The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, will be contested at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday.  Six colts who ran in the Kentucky Derby will return for the Preakness including the top two finishers I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister. Also returning are the fourth and fifth place finishers Went the Day Well and Creative Cause as well as also-rans Daddy Nose Best and Optimizer. The remainder of the field will be made up of unproven colts and minor stakes winners that would be a shock should they come anywhere near a winner’s circle on Saturday.

In recent years, the Preakness has been the most predictable of the Triple Crown races with only three winners since 2000 paying more than $10 for a $2 win bet.  During that same period the Kentucky Derby has had eleven win payouts over $10 and the Belmont Stakes has had nine.  Another thing to consider is colts that compete in the Derby tend to win the Preakness.  Since 1997, only three Preakness winners did not run in the Derby.  If the trends hold, the winner of this year’s Preakness will be one of the six that ran in the Derby and will go off at odds of less than 4 to 1.

Here is a closer look at the eleven who will line up for the 2012 Preakness Stakes:

<strong>Bodemeister</strong>

<em>Morning Line Odds: 8-5</em>

While I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby, more attention is being paid to second place finisher Bodemeister.  In fact, Bodemeister was made the morning line favorite in this year’s Preakness.  From a pace perspective, he ran one of the most impressive Kentucky Derbys in history.  He set a blistering pace and only lost by a length and a half.  In perusing the past performances of the field for the Preakness, there are no other colts with early speed so Bodemeister should have an easier time of it on the lead.  This anticipated pace scenario makes him the one to beat when the gates open on Saturday.

<strong>I’ll Have Another</strong>

<em>Morning Line Odds: 5-2</em>

I’ll Have Another, the second choice on the morning line, has been perfect in 2012 and enters the Preakness as the only one with a shot at sweeping the Triple Crown.  He shipped to Pimlico soon after his Derby win and reports from the scene say he has trained brilliantly over the track.  In looking at his past performances, he has the ability to press a fast pace, so watch for him to run close to pacesetter Bodemeister from the start.  The question is: Will he have what it takes to make the lead if Bodemesiter is able to set a more reasonable pace in the Preakness?

<strong>Went the Day Well</strong>

<em>Morning Line Odds: 6-1</em>

While Bodemeister has received all the attention for his valiant but losing effort in the Derby, Went the Day Well also ran a tremendous race to finish fourth.  In only his fifth career start, he ran into trouble early in the race and around the first turn. Jockey John Velazquez had to check twice, literally pull back on the reins, when other horses cut into his path.  He was eighteen lengths from the leaders with only three beaten when they turned into the backstretch.  Just a few hundred yards from the finish, he was moving as fast as any horse in the field, and ended up only two and a half lengths away from the winner in the end.  He will get a better trip in the Preakness and could be in a prime position to make a winning move in the stretch.

<strong>Creative Cause</strong>

<em>Morning Line Odds: 6-1</em>

The California-based Creative Cause is as game a race horse as any among this year’s 3-year-olds.  He showed his class in the Derby making it to third in the deep stretch before being passed by Went the Day Well and Dullahan.  He finished fifth just three lengths behind the winner.  He will run well in the Preakness, as he always does, but it’s hard to figure him turning the tables on the three that finished in front of him in the Derby.

<strong>Teeth of the Dog</strong>

<em>Morning Line: 15-1</em>

Teeth of the Dog is the lone entry that did not run in the Derby with a chance to fill out the bottom of trifecta and superfecta tickets.  He made his graded stakes debut in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial where he finished third at odds of 53 to 1.  He comes into this race as a mystery but his trainer Michael Matz has no reason to embarrass himself with an entry in the Preakness that can’t run.

<strong>Daddy Nose Best</strong>

<em>Morning line: 12-1</em>

After emerging as many racing pundit’s longshot pick leading up to the Kentucky Derby, he ran mid-pack throughout and finished a disappointing tenth. Should he revert to the form he flashed in winning the Sunland Derby in March, he has a chance to fill out the bottom of exotic tickets but he seems a step below the top contenders.

<strong>Zetterholm</strong>

<em>Morning Line: 20-1</em>

Zetterholm has won three of five career races but all of his wins have come in races restricted to horses bred in New York.  The Preakness is a monumental jump in class and it’s hard to comprehend him being competitive against this group.

