Betting Odds - Graffiti - Podcast

The subject of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film “Goodfellas“, Henry Hill, has told Mike Philbrick of ESPN’s Page Two that the shocking NBA ref scandal that is just unfolding could be a lot bigger than just Tim Donaghy, as the allegations against him currently suggest.

Graffiti Wall - Rumor Monger reports that On July 20, 2007, a report of an investigation by the FBI into allegations of an NBA referee betting on games to control the point spread emerged by columnist Murray Weiss of the New York Post. It was later revealed that Donaghy, who has a gambling problem, placed tens of thousands of dollars in bets on games during the 2005-06 NBA season and 2006-07 NBA season and had been approached by lower level mob associates to work on a gambling scheme.

“There’s still a million ways to do it today,” says Hill. “That’s why [Donaghy] didn’t get caught for so long.” Plus, Hill adds, “the government works in strange ways. They’ll let you go and go and go until they have a huge case against you. Right when you think you won’t get caught the feds reel you in and you’re hanging from their fishing poles. Now, with this whole NBA thing? Forget it. Now that everyone is talking they have computer records, they have everything. It’s going to get a whole lot bigger than this … you wait for the trial. This is going to be the tip of the iceberg. This guy Donaghy is in a lot of freakin’ trouble.”

In Goodfellas, Hill’s crew stole $5.8 million from a vault at JFK Airport. But Hill was also behind the notorious Boston College point shaving scandal in the 1978-79 season. So he knows a little about what Donaghy may have gotten himself into.

Philbrick points out that Hill had an “in” at Boston College, something similar to a Tim Donaghy, but perhaps more elaborate.

It turns out that one of the Boston College players, Rick Kuhn, grew up with some associates of Hill.

Kuhn, the team’s starting center, soon recruited two other starters. Payment was set at $2,500 to $3,500 per player, per game. At times, cocaine was used as payment for Kuhn, and he wasn’t even good at that.

“We found out that one time, when B.C. was on their way to a tournament in Hawaii, Kuhn lost a whole thing of coke in the airplane bathroom,” says McDonald.

All three players were on board and everyone was “winning.” Hill adds, “It was great, there was a lot of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll … and missed shots.”

The questions swirling around Donaghy now include whether he made certain calls that affected games or point spreads, and whether anyone should have noticed.

“It’s harder than you think if you’re not looking for it,” says Hill. “At B.C., we had three guys cooperating with us and even the coach didn’t notice. Well, there was a little suspicion, but we made it through the season OK. We didn’t think anything of it. I know I didn’t.”

Interestingly enough, out of the nine games they attempted to fix, Hill and his associates won bets on only six.

SOCCER KNOCKER superstar Thierry Henry’s wife and daughter were last night under constant guard against a vicious East European kidnap gang. This according to a report in the News of the World.

Rumor Monger has it that former Arsenal star called in a top security firm to protect his family after Special Branch tipped them off about the plot to snatch two-year-old Tea and hold her to ransom.

Betting Odds - Graffiti Wall reports they ordered 24-hour GUARDS outside their London home, close protection MINDERS for little Tea and estranged wife Claire, 27, plus beefed-up CCTV SURVEILLANCE.

Bet on Barcelona to Win the 2007/2008 Champions League at 4 to 1 (+400) Odds Here with your FREE $50

The team is on constant alert. Spanish giants Barcelona have signed Henry in a £16million megadeal.

The Henrys’ immense wealth makes them a natural target for organised crime. Thierry will earn an estimated £130,000 a week at Barcelona and Claire could land a divorce settlement of £10million from his £25million fortune.

Experts say the ruthless Romanian Mafia are the most likely to be behind the kidnap. They are here in force and have form for child snatches, human trafficking and sex slavery.

Saratoga Springs, NY - Lawyer Ron, with John Velazquez in the saddle, used a stalking run to propel himself to a 4 3/4 length victory in Saturday’s $750,000 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course. The time for the 1 1/8 mile race was 1:46.64, a new track record.

Graffiti Wall reports Lawyer Ron, one of three horses in the race trained by Todd Pletcher, snapped a two-race losing streak and guaranteed a spot in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic this year.

The winners of all four Saturday stakes automatically qualify for their respective Breeders’ Cup races this year at Monmouth Park. This is part of the new “Win and You’re In” program.

Breaking from post 11, Lawyer Ron was forced to race wide around the first turn as Wanderin Boy set the pace. Running second was Fairbanks with Papi Chullo third and Flashy Bull fourth in the 11 horse field.

