2003 with Oakland. Lilly has also won seven straight decisions, which is a personal best.

The southpaw allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings for the Cubs, who have won five of seven. They now trail the Brewers by just two games in the NL Central.

Mike Fontenot and Cliff Floyd both knocked in a pair of runs in a winning effort.

Adam Wainwright (9-8) was charged with six runs on nine hits over five frames for St. Louis, which has dropped three of four. Juan Encarnacion provided most of the Cards’ offense, going 4-for-4 with an RBI.

Chicago put up two runs in the fourth to move in front. With runners on first and second and two down, Fontenot singled to right to plate the first run of the game. Jacque Jones followed with a single of his own to score Floyd for a 2-0 edge.

The Cardinals sliced their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth as So Taguchi walked, swiped second and then came in on Encarnacion’s base hit.

The Cubs, though, responded with a four-run fifth. Ryan Theriot’s RBI base hit put the Chicago lead back at two, and Floyd roped a two-out double to center later in the frame to bring in a pair and extend the advantage to 5-1. Fontenot capped the surge with a base hit to center that scored Floyd.

Lilly’s RBI single in the eighth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Wainwright had won his last three starts coming in…Chicago has won five of its seven matchups with St. Louis this season and is 26-16 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. The Cubs have also won all four of their meetings in St. Louis this season after losing six of nine there a year ago…Chicago outhit St. Louis 14-8.

Baltimore, MD - Erik Bedard allowed just one run in six innings and Corey Patterson homered as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 6-1, in the second of a three-game set at Camden Yards.

Bedard (10-4) gave up six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He leads the American League with 175 strikeouts and is 6-0 in his last seven outings.

Patterson finished 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Orioles, who have won three in a row. Ramon Hernandez collected two hits and drove in a pair.

Raul Casanova homered and Akinori Iwamura and Brendan Harris had two hits apiece for the Devil Rays, who have lost five in a row and 22 of 27.

Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine (1-6) gave up five runs on seven hits, while walking three and striking out four in six full innings. The youngster has lost six in a row since posting his first win in early June.

Baltimore scored three runs in the first. Patterson singled to right with one- out and Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff both walked with two-outs loading the bases for Hernandez, who ripped a single to left scoring two and Jay Payton followed with a single to left plating another.

Casanova put the Devil Rays on the board in the third with his sixth homer of the year, a shot to left-center.

In the fifth, Brian Roberts singled to right and Patterson doubled to center before Nick Markakis’ sacrifice fly to left pushed Baltimore’s lead to 4-1.

Luis Hernandez’s single to left in the sixth scored Hernandez who had reached with a one-out walk. Patterson led-off the seventh with a homer to right, his fifth of the year to put the O’s up 6-1.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay has lost eight straight at Camden Yards…Tampa Bay hitting coach Steve Henderson was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Tom Hallion for arguing balls and strikes after B.J. Upton struck out looking in the third inning…Baltimore placed closer Chris Ray on the 15-day DL with a sore elbow and recalled RHP Cory Doyne from Triple-A Norfolk…Baltimore improved to 8-4 since the All-Star break and 17-13 under interim manager Dave Trembley…Attendance was 21,427.

Cincinnati, OH - Jeff Keppinger knocked in three runs with a double, as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3, at Great American Ball Park.

Cincinnati starter Kyle Lohse tossed 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs — one earned — on five hits. Lohse (6-12), who retired 11 batters in a row at one point, struck out two while not issuing a walk.

Ryan Freel, Brandon Phillips and Scott Hatteberg all had two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who won for the second time in their last six games.

Adam Dunn added three hits in the victory and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Jeff Suppan (8-9) started for Milwaukee and was tagged for five runs on 10 hits. He is now winless in his last six starts.

Craig Counsell hit a home run while Kevin Mench had two hits for the Brewers, who have four losses in their last six games.

After two scoreless frames, the Reds got on the board in the third. Hatteberg doubled with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Freel then walked and Ken Griffey Jr. popped out, before Phillips singled home Hatteberg. Dunn followed with a walk to load the bases and Keppinger cleared them with a double down the right-field line to make it 4-0.

Cincinnati added a run in the fourth inning to make it a five-run advantage. David Ross started things with a double, but was injured on his head-first slide into second and was replaced by Javier Valentin. Lohse’s sacrifice bunt moved Valentin to third and with one out, Freel knocked him in with a base hit up the middle.