Optimizer,

Cozzetti,

Tiger Walk,

Pretension

Morning Line: 30-1

The four colts listed on the morning line at 30-1 are all deserving longshots in this year’s field of eleven.

<strong>Betting the 2012 Preakness</strong>

Knowing the lack of early speed in the race, watch for jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard I’ll Have Another to run close behind Bodemeister from the start. With those two clocking what is sure to be a swift pace on the front-end, look for Went the Day Well to put himself in a stalking position behind the leaders and make a big move to run by them both in the stretch.  Creative Cause is the pick to round out the bottom of the superfecta but it might be worthwhile to play some exotic tickets with Teeth of the Dog as well.

1) Went the Day Well

2) I’ll Have Another

3) Bodemeister

4) Creative Cause

For more information, visit the <a href=”http://helloracefans.com/trip-notes/get-a-head-start-on-the-preakness/” target=”_blank”>Hello Race Fans Preakness page</a>. For a quick summary for all of this year’s contenders, check out the <a href=”http://helloracefans.com/handicapping/2012-preakness-cheat-sheet/” target=”_blank”>HRF Preakness Cheat Sheet.</a>

<em>Kevin Martin is the founder of the thoroughbred racing history site <a href=”http://www.colinsghost.org” target=”_blank”>Colin’s Ghost</a> and a contributing editor at <a href=”http://helloracefans.com/” target=”_blank”>Hello Race Fans</a>.</em>

That’s the word from David Cordish, whose company is opening a huge new casino next month in Maryland.

Yet Cordish warns that the expansion of casino gambling can’t go on unchecked forever. A big problem is the attitude of politicians across the country who view casinos as free money.

“I don’t know how we can control the politicians; they certainly don’t understand the word ‘oversaturation,’” Cordish said. “They think you can have casinos like Starbucks.”

If that attitude continues, Cordish said, “it’s going to implode on them.”

The expansion of casino gambling has continued rapidly over the last several years, nowhere more fiercely than in the Northeast. There is serious disagreement within the industry as to whether the market is oversaturated or whether there is room for further growth. But most agree it is tougher to do business in the Northeast casino market than it ever has been before.

The Cordish Company’s Maryland Live!, opening on June 6, will have 4,750 slot machines and cost $500 million.

“Thanks, David, for bringing 4,700 new slots to this market,” joked Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Caesars Entertainment, which owns casinos in Atlantic City and Pennsylvania. “That’s great news for us.”

Cordish said the casino market needs the stability of knowing how many operators there are going to be, particularly with the 67 percent tax Maryland imposes on its casinos.

He said the state will have four casinos with more slot machines “than anything in Las Vegas. It’s an experiment that nobody knows how it’s going to turn out. A contest I don’t want to win is Maryland will probably be the king of the oversaturated market with the highest tax rate. It’s a real problem.

“What happens when you put mega-casinos close together is they generally not only oversaturate the market, they don’t work,” Cordish said. In the Washington D.C. region soon, he added, “you’ll have four of the largest casinos in the country operating within a short drive of one another.”

But new casinos keep coming. Timothy Wilmott, president of Penn National Gaming, which has 26 casinos nationwide, said the company is interested in new markets in Massachusetts and Texas, and is opening new casinos in Ohio soon.

At the East Coast Gaming Congress, held at the newly opened Revel casino, executives from Atlantic City casinos said offering non-gambling amenities is key to surviving the cutthroat market, particularly in the northeast.

Tony Rodio, CEO of Tropicana Entertainment Inc., said the industry, and especially Atlantic City, needs to play up the other offerings that don’t involve gambling. He said the Tropicana in Atlantic City is fiercely going after mid-week meeting and convention business.

Marrandino cited the new $20 million “Do AC!” advertising campaign that Atlantic City recently launched, noting it deliberately did not show any gambling activities. That was to stress all the other things there are to do in the resort, he said.

Scott Butera is president of the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, which owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which also has been hurt by expanded competition in the northeast.

“There’s a feeling you just want to click your ruby slippers together and say, ‘There’s no place like home,’ and things will go back to the way they were,” Butera said. “That’s never going to happen.”

