A Blow to the Belmont; A Hockey Team Gets a Really Bad Break

Belmont Stakes hopeful Optimizer, right, has a look at Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another at Barn 2 following workouts at Belmont Park, Friday, June 8, 2012 in Elmont, N.Y. The Belmont Stakes is Saturday.
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Dashiell Bennett 520 Views Jun 8, 2012

Today in Sports: A huge upset at the Belmont Stakes and an awful bounce costs a team a playoff game.

  • Obviously the big news of the day is that I'll Have Another has dropped out of the Belmont Stakes with a tendon injury. It's a huge blow the sport that relies on Triple Crown interest to suck in fans every year and now will depress crowds and gambling dollars this weekend. The race will go on, but it will now be a battle between Dullahan (third in the Derby) and Union Rags (who was seventh.) Neither ran in the Preakness.
  • Sad about I'll Have Another? Well, there's another Triple Crown of sorts on the line tomorrow. Optimizer who finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby and sixth in the Preakness could become the worst horse to run and finish all three legs in the last decade. Of the 13 horse that have finished all three races since 2003, only four failed to win at least one of them and only one never cracked a top three. Optimizer was a 20-1 shot before the favorite dropped out. [The Wall Street Journal]
  • This is probably the worst hockey loss you'll ever see. In overtime of the AHL Finals, it's pretty much a prefect illustration of a "bad bounce." [Yahoo]

  • The judge in charge of Jerry Sandusky's trial denied a motion to dismiss the rape and sexual abuse charges against him, leaving all 52 counts of the indictment against the former Penn State coach intact. His trial starts Monday. [AP]

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at dbennett at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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