Counsell got Milwaukee on the board in the sixth with a solo home run with two outs. Prior to Counsell’s homer, Lohse retired 11 straight. Mench followed with a base hit and Prince Fielder reached first on Edwin Encarnacion’s throwing error, before Bill Hall’s RBI single to left that made it 5-2.

In the eighth, Counsell walked and Mench followed with a single, chasing Jared Burton from the game as Mike Stanton came on. Fielder greeted the veteran Stanton with a single to left to plate Counsell to make it a two-run game. David Weathers then came into the game for Cincy and struck out pinch- hitter Ryan Braun. Geoff Jenkins then fanned as Fielder broke for second. Valentin threw for second as Mench broke for home. Phillips quickly caught the throw and fired home in time to nab Mench at the plate.

The Reds got some breathing room after scoring a pair of runs in the home half of the eighth despite a scary incident. Pedro Lopez led off the frame and could not get out of the way of Matt Wise’s fastball that hit him near the mouth area. Lopez immediately fell to the ground and began spitting up blood. After staying down for several minutes, team trainers managed to get Lopez on his feet. He was then sat down on a cart that drove him off the field as he held a towel to his mouth.

Jeff Conine replaced Lopez and he stole second and scored on Norris Hopper’s two base hit. Hatteberg followed with a double to right to plate Hopper and make it a four-run lead that held as Weathers was credited with his 20th save.

Game Notes

Ross is listed as day-to-day…The Reds finished with 13 hits…Before the game, the Brewers strengthened their bullpen, acquiring relief pitcher Scott Linebrink from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league pitchers Joe Thatcher, Will Inman and Steve Garrison…Also before the game, the Brewers reinstated Hall from the 15-day disabled list.

Cleveland, OH - Fausto Carmona scattered four hits over eight shutout innings, as Cleveland turned the tables on Boston to win 1-0 in the third game of four between the clubs at Jacobs Field.

Carmona (13-4) fanned six and walked two, moving to 5-0 in July, and joined fellow Tribe starter C.C. Sabathia in the 13-win club. Franklin Gutierrez homered for the Indians, who snapped a two-game slide and reversed Boston’s 1-0 win on Tuesday.

Josh Beckett (13-4) pitched an equally solid game despite the loss, allowing one run and four hits in over eight innings with seven strikeouts, retiring 14 in a row and 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. It was his fourth career complete game, but first since 2005.

Coco Crisp, Jason Varitek and Alex Cora collected a hit each for the Red Sox, who saw their five-game win streak halted. David Ortiz, who missed the last five games with a left shoulder strain, returned to the lineup as the designated hitter and finished 1-for-4 with a single.

In the third, Gutierrez put the Tribe up with a long blast beyond the seats in left.

Boston did not put up much of a fight until the sixth, when a lead-off single by Crisp ended Carmona’s no-hitter. Crisp moved to second on a Dustin Pedroia groundout, but was cut down at the plate attempting to score on an infield single to second by Ortiz, which kept the shutout intact.

Varitek’s single started the Red Sox eighth, and after Eric Hinske flew out, the Sox captain was nailed in a rundown at first after leaving early on a steal attempt. Cora then reached on an infield single, but was erased on a straight steal at second to end the inning.

Joe Borowski closed out the game by setting down the side in order to record his 29th save.

Game Notes

Carmona was 0-2 against the Sox in 2006, in which he entered in a save situation and was saddled with a blown save and a loss both times…Beckett had been 6-0 with a 1.71 ERA on the road this season…Boston pitcher Joel Piniero accepted an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket, two days after being designated for assignment when the club promoted Jon Lester…Ortiz has hit safely in each of his last 10 games…Cleveland’s Ryan Garko had his 17-game hit streak snapped with an 0-for-3 night at the plate…Cleveland had not played back-to-back 1-0 games since 1991…Attendance was 29,614.

Flushing, NY - Tom Glavine picked up career victory No. 299, as the New York Mets trumped the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3, in the middle installment of a three-game series at Shea Stadium.

Glavine (9-6) allowed three runs on eight hits over six innings for the Mets, who have won five of their last six contests. One more win, and Glavine will join Lefty Grove and Early Wynn at 21st on the all-time list with 300 victories.

Paul Lo Duca drove in four runs for the Mets, while Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley came through with an RBI each.