The solution is to “create a sense of urgency. When survival is the issue, people will rally.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Celtics captain put in 24 points in Boston’s 101-91 Game 3 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia, putting his knee injury behind him and getting aggressive when it came to pretty much every aspect of the game.

“Whether I shot the ball well or not, everything I was going to do was being with aggression,” Pierce said.

Aggressive might be an understatement. Pierce was in attack mode early on, even if his shots weren’t falling. Early in the first quarter, he missed four shots from close range, but it was the fact he fought for the three put-backs in the paint that showed he was determined to make a difference after scoring just seven points in Boston’s Game 2 loss.

He continued to go strong to the basket, following up his early misses with two ferocious dunks. Pierce finishing with nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He ended up hitting six of his 17 attempts from the floor, but did most of his damage at — and getting to — the free throw line. After just two trips to the charity stripe on Monday, Pierce found his way to the line 14 times in Game 3, scoring 11 of his points at the line.

Special Coverage: NBA Playoffs

He made it known to all of Philly when he was making his way to the line, following each drive to the hoop with an aggressive scream that would make Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” jealous.

“Everything I was going to do was going to be aggressive because they were really collapsing on me on the down-screens, on my jumpers,” said Pierce. “I just tried to get to the hole and I was able to get to the line; able to get to the rim a number of times. It’s something I have to continue to do.”

“Paul is just a grinder,” head coach Doc Rivers said following the win. “He really is. You look at him at times and you wonder, ‘How is this guy getting open?’ He just has great fundamentals. He never does it with speed. He just knows how to play basketball. He’s a throwback guy, that he knows how to play basketball. We jokingly call him our ‘professional scorer’ and that’s what he is in a lot of ways.”

“[Pierce] played great for us tonight,” said point guard Rajon Rondo, who scored 23 points of his own while dishing out 14 assists. “Paul has been struggling scoring, but he has been doing the intangibles. On those [first-quarter] drives, he didn’t get some calls early in the game and thought they were fouls, so he went out and was aggressive and finished strong.”

Recap: Thunder Go Up 2-0 On Lakers

Pierce had been just 5-for-20 in the series in the first two games, but helped the Celtics send a message as they took a 2-1 series lead. While he only added four assists, he credited the team’s ball movement for getting the offense going.

“Our offense finally came alive,” Pierce said. “We moved the ball. We knew that’s what we were going to have to do to score 100 points.”

“We just wanted to come out and establish who we are as a team,” Pierce said.

They certainly did that. Now they just need to keep it going on Friday night.

Box Score | Playoffs Schedule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to take a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum’s hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.

Game 2 Photo Gallery (Photo:Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

After struggling throughout the second half, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Scott Brooks called timeout following Bynum’s basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.

James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.

Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant’s jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.

Bryant couldn’t connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.

Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn’t get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose – failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.

The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace’s long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.

Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win.

Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers’ last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.

The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating back to the franchise’s days in Seattle.

In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Lakers started inching away early in the fourth quarter while Westbrook was on the bench.

Bryant drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining – the Lakers’ largest lead to that point.

Westbrook returned then but only provided the briefest of sparks for the struggling Oklahoma City offense, and Bynum’s second straight basket – on a left-handed hook shot at the left block – made it 75-68 with 2:09 to play.

Until that point, Oklahoma City had made only 7 of 27 shots in the second half while committing eight turnovers.

After getting ripped apart by the Thunder’s pick-and-roll attack and giving up 119 points in Game 1, the Lakers made it an emphasis to put up more resistance in the rematch and it showed. Matt Barnes shuffled back and forth around three Nick Collison screens to contest Harden’s jumper and preserve the Lakers’ 22-21 lead after one quarter.

The Lakers’ defense was at its best just after halftime as they got out of a 48-45 deficit by holding Oklahoma City scoreless for the first 4 minutes and allowing just two baskets in the first 8 minutes. But Los Angeles still couldn’t create any sort of a cushion and Westbrook’s wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner – after World Peace airballed a similar shot on the opposite end – had the Thunder back within 57-56 with 3:31 left in the third.

