Betting Picks

Now it gets real. Over the next six weeks, the races on the 2018 Kentucky Derby qualifying schedule take a big jump up on the points scale, with six races awarding 50 points to the winner, and seven awarding 100 points, meaning a win in any of those races will lock up a spot in the Derby gate.

Before you go racing off to the sportsbook to place your bets on the Philadelphia Eagles winning Super Bowl LIII, repeat after me: Super Bowl champions no longer repeat the process. It's happened once since 2000, when the New England Patriots captured Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. But faced with the opportunity to do so against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, the defending champion Patriots dropped the ball.

As certain as death and taxes, from the moment the first puck dropped at the Olympic women's hockey tournament, everyone involved knew it was headed toward one destination - a Canada-USA gold-medal game. The powers of the female game did not disappoint, and they will meet for the title for fifth time in six Olympiads. The USA has not won the gold medal since 1998, Canada winning four straight.

The young Leafs are supposed to be building toward something great, but they seemed to be putting the blocks in place much fast than expected. With an 8-2 slate in their last 10 games, the Leafs have moved to within striking distance of top spot in the Atlantic Division, and should take another step forward against a Florida Panthers team at the end of a long road trip.

There's racing on the holiday Monday at Oaklawn Park with the running of the (G3) Southwest Stakes. A full field of 10 three-year-old colts have been entered to run 1 1/16 miles on the Oaklawn dirt, chasing a purse of $500,000 and valuable 2018 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

One of two qualifying races for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, the El Camino Real Derby is unique in that the horses run the 1 1/8 miles race on the all-weather track at northern California's Golden Gate Fields. The race has drawn a field of nine, and the winner will grab 10 Derby qualifying points.

In a free fall out of playoff contention, the Chicago Blackhawks have lost eight games in a row, and things don't figure to get any easier for the Hawks with the Washington Capitals in town. The Caps have won three straight from the Blackhawks by a combined score of 15-4. They've also taken seven of their eight seven meetings from Chicago, and two of the last three at Chicago.

On an excellent day of racing at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, the $200,000 (G2) Rachel Alexandra Stakes for three-year-old fillies is a qualifier for the 2018 Kentucky Oaks. Eight have been entered to chase the purse money over 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, with a win sealing a spot in the Oaks' lineup.

Launched in 2003 as part of NBA All-Star weekend, the NBA Celebrity Game has proven to be one of the most popular events during this celebration of basketball, bringing to the hardwood actors, comedians, singers and athletes from other skills to showcase their roundball skills. Pehaps the most surprising aspect of the game isn't how many stars have game, but how many Canadian celebs there are who can ball.