Jason Bay hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh, which has lost 10 of 11. Starter Tom Gorzelanny (9-6) left the game in the third due to left shoulder stiffness. Before exiting he was tagged for six runs on seven hits over 2 1/3 frames.

New York put up a three-spot in the first inning to forge ahead. With the bases loaded and one out, Lo Duca slapped a double to left that plated both Lastings Milledge and David Wright. Anderson added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

The Mets went on to double their advantage in the third. After a Wright double and a Carlos Delgado walk, Lo Duca hit a double into the left-center gap that brought both runners in for a 5-0 lead. Anderson and Easley followed with back-to-back singles to bring another run home.

The Pirates whittled the deficit down to three runs in the fifth. Adam LaRoche pushed the first Pittsburgh run across with an RBI groundout, then came in on Bay’s homer to left in the next sequence.

The Mets bullpen shut the door from there, though, with Billy Wagner working the ninth for his 23rd save on his 36th birthday.

Game Notes

Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran sat out Wednesday’s game due to an abdominal sprain suffered during batting practice…Glavine is 22-12 in his career against the Pirates, including a 3-0 mark over the last two seasons…Pirates manager Jim Tracy was ejected in the third for arguing with the umpire.

Gourette, France - Michael Rasmussen of Denmark, who was the overall leader at the Tour de France, was removed from cycling’s most prestigious race on Wednesday after his team said he violated internal rules.

WHERE’S THAT TOUR D’ FRANCE THANG’?: BO JACKSON

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Rasmussen’s Radobank team required him to leave the race after discovering he lied on his whereabouts during his training in June. The newspaper cited a Radobank spokesman as saying Rasmussen was not in Mexico, but later the team found out he was in Italy during a time when he reportedly missed random drug tests.

Rasmussen won Stage 16 of the race on Wednesday and extended his overall lead. Rasmussen used a late surge to finish the treacherous 218.5-kilometer trek up the Pyrenees in a time of six hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds. Rasmussen earned his second stage win of this year’s Tour and had an overall lead of three minutes and 10 seconds over Spain’s Alberto Contador.

Because of Rasmussen’s departure, Contador will start Stage 17 with a one minute, 53-second lead on Australian Cadel Evans. American Levi Leipheimer will jump to third.

The announcement of Rasmussen’s dismissal was the third shocking piece of news in the last two days at the race. On Tuesday, it was revealed stage winner Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan tested positive for a banned blood transfusion, and his team, Astana, has withdrew from this year’s race as a result.

Earlier Wednesday, Cofidis became the second team in as many days to withdraw from the Tour de France because of a positive doping test for one of its riders. Italy’s Cristian Moreni, who was 54th overall, reportedly tested positive for testosterone following the 11th stage of the Tour last week.

This year’s Tour de France wraps up Sunday in Paris.

By Lyle Fitzsimmons, Boxing Contributing Editor

Call it the “Oscar De La Hoya whipped my @$$” world tour.

When Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas finally close their mouths and actually get in the ring on September 8 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, it’ll end of one of the more contentious hype-generating press junkets in recent memory.

The ex-junior middleweight champs have been at their menacing and threatening bests in the early stages of the whirlwind trip, including a July 11 scrape in LA that resulted in an exchange of punches and a cut under Mayorga’s right eye.

The actual matchup — billed as “The Brawl” — will surely be fun to watch.

But boy, what I wouldn’t give to just fast-forward past all this nonsense and just get to fight night — because, quite frankly, it’s getting more than a little old.

Oh sure, Vargas looks scary when he says he’ll stop Mayorga. And Mayorga looks imposing when he says he’ll go one better and hurt Vargas. Problem is, it’s been a long time since either one of them came close to backing up the tough- guy chatter.

Vargas hasn’t done much more than bleed, swell and fall down since December 2000, when Felix Trinidad punched away his invincibility while scoring a 12th- round stoppage in a light middleweight unification bout.

“Ferocious” Fernando has come up short three more times since, including a conversation-filled 11th-round loss to De La Hoya in 2002 and consecutive TKO losses to Shane Mosley in February and July of last year.

He’s claiming this will be his last bout, regardless of result.

Meanwhile, Mayorga is one of Vargas’ few peers in terms of vitriol, though it’s been equally meaningless in recent days.