Heading up the backstretch Wanderin Boy continued to set the pace followed by Fairbanks, Lawyer Ron and Papi Chullo. Nearing the far turn Wanderin Boy maintained the lead with Fairbanks still second followed by Lawyer Ron and Diamond Stripes in fourth.

Around the final turn Lawyer Ron moved into second place drawing closer to Wanderin Boy. Coming out of the turn Lawyer Ron drew along side the leader and took command nearing the furlong pole.

The four-year-old increased his advantage while Wanderin Boy held on to second place. Lightly-raced Diamond Stripes finished third for the second straight start and 13-1 long-shot Fairbanks was fourth.

Completing the order of finish was Dry Martini, Magna Graduate, Flashy Bull, Brass Hat, Papi Chullo, Sun King and Awesome Twist. Student Council was a scratch.

The final time of 1:46.64 broke the track record of 1:47 set by Tri Jet in 1974. Last year Invasor won the Whitney in 1:49.06.

Owned by Hines Racing, Lawyer Ron registered his 11th career victory in 23 starts. The $450,000 brings his lifetime earnings to more than $2.34 million.

This year the chestnut colt also won the Oaklawn Handicap to go along with last year’s Arkansas Derby and St. Louis Derby. Last month he was second in the Salvatore Mile at Monmouth Park and in May was third in the Met Mile.

Lawyer Ron returned $13.00, $7.70 and $5.30. Wanderin Boy paid $25.20 and $14.00, and Diamond Stripes paid $5.30 to show.

In Saturday’s supporting stakes races, My Typhoon won the Diana Stakes for fillies and mares on the grass. The six-furlong Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap went to Diabolical. The Go for Wand Handicap for fillies and mares was won by Ginger Punch.

Indianapolis, IN - Jason Leffler passed Greg Biffle with two laps to go and went on to capture Saturday night’s Kroger 200 Busch Series race at the O’Reilly Raceway Park. The victory by Leffler gave manufacturer Toyota its first Busch Series win.

The victory was Leffler’s first of the season and second of his Busch career.

After winning his third pole of the season earlier in the day, Aric Almirola led the 43-car field to the green flag for 200 laps of short track racing.

The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver pulled away from the field early. Almirola had a two-second lead when the first caution flag came out on lap 14 for Landon Cassill. A scary scene took place on pit road as some of the drivers received service during the caution period.

As Ron Hornaday Jr. entered his pit box Richard Johns, while making the turn into his pit area, hit one of Hornaday’s tire carriers. Fortunately, the tire carrier was treated and released from the infield care center. He suffered a cut nose and broken toe.

Almirola led Kelly Bires, Leffler, Biffle and Mike Bliss to the restart on lap 18. The No.20 JGR Chevrolet driver held onto the top spot as Leffler got around Bires for second.

The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver continued to show the way when the next caution flag came out on lap 44 for a David Ragan spin out. The leaders took their first round of pit stops during the caution.

Bobby East inherited the race lead by not stopping. Hornaday, Almirola, Biffle and Scott Wimmer followed behind after the pit stops.

When the race got back underway, Hornaday quickly got around East for the first position. East continued to fall back as Almirola got past him for second.

Hornaday led only four laps before Almirola passed him to retake the first spot. Almirola led the field to the next caution flag on lap 69 for a Brad Coleman and Scott Lagasse crash.

Almirola led Biffle, Hornaday, Leffler and David Reutimann to the restart on lap 73. Almirola put some distance between himself and Biffle as Hornaday fell back to the fifth spot.

On lap 95 Brett Rowe brought out the caution flag. This allowed Almirola to guide the leaders down pit road for their last stops of the night.

Since most of the backmarkers didn’t take pit stops they took over the first few spots.

Deac McCaskill was the new leader followed by Brad Keselowski, D.J. Kennington, Biffle and Jason Keller when the race went back to green on lap 102.

It didn’t take long for McCaskill and the rest of the backmarkers to fall back through the field. Biffle used his fresh tires to quickly get around McCaskill for the top spot. Carl Edwards, Reutimann, Hornaday and Almirola passed the slower drivers to complete the top-five.

Biffle built a 1.5-second lead over Edwards. The No.16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford continued to increase his lead as the top-five remained the same.

On lap 139 Edwards’ margin was erased when Johns spun out. Most of the leaders decided not to pit under the caution. But Leffler arguably made the race winning move by coming down pit road for new tires. He reentered the track outside of the top-10.

When the race restarted on lap 144, Biffle led Edwards, Reutimann, Hornaday and Almirola. Biffle held onto the first position as the race quickly went back under the caution flag.

McCaskill crashed on lap 145 and 155 to bring out two consecutive caution flags. The race finally went back to green on lap 163.