Notes: The NBA on Wednesday fined Devin Ebanks $25,000 for actions related to his Game 1 ejection and Bynum $15,000 for failing to speak to reporters Tuesday. Bynum, who has had recent disciplinary issues within the team, talked at the Lakers’ morning shootaround Wednesday and called it a make up for skipping the previous day. “I think he’s learning. Is he going to be a perfect citizen the rest of his career? I don’t know,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s bound to make mistakes. I think everybody makes mistakes.” … World Peace has said he supported Scott Brooks to become Sacramento’s coach back in 2007, when Brooks had been an assistant under Eric Musselman. “Little does he know, if I would have got the job, I was going to ask for him to be traded,” Brooks joked. He then called World Peace, or Ron Artest at the time, the third-best two-way player at the time behind Bryant and Kevin Garnett. … Harden caught World Peace with an inadvertent elbow to the face in the first quarter.

A spare tire from that accident flew over the concrete divider and was the cause of another accident.

“The debris went onto the northbound side when a van stopped for it,” said NHP Trooper Loy Hixson. “A Chevy vehicle stopped for the van and then unfortunately a Saturn was unable to stop in time and collided into the rear of the Chevy.”

Both directions of U.S. 95 were closed for several hours this morning, but have since reopened.

It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.

David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique’s shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night.

“It’s a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We’re happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn’t happen.

“We’ll take 1-1.”

For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn’t provide the necessary effort to get it done.

New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again.

“You need to improve as a hockey team every game,” said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.

Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.

Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter’s deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.

Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round.

“Mr. Clutch? I don’t know about that,” Clarkson said. “I’m going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It’s just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good.”

New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York.

“That team blocks so many shots,” Clarkson said. “It’s unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us.”

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.

New Jersey got even at 2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn’t drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York’s power play in the third.

Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.

The Devils kept the pressure on the Rangers at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.

“It was a much different reaction when we went down by a goal than it was in the first game,” Parise said. “We didn’t change the way we played, and I think that was a big difference. We were comfortable with how we were playing.

“All I think they got was really on their power play.”

After spending much of the first trapped in their own end, the Rangers rebounded to erase their early deficit and briefly take the lead thanks to the previously inept power play.

With Alexei Ponikarovsky off for interference, Staal fired a shot that sailed wide of the net and struck the back boards before popping back in front and pinballing into the net off Salvador and Brodeur at 2:23. The goal was originally credited to Derek Stepan, who was in front, but the puck managed to miss him both on the way toward the net and on the bounce back.

“I saw most of the pucks, but the Rangers came out hard,” Brodeur said. “They were around me a lot, and there were some bad bounces. It’s such a tough place to play sometimes here. There are bad bounces, and the boards are terrible.”

Staal nearly netted another moments later when he ripped a drive that Brodeur had to lunge fully to his left to snare with his glove.

Kreider, the rookie from Boston College, scored for the second straight game to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 12:19. Anton Stralman let go a shot from above the right circle that ticked Kreider’s stick and fluttered past Brodeur for the rookie’s fourth goal. He had to wait to get it because it was first given to Stralman before being changed during a commercial break.

But that was hardly the longest delay of the night. Before Kreider’s power-play goal, the action was stopped for about eight minutes as arena workers struggled to get the door to the Devils’ penalty box opened. Travis Zajac stood patiently as he waited to have a seat in the box. He even managed to laugh as did New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer and the usually stoic and agitated Tortorella.

Zajac, who first was sent to the Rangers’ box, stayed in New Jersey’s sin bin for only 1:47 before Kreider scored the Rangers’ second power-play goal of the night.

New York registered the first six shots of the period before New Jersey had its first about eight minutes in, but the teams were even at 17 through 40 minutes.

Lundqvist had a bit of glove magic of his own midway through the second when a shot by Anton Volchenkov was deflected by Kovalchuk but tracked and grabbed by Lundqvist.

The Devils got their elusive first goal of the series, and the all-important lead in the game, when Kovalchuk connected on the power play late in the first period.

After Brian Boyle was sent off for slashing Parise, the Devils continued their puck-possession prowess in the Rangers’ end. New Jersey moved the puck all around the zone in search of a clean shot that could get past the diving New York defense and perhaps challenge Lundqvist, who made 21 saves in the series-opening win.

Marek Zidlicky curled with the puck to the center of the blue line and slid a pass down to the left circle to Kovalchuk, who calmly and patiently drifted in and snapped a shot up and under the crossbar in the upper corner of the net for his sixth goal of the playoffs and fourth on the power play.

“We had to keep going to the net, and I think we were doing some good things,” Clarkson said. “We’ve been playing some good hockey and we’ve got to continue to do it. That is a big win for us.”

The Devils didn’t record a shot on goal until 6:01 in when Patrik Elias put a wrist shot in on Lundqvist, but New Jersey finished the first period with an 8-5 edge in shots — despite having six more blocked by the Rangers.

Whether Brodeur was kidding or not about wanting Rangers to be injured by blocking shots, the home team wasn’t deterred from getting in front of drives. New York forward Brandon Prust was doing a bit of a dance in front of the dangerous Kovalchuk, trying to deny any potential drive, even though he was defending without a stick.

“We have to try to get in lanes,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. “Try to limit their time with the puck. If we do that, they are not going to have time to shoot.”

When Kovalchuk finally scored later in the period, he let out a big yell — part celebration and an exclamation of relief — as he skated in front of the glass behind the net.

“We have built some momentum,” Brodeur said. “And now, we have to try to take that into our building, and make our building a tough place to play.”

NOTES: The Rangers were 10 for 61 (16.4 percent) on the power play in the postseason before Wednesday. This marked the second time they netted a man-advantage goal in consecutive games, but the fourth time they scored two in a game. … The Devils returned defenseman Peter Harrold to the lineup and sat rookie Adam Larsson. Harrold replaced Larsson in the lineup late in the season and started the first nine postseason games. Larsson played in the previous five games.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The 80 wounded warriors and their families are enjoying an all-expense-paid vacation at the Palazzo, with first-class accommodations, various activities and a performance by the Blue Man Group.

Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Palazzo, is picking up the tab.  The vets will be in town through Saturday.

The first took place just before 12:30 this morning near Tropicana and Mountain Vista.  A second stabbing happened a short time later near Tropicana and Nellis.

And soon after, a third stabbing took place near Mountain Vista and Ramrod inHenderson.  Four people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police are looking for two suspects who may have been driving an older white Chevy truck.

Sandoval and members of his cabinet will meet with business owners across Nevada, including stops in Las Vegas,Carson City,Ren oand Elko.

Despite higher sales and a decline in unemployment, Sandoval says his administration will “remain focused” on improving economic conditions.

Members of Gov. Sandoval’s cabinet will be at the following places Thursday, May, 17th:

The Director of the Department of Transportation Susan Martinovich will tour Dig This in Las Vegas at 10am;

the Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development Steve Hill will tour Vanguard Integrity Professionals in Las Vegas at 3pm;

and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Jim Guthrie, will tour the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health with Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones at 4pm in Las Vegas.

The “Review-Journal” says Ron Paul supporters led thecountyGOPto back a resolution, calling for the resignation of RNC chief Reince Preibus because he helped Mitt Romney while the Texas congressman remains in the presidential race.

In response, national Republicans plan to fund their own “TeamNevada” offices to help Romney.

An RNC spokesman says Priebus is, quote, “100 percent committed” to defeating President Obama in November.

The “Review-Journal” says in a sworn statement filed this week, the grandmother of one-year-old Jeremiah Shahan claimed she never intended to turn over “Onion” to animal control officers.

Last week, a judge ruled that Henderson officials could put down the six-year-old dog, after he fatally attacked the boy in April.

An animal rights group is fighting to save “Onion,” and have him live out his life in a sanctuary in Colorado.

The 71-year-old man was heading north on Boulder Highway at Flamingo around 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, when he was forced to the ground and ejected from the bike.  Police say a dump truck then ran over the man and killed him.

The truck left the scene, but was later found and processed for evidence.  It was the second deadly crash in the area in less than 24 hours.

Late Tuesday night, a pedestrian was killed by a suspected drunk driver at Flamingo and Nellis.

Earlier this evening, KXNT reporter Samantha Stone was with the Clark County School District Board of trustees when they voted to adopt a final budget that reflects the layoffs.

Click here to read the full report.

In Philadelphia, Kevin Garnett scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds as the Boston Celtics ripped the 76ers 107-91 in Philadelphia to take a two-games-to-one lead in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Rajon Rondo (RAH’-zhahn RAHN’-doh) finished with 23 points, 14 assists and six rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 24 points and 12 boards to the lopsided win. The Sixers were outscored 61-33 over the second and third quarters after scoring 33 in the first period.

Updated sports scores provided by The Associated Press.

© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

]]> http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2012/05/16/vlog-this-the-nba-playoffs/feed/ 0 http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2012/05/16/clark-county-school-board-approves-layoffs/ http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2012/05/16/clark-county-school-board-approves-layoffs/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 03:42:27 +0000 Samantha Stone http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/?p=66606 In a contentious meeting that saw both sides walk out at some point, the Clark County School District Board of trustees voted on Wednesday evening to adopt a final budget that reflects layoffs of more than one thousand classroom employees.]]> (LAS VEGAS CBS KXNT)  In a contentious meeting that saw both sides walk out at some point, the Clark County School District Board of trustees voted on Wednesday evening to adopt a final budget that reflects the impending layoffs of more than one thousand classroom employees.

More than 150 teachers packed the district’s board room, breaking into cheers and applause for speakers who supported their union’s position, or chants and coughing fits to express their disagreement with others.

The board briefly vacated the chamber when teachers began to clap and chant in support of Clark County Education Association President Ruben Murillo, who made a brief speech to the board.  Board president Linda Young asked several times for the teachers to come to order. When the audience did not quiet down, the members got up and left the room.

The budget briefing got underway when the board returned.

Less than an hour later, in response to audible comments from the audience during the budget presentation, Young again asked the teachers to come to order. When she instructed them to behave as they would want their students to behave in the classroom, most of the teachers stood up and left the room, breaking into chants as they made their exit into the hallway outside.

Before the vote, some of the trustees expressed disappointment that an acrimonious atmosphere has developed between the district and the union. Young suggested that the union had regressed 25 years.

Outside the building, union President Murillo said the teachers had walked out because they were angry and frustrated.  He noted that teacher morale is low.

District spokesperson Amanda Fulkerson told KXNT the district has until the second week of June to finalize the layoff list and distribute pink slips.  The process is mandated by contract to give deference to senior teachers.  The district would prefer not to use seniority to guide the layoff process, and will ask the union to renegotiate the terms of that provision.

Hour 1:

North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck talks about the possible lay off of Fire Fighters and North Las Vegas Police Officers.

Hour 2:

The Clark County School District is getting ready to lay off 1,015 education positions. Callers voice their opinion regarding this issue.

Hour 3:

This event will held in conjunction with the The Venetian | The Palazzo semi-annual “Salute Our Troops” multi-day event and will be a one-of-a-kind FREE hiring fair for both employers and job seekers.

This Capital One-sponsored hiring event is being conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the The Venetian | The Palazzo in partnership with the Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Services (DOL VETS), the Student Veterans of America, the Las Vegas Chamber, the Henderson Chamber, the North Las Vegas Chamber, the Nevada Committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Recruit Military, Hire Heroes USA, NBC News, and other local partners.

May 17, 2012
9 am to 2 pm
The Venetian | The Palazzo
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV

Registration
Job seekers click here.
Employers click here.
If you need assistance registering, please contact hiringourheroes@uschamber.com
Click here to view the event flyer.

According to E Online, this will be Lopez’s final season on Fox’s hit show.

“She’s just too busy,” a source told E Online.

Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told TMZ Wednesday that he would not want Lopez to leave the show.

“We want her back. I want her back,” Lythgoe told TMZ.

The 42-year-old actress and performer reached a deal to be a judge on the singing comptition in 2010 after Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi left.

Lopez is earning a reported $20 million for her role on the program this year.

Last month, Marc Anthony filed for divorce from Lopez after being married for seven years.

Head of Communications Amanda Fulkerson said the district had tough decisions to make. “This is something we were forced to do. We will have to need reduce our employees by 1,015 classroom postions. This is not something we want to do.”

KXNT learned that the worst-case scenario will take place. “100% of our schools will be affected”, Fulkerson said.

The district will speak more in-depth Wednesday at 5 p.m. Stay tuned to KXNT for more details.

Playing for the sixth time in 11 days, Los Angeles gave San Antonio its toughest first half of the playoffs before fading fast. And unlike their stunning Game 1 comeback at Memphis in the first round, the Clippers didn’t have the wind this time.

Manu Ginobili added 22 points for the Spurs, who’ve won 15 in a row. It’s the longest winning streak sustained in the NBA playoffs since the 2004 Spurs won 17 straight.

“It’s the playoffs. It’s going to be physical. We knew that coming in,” Duncan said. “We just expected to attack the basket as much as possible.”

Eric Bledsoe led the Clippers with 23 points.

Game 2 is Thursday night.

That gives the beat-up and banged-up Clippers one full day of rest — which is all the time they’ve had to recover between games for the past week and a half.

Los Angeles couldn’t even fly home first after knocking out the Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 7 of a grueling series that had the Clippers hobbling next to Texas. Blake Griffin scored 15 points in 28 minutes a day after estimating his sprained left knee had him feeling “80 percent” at best.

The Clippers said the injury is bad enough that their All-Star and leading scorer might be missing up to two weeks if this were the regular season. But unlike in Game 7 on Sunday, Griffin didn’t take a seat in the fourth quarter until the Spurs were safely ahead in the final minutes.

Rookie Kawhi Leonard added 16 points, hitting all three of his 3s, and Danny Green added 15 points for the Spurs.

The marquee matchup of the series — All-Star point guards Tony Parker and Chris Paul — was a fizzle. Paul, who ended the first round with an aching hip, scored just six points and didn’t make a single basket in the second half. Parker had seven points and 11 assists.

Caron Butler scored 15 points and Nick Young had 13 for the Clippers. Los Angeles cut the deficit to single digits with a 10-burst in the fourth quarter before San Antonio, which hasn’t lost in a month, ran away with its 11th double-digit victory during this dominating winning streak.

The Clippers didn’t even need San Antonio’s help getting more bumps and bruises: Mo Williams, already playing with his sore right fingers taped, took a lump on the head when teammate Reggie Evans kicked him with an errant foot after Williams fell on his back in the lane.

Williams wobbled when he tried standing, sat back down, and the Clippers burned a timeout. He never left the game, but the Clippers weren’t getting any fresher.

Parker, meanwhile, finally felt the hard knocks and slow-him-down shoves that Utah repeatedly promised but never delivered in the first round. Sometimes, the All-Star looked in vain to officials when the whistle didn’t blow. When that didn’t work once in the first quarter, he kept jabbering about a no-call on the last possession while lining up to shoot free throws on the current one.

Popovich, pacing and sensing an impending technical foul, silenced his leading scorer.

“Tony!” Popovich snapped from the sideline. “Shoot!”

Parker waved off the NBA Coach of the Year — he was under control. But his frustrations didn’t end there. He was 1 for 9 despite playing 38 minutes, scoring all but two of his points at the foul line.

Notes: Before this became the deepest Spurs team yet under Popovich, Butler said he came so close to signing with the Spurs after the lockout that he canceled a flight to San Antonio when the Clippers counteroffered. “They made a great pitch,” Butler said. …Leonard finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, the highest finish for a Spurs player since Ginobili finished fourth in 2003. Said Popovich: “He’s done a good enough job to make me trust him to be in the starting lineup. I’m happy for him.”

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, George Hill added 15 and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night.

LeBron James scored 28 points for Miami and Dwyane Wade finished with 24, but both missed big chances for the Heat late. James missed two free throws with 54.3 seconds left and Miami down one, and Wade was short on a layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining.

Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer to tie bounced away on the final play, and the series was tied 1-1.

Danny Granger scored 11 points and Paul George added 10 for Indiana, which took advantage of Heat forward Chris Bosh’s absence and outrebounded Miami 50-40.

Game 3 is Thursday in Indianapolis.

James had a chance to give Miami the lead with 1:22 left, but his shot was blocked from behind by George, who was fouled two seconds later. He missed both free throws, keeping the Indiana lead at 76-75. And after Wade missed a jumper, James was fouled by Granger — his sixth — battling for the rebound with 54.3 seconds remaining.

James couldn’t connect on either, and the Heat didn’t score again.

Bosh is expected to miss the rest of the series with a strained abdominal muscle. Without him, James and Wade combined for 52 points — and no other Miami player scored more than five.

A dreadful third quarter by Miami — 3 for 17 shooting — allowed Indiana to lead by as much as 11, before the emotions picked up considerably in the fourth.

Wade was steaming when he missed a shot after trying to create contact with Indiana’s Dahntay Jones with 9:53 left. As Wade argued, Jones went the other way and set Leandro Barbosa up for a score that put the Pacers up 63-56.

Chalmers turned the ball over on the next possession, and as the Pacers took off for what set up as a 2-on-none break, Wade caught Darren Collison from behind and knocked him over. A flagrant-1 was called, Collison hit both free throws, the Indiana lead was nine and tensions were suddenly high.

It all seemed to spark Miami.

The Heat scored the next six points, James — who got hit in the head by Granger with 7:25 left, sparking a bit of shoving that led to double-technicals given to both players — added a putback off an offensive rebound and Wade did the same about a minute later, getting Miami within 69-66 with 5:57 left.

James missed a free throw that would have tied it with 4:30 remaining, but after George got the rebound, James dove in to create a jump ball situation. The MVP easily won the tap, sending it to Wade, whose bank shot over West put Miami back on top 72-71.

Barbosa scored on the next Indiana possession. The Pacers weren’t rattled, and left celebrating minutes later.

Indiana scored 16 points in the first seven minutes of the first half, then scored 17 in the next 17 minutes. And even after a drought like that, Miami’s lead was only 38-33 at the break.

George missed four shots in a 60-second span early on, setting the tone for an icy-cold half by the Pacers. Indiana was up 16-9 midway through the first when the Heat went to a smaller lineup that paid quick dividends.

Three baskets at the rim — a layup by Wade, then James firing a pass to Turiaf for a dunk, followed by a Wade touch pass to James for another slam — erased most of the early deficit, and defense did the rest. Indiana missed 24 of 29 shots in one stretch, and after Hibbert used his size advantage to get three shots in the first 1:11, he only got two attempts over the rest of the half.

Miami was 0-for-7 on shots that would have pushed its margin to double digits in the first half, continuing a trend from Game 1. Neither team ever led the series opener by more than nine either, and when George made a 3-pointer with 6:09 left in the third, the Pacers had pulled into a 46-all tie. A steal and dunk by George followed on the next possession, putting the Pacers back on top.

Before long, the Pacers had that first 10-point edge of the series. Collison’s jumper with 1:29 left in the third put Indiana up 59-49, and the margin was 61-52 entering the fourth.

For as bad as Indiana’s first half was offensively, Miami’s third quarter was equally dreadful — the Heat were outscored 28-14 on 3-for-17 shooting in the period, the third-worst shooting effort by the reigning East champs in any quarter this season.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Holly Petraeus are scheduled to meet with service members Wednesday at Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas.

Holly Petraeus is director of the Office of Service Member Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Petraeus and Masto are expected to dine with service members and then hold a town hall for military families on predatory lending practices and other financial issues.

Petraeus was a military spouse for 37 years. She held a similar event in Colorado on Tuesday.

Her husband served as the top U.S. commander in Iraq and now heads the CIA.

Los Angeles dominated the opener and was even better in Game 2, withstanding Phoenix’s initial push and string of penalties for a 2-0 series lead.

Dwight King scored his third goal in two games and Quick tied a team record with his third career playoff shutout to give the Kings a dominating lead heading into Game 3 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

The Kings have won nine straight road playoff games in two seasons, matching the NHL record set by the New York Islanders from 1982-83.

The Islanders won the Stanley Cup both of those years.

Quick matched Felix Potvin’s team record for playoff shutouts and Carter finished off his first career playoff hat trick in the third period, securing the Kings’ seventh straight win overall.

The Coyotes played better early and fell apart late, becoming frustrated after being unable to contain the more-skilled Kings.

Phoenix was hit with a string of penalties starting late in the second period, including a game misconduct to captain Shane Doan for boarding Kings center Trevor Lewis. Martin Hanzal also received one for boarding Dustin Brown in the third period and the Coyotes had 13 penalties for 56 minutes — most coming after the final 5 minutes of the second period.

The Kings won the