The chain-smoking Nicaraguan is just 2-2 since dropping his welterweight titles to Cory Spinks, including an eighth-round stoppage loss to Trinidad in October 2004 at Madison Square Garden and a sixth-round TKO at the hands of De La Hoya last May in Las Vegas.

That fight featured a particularly hatred-fueled lead-in tour, with Mayorga brandishing a sword and threatening damage to the former Olympic gold medalist until he tasted a thudding left hook in round one at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

But, bless his heart. He’s at it again.

“I will do Vargas a favor by retiring him in this fight so his family doesn’t have to suffer every time he steps in the ring,” Mayorga said. “I’m going to do (his) wife a favor and not let her cry anymore after I disfigure (him).”

Hey, thanks anyway, Ricardo… if it’s all the same to you, I’ll wait for the movie.

It’s official. The maturation of Andre Berto has begun.

The 23-year-old welterweight will risk his “FitzHitz’s No. 1 prospect in boxing” status on Friday night when he meets former world title challenger Cosme Rivera in a scheduled 10-rounder at the City Center facility in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The bout with Rivera represents a significant rise in class for the 18-0 Berto, who’s won 14 in a row by knockout against the middling likes of James Crayton, Miguel Figueroa, Norberto Bravo and Martinus Clay.

Rivera was stopped in three rounds in a try for then-champion Zab Judah’s 147- pound belts in May 2005, and in his last fight scored a 12th-round knockdown while dropping a razor-thin split decision to Joel Julio in October 2006.

Berto’s last four foes had a combined record of 94-44-9 with zero title fights.

And with a win, it hardly gets easier.

The Miami native is penciled in for another tough 10-rounder just two months down the road, when he’ll tentatively face 20-3 fringe contender David Estrada on the undercard of Jermain Taylor’s 160-pound bout with Kelly Pavlik on September 29 in Atlantic City.

Estrada, a slick stylist who’s scored 11 KOs in 20 wins, was 18-1 before dropping a unanimous 10-round nod to the aforementioned Mosley in April 2005 in Las Vegas. He was TKO’d by Kermit Cintron one bout later, losing in the 10th round of an IBF title eliminator in Palm Beach, Florida.

Also a Miami native, the 28-year-old has fought twice since the two-bout skid, stopping 11-9-2 Clarence Taylor and 13-8 David Toribio in seven and four rounds, respectively, in September 2006 and April 2007.

Berto’s closest challenger in my budding superstar class — fellow welterweight Rock Allen — took his 11th step without a stumble last Saturday in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous six-round verdict over Ramiro Rivera on the Hopkins-Wright undercard at Mandalay Bay.

The 25-year-old Philadelphian turned pro in August 2005, stopping Damon Antoine at 2:27 of the first round at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. He won his first five bouts by TKO, then earned a pair of six-round decisions before splitting his four most recent outings between stoppages and unanimous scorecard verdicts.

Allen’s 11 opponents have a combined record of 41-43-4.

Round one in the 168-pound cold war goes to Joe Calzaghe.

The unbeaten Welshman adeptly countered Bernard Hopkins’ declaration of super middleweight conflict on Tuesday, claiming that his upcoming unification battle with fellow European Mikkel Kessler is a higher priority than the 42- year-old instigator.

“Hopkins can get in line and wait for me,” said Calzaghe, who’s defended his WBO strap 20 times since defeating Chris Eubank for the vacant title in October 1997.

“I was all set to fight him two years ago and he doubled his financial demands after first agreeing to the fight.”

Lovable Bernard reached the 20-defense plateau himself at 160, defeating Englishman Howard Eastman via 12-round decision in February 2005 before dropping consecutive nods to Jermain Taylor and heading to 175 for a successful date with Antonio Tarver.

He made it two straight upsets over the weekend, defeating Winky Wright at a catch-weight of 170 and immediately summoning Calzaghe to Yankee Stadium for a not-so-peaceful summit meeting later this year.

“Now people look at me and say, ‘Look at your shoulders. Look at your midsection. It’s like you’re a wide receiver for an NFL team,’” Hopkins said. “Why cheat myself and not be able to exploit the situation by continuing?

“I want Joe Calzaghe next. Tell him to come over here and I’m going to beat him, too.”

FitzHitz scored Saturday’s bout for Hopkins, 115-113.

Calzaghe and Kessler are scheduled to meet for the WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight belts at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on November 3.