On the restart Edwards, on the outside, battled side-by-side, with Biffle for the lead. Edwards won the battle with 32 laps left in the race. But he only led for two laps before Biffle took back the first spot. Edwards fell back to fourth after Reutimann and Leffler got by him.

Biffle was able to pull away due to Reutimann and Leffler battling hard for second. Leffler won the battle for second with 13 laps to go and now had his sights set on Biffle.

The caution flag that Leffler needed came out with nine laps remaining when Josh Wise spun out.

Biffle led Leffler, Reutimann, Edwards and Hornaday to the restart with five to go.

The battle for first heated up after Leffler’s great restart. Biffle, on the outside, battled side-by-side with Leffler as the laps dwindled down. As they cleared the second turn with two laps left Leffler pulled away from Biffle.

The No.38 Braun Racing Toyota driver was able to hold off Biffle during the final two laps on his way to Victory Lane.

Reutimann, Edwards and Hornaday completed the top-five.

The next race in the series is set for Saturday, August 4th at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

San Jose, CA - Justin Wilson had the pole with three minutes left in the session, then lost his spot when Oriol Servia posted a quicker time, but the former Formula One driver responded with the quickest lap of the weekend to win Saturday’s qualifying session for the San Jose Grand Prix. The No.9 Rsports driver circled the 1.448-mile, 11-turn, temporary circuit in 49.039 seconds (105.932 m.p.h.).

Graffiti Wall reports the pole win was Wilson’s second of this seasons racing schedule and sixth of his Champ Car career.

Starting alongside Wilson will be Friday’s provisional qualifying winner Sebastien Bourdais.

Dan Clarke (49.092) and Servia (49.106) will make up row two.

Bourdais, the three-time series champion, has a 20-points lead on “rookie” Robert Doornbos. Doornbos is a former F1 driver for Minardi (2005) and Red Bull (2006) which were not really competitive against the giant teams of F1 like Ferrari and McLaren. But the team came to that realization and made the move across the Atlantic Ocean to Champ Cars.

Doornbos is finally getting to show what he can do when he gets in a competitive car. He opened his rookie Champ Car Series campaign with a second place finish at Las Vegas. Following his only bad outing at Long Beach (13th), Doornbos put himself on the podium four consecutive times including a win at Mont-Tremblant. He was on his way to another top-10 result last week when Alex Tagliani took him out in a late-race incident. Doornbos has earned six top-10s in eight starts, but will start a disappointing 15th.

Behind Doornbos is Will Power (-25) and Wilson (-29). Both are still very much in the championship race.

The race set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Indianapolis, IN - Reed Sorenson, fresh off last week’s Busch Series win at Gateway, captured the pole for Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The No.41 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver circled the historic 2.5-mile superspeedway in 48.858 seconds (184.207 m.p.h.).

Graffiti Wall reports the pole victory was the first of Sorenson’s Nextel Cup career. His previous best start was a third place at the New Hampshire International Speedway in early July.

“We knew all three of our cars were fast, we just didn’t know if the early draw would hurt us,” said Sorenson. “Being my first pole, it’s pretty cool to do it here.”

Starting alongside Sorenson will be his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who posted a second-best time of 49.048 seconds.

“We did a lot of work, but Reed was going to be tough to beat,” said Montoya.

Montoya has a chance to become the first driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. Two former Indy 500 champions have raced in a Brickyard 400 - A.J. Foyt (finished 30th) and Danny Sullivan finished 33rd), both in 1994.

Ryan Newman (49.053) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (49.068) will make up row two.

While racing began at Indy in 1909, Nextel Cup has only been coming here since 1994 when Jeff Gordon won the inaugural event. Gordon also won in 1998, 2001 and 2004. Other “Cup” drivers to win at Indy include: Dale Earnhardt (1995), Ricky Rudd (1997), Dale Jarrett (1996, 1999), Bobby Labonte (2000), Bill Elliott (2002), Kevin Harvick (2003), Tony Stewart (2005) and Jimmie Johnson (2006).

For the past two years, the winner at the Brickyard has gone on to win the series championship. All told, the winner of this race has won the title in six of 13 years.

Not only did Johnson win at the Brickyard and the Nextel Cup title in 2006, but he completed a rare sweep, winning Daytona and Indy in the same year, only the second time that it has been accomplished (Jarrett - 1996). Johnson will start 19th in the 43-car field.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Kurt Busch (sixth), Jeff Burton (seventh), Denny Hamlin (10th), Mark Martin (13th), Stewart (14th), Harvick (20th) and Gordon (21st).

The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).

Canadian Frank Dancevic gained his first berth in an ATP final, upsetting Andy Roddick in straight sets at the $575,000 Indianapolis Tennis Championships.