Kessler won the WBA crown with an eighth-round stoppage of Manny Siaca in November 2004, then added the WBC laurels to his collection with a third-round KO of Markus Beyer last October in Copenhagen, Denmark.

His last bout was a violent 12-round decision over Librado Andrade on March 24.

Calzaghe was last in action two weeks later, stopping Peter Manfredo Jr. in three rounds.

And now, a south-of-the-border weekend update…

Mexico City native Edgar Sosa travels to the seaside hamlet of Cancun on Saturday night, when he’ll make the first defense of his WBC light flyweight title against well-traveled Argentine veteran Luis Alberto Lazarte.

Sosa, who’ll turn 28 next month, claimed his room in the 108-pound penthouse back in April with an upset majority decision over Brian Viloria on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s wipeout of Jorge Solis at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

He is unbeaten in his last 15 fights since starting his career at 12-5.

The 36-year-old Lazarte has won 17 bouts in a row, including four in row in a busy 2007.

The championship chance will be the fourth of his career, but his first in nearly five years since a 12th-round disqualification loss to countryman Omar Andres Narvaes for the WBO flyweight title in September 2002 at home in Argentina.

He lost a 12-round split decision to Colombian incumbent Kermin Guardia while trying for the WBO’s minimumweight crown in October 1999, then was stopped in two rounds by Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in a grab at the WBC flyweight crown in December 2001 in Thailand.

The loss to Wonjongkam is the lone defeat by stoppage for Lazarte, who’s now 37-7-1.

Meanwhile, far away from the title-bout glare, it’s “Macho Time” in Nevada.

Hector Camacho Jr., the 28-year-old son of the former multi-division kingpin, takes another anonymous step toward respectability in a scheduled eight- rounder against St. Louis resident Don Juan Futrell.

A winner of 33 straight to begin his career, the younger Camacho has slumped to 9-2-1 in his last dozen outings, including a controversial eighth-round TKO loss to junior middleweight Andrey Tsurkan on the Hopkins-Tarver undercard last summer in Atlantic City.

Camacho complained vehemently when the bout was halted at 1:42 of the eighth by referee Randy Neumann, claiming he was unhurt after laying on the ropes and absorbing an extended combination from Tsurkan on his arms and sides.

He’s fought just once since, moving up 15 pounds to super middleweight for a third-round stoppage of George Klinesmith in September 2006.

Also on the Laughlin card is fellow championship progeny Carlos DeLeon Jr., the 28-year-old son of former cruiserweight title-holder Carlos “Sugar” DeLeon.

A 6-foot-2 super middleweight, “Baby Sugar” has won six times and drawn once since his lone career loss, a surprise fourth-round TKO at the hands of veteran Marcos Primera on the Corrales-Castillo undercard in May 2005.

DeLeon will face 8-17 journeyman William Gill on Saturday night, then has a 10-rounder with an as-yet-undetermined foe set for August 25 in Mississippi.

He beat Ted Muller — last seen falling at the fists of a comebacking Andrade on the Hopkins-Wright PPV show — by an eight-round decision in December 2006, then stopped Derek Andrews at 2:59 of round one in February.

Lyle Fitzsimmons can be reached at fitzbitz@msn.com

Mooresville, NC - Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing merged Wednesday to create a new four-car team.

Effective immediately the new team will feature the Chevrolets of Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Aric Almirola.

Martin and Almirola will combine to drive Ginn’s No. 1 Army Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2007 season and into 2008. Menard drives the Menards Chevy, Truex handles the Bass Pro Shops car and Earnhardt is at the controls of the Budweiser Chevrolet — all originally part of the DEI team.

All four cars are inside the top 35 in Nextel Cup points.

“This merger is great for both our companies,” said DEI global operations president Max Siegel. “Our stated goals included an expansion to four cars as quickly as possible and, in order to do that, we had to acquire more shop space. This relationship with Bobby Ginn and his company allows us to accomplish both which makes this a perfect transaction.”

The partnership will force Ginn to give up the points on his No. 13 car, which was 34th in the owner standings.

“NASCAR’s cap of four teams per company meant we had to give something up,” said Ginn. “We felt so strongly about this merger that we surrendered the intangible value of the 13 car. We all were completely comfortable that the benefits of working together far outweighed the value of the points.”

DEI’s current management team will be responsible for all day-to-day activities.