Roddick failed in his attempt to win the tournament for a third time as Dancevic won the semifinal encounter 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). The 22-year-old native from Niagara Falls became the first Canadian citizen to reach an ATP final since Greg Rusedski won the title in Seoul on April 30, 1995.

Roddick, the 2003 and ‘04 champion at this event on the tennis schedule, lost to fellow American James Blake in last year’s final.

Dancevic’s opponent in the final will be third-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who had to play two matches on Saturday due to persistent rain a day earlier. First, Tursunov beat Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-4, and then he topped American Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in the semifinals.

Blake had his quarterfinal match pushed back from Friday to Saturday due to rain, and the second seed lost to Querrey, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4).

Tursunov beat Dancevic in their only other meeting, which happened to be this June at the Artois Championships in London. That victory came in straight sets.

Tursunov has one career title, which was last year in Mumbai.

Sunday’s winner will take home $73,000.

Markham, ON - Looking to become the second three-time winner this season, Vijay Singh will carry a one-shot lead into the final round of the Canadian Open.

It should be more.

Graffiti Wall reports that Singh shot a three-under 68 in the third round on Saturday, but bogeyed two of his final six holes and three-putted for par on another hole with a chance to pull away from the field.

Instead, Singh only ended the day with the outright lead after Australian Steve Allan made bogey from behind the green at the 18th hole. John Mallinger is also just a shot off the lead.

Singh, the 2004 champion, stood at 12-under 201.

“Thank God I did it today and not tomorrow,” the Fijian said, lamenting a stretch of sub-par golf that included a three-putt par from 80 feet at the 15th and a bogey from the rough at the 16th.

Singh could be at least two shots better. Instead, there are 21 players within five shots of his lead going into a final round at Angus Glen where the greens are stiffening and the leaderboard is bunching up.

Allan flew the green at the 18th and landed behind the cart path, then chipped past the hole and two-putted for a closing bogey to fall out of a tie with Singh.

He finished with a 70 and was tied for second place with Mallinger, who also shot 70. The third round co-leaders stood at 11-under 202 after leading Singh and Tripp Isenhour by a shot overnight.

Hunter Mahan (67) was alone in fourth place at 10-under 203, with defending champion Jim Furyk and Pat Perez sitting another shot further back at 204.

Furyk hasn’t won since he beat Bart Bryant at last year’s Canadian Open, but he has been arguably the steadiest player in the world. He tied for 12th place at the British Open last week, and had three consecutive top-five finishes on U.S. soil before that.

Saturday, Furyk shot a 69 to remain very much in the picture.

Singh has 18 holes remaining with a chance to add to his wins at Mercedes-Benz Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger Woods is the only player with three wins this year.

Saturday, Singh led by a shot around the turn after making a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 9 to shoot a 32 on the front side. Birdies followed at the 11th and 14th, but so did bogeys at the 13th and 16th.

Singh missed a good opportunity to extend his lead at the par-five 15th, where he reached the green in two shots. But he three-putted to settle for par, then made a bogey from the rough at the next to fall into a tie with Allan.

“Not making birdie on 15, then bogeying 16 — those are things that normally I should take advantage of,” said Singh, who is 17-10 on the PGA Tour with the third round lead. “Hopefully tomorrow I can fix all of those problems.”

Singh has 31 career victories, including three majors. Neither player sitting behind him has ever won on the PGA Tour.

Allan, 33, had his best finish of the season last week in Milwaukee, a tie for 13th place that marked his second top-15 in four events. He has two career runner-ups — and will be paired with Singh in the last tee time Sunday after making three birdies and two bogeys in the third round.

“Where else would you rather be than in the final group Sunday?” Allan said. “I’m a bit disappointed that I finished with a bogey, but it was a good day.”

Mallinger earned his tour card by tying for 13th place at Q-school last year, but has had an up-and-down rookie season. He finished third at Pebble Beach and in New Orleans, but has also missed 10 cuts.

“It’s been a long road, but you gotta start somewhere,” he said. “It’s a pretty good feeling being in this position.”

Philadelphia, PA - Chris Coste’s three-run home run highlighted a season-high eight-run fifth inning and Jimmy Rollins fell a homer short of the cycle, as the Philadelphia Phillies won the middle contest of their three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park, 10-5.

Coste had a career-high four RBI and Shane Victorino ended 2-for-3 and scored three times for the Phillies, who have won seven of their last eight.

Tadahito Iguchi, acquired from the White Sox on Friday and playing in place of the injured Chase Utley, finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in his Phillies debut.

J.D. Durbin (3-2), who was brilliant against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, allowed five runs on seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts over five frames. The 25-year-old right-hander got his first home win this season while facing the Pirates for the first time.

Reliever Brett Myers, activated from the disabled list Friday, threw a perfect ninth inning in his first appearance since May 23, as the Phillies moved with 3 1/2 games of the Mets for the top spot in the NL East.

Left-hander Shane Youman (2-3), also coming off a solid start in his last trip to the hill, allowed seven runs - six earned - on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts over four-plus frames in his first-ever appearance against the Phils.

Freddy Sanchez homered for the Pirates, who have dropped five of six. Xavier Nady ended 2-for-4 with two RBI in the loss. Jason Bay also had a pair of hits and scored a run.

Trailing 5-2, the Phillies blew the game open with their big fifth inning. Victorino led off with a double, Rollins singled him over to third before stealing second, and Ryan Howard’s walk loaded the bases for Pat Burrell, who walked to force in a run.

Wes Helms next reached first as Jose Castillo misplayed his grounder at third, allowing Rollins to scamper home. Masumi Kuwata came on the mound to stop the bleeding, but instead gave up a sacrifice fly to Iguchi before a three-run shot to left field on the first pitch thrown to Coste.

Michael Bourn then grounded a single with two outs and stole second before Victorino walked. Rollins brought home both baserunners by roping a triple to right field for the final margin heading into the sixth.

Philadelphia scored a run in the first when Victorino singled and scored on Rollins’ double, and in the second, as Iguchi walked and came home on Coste’s double.

Pittsburgh grabbed the lead with four runs in the third. Youman walked and Nate McLouth singled before Sanchez belted a three-run shot to left field on a 1-1 pitch. Adam LaRoche then singled, advanced a base on Bay’s walk, and came home on a Nady single.

The Pirates plated a run in the fifth when Bay singled, stole second, and scored on a Nady double.

Game Notes

This is the first series between the two clubs this season after they split six games in 2006.

Cincinnati, OH - Alfonso Soriano homered twice, drove in five runs and scored three, and the Chicago Cubs took advantage of an early exit by Reds’ starter Aaron Harang to beat Cincinnati, 8-1, in the second of three games at Great American Ball Park.

Harang (10-3) worked just one inning, allowing a two-run homer to Derrek Lee before leaving with lower back soreness. He was replaced by left-hander Mike Gosling at the start of the second.

It was a tough blow for the Reds, and for Harang, who was unbeaten since dropping a 5-3 decision to Cleveland on May 20th. He had also been perfect at Great American Ball Park since May 5, and held a 3-0 mark and a 2.45 ERA in his last seven home starts coming in.

Brandon Phillips drove in the lone run for Cincinnati, which had a a three- game winning streak halted.

Jason Kendall finished with two hits and two runs scored, and Cliff Floyd also knocked in a run for Chicago, which put the brakes on a two-game skid and pulled within 1 1/2 games of Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Brewers dropped both games of their day-night doubleheader to St. Louis on Saturday.

Cubs starter Sean Marshall (5-4) allowed just one run on six hits, walked one and struck out three over six-plus innings to earn his first win in five starts.

It didn’t take the Cubs long to jump on Harang, as Ryan Theriot drew a one-out walk in the first and Lee followed by hammering a 2-1 pitch to left-center that just carried over the wall.

Gosling fared even worse in the second, allowing a one-out walk to Jacque Jones and a single to Kendall. Marshall moved both runners with a sacrifice bunt before Soriano turned on a fastball and crushed it well into the upper deck in left field, giving Chicago a 5-0 lead.

The Reds broke through in the fourth when Norris Hopper and Jeff Conine both singled, then advanced on a fielding error by Jones. Phillips’ groundout plated Hopper to cut it to 5-1, but Marshall escaped further damage when Adam Dunn grounded out and Jeff Keppinger lined out to end the inning.

Chicago tacked on another run in the fifth on a single by Soriano, an intentional walk to Lee and a double by Floyd that made it 6-1.

Soriano added a two-run homer in the ninth, while the Cubs loaded the bases against Ryan Dempster with no outs, but failed to score.

Game Notes

The Reds acquired infielder Jorge Cantu, outfielder Shaun Cumberland and cash from Tampa Bay on Saturday, in exchange for righthander Calvin Medlook, lefty Brian Shackelford and future considerations…Cantu will be optioned to Triple-A Louisville…The Cubs faced a right-handed starter for the 10th consecutive game…Keppinger extended his hitting streak to eight games…The attendance of 42,365 was the largest non-opening day crowd in the history of Great American Ball Park…It was Soriano’s second multi-homer game this season and the 17th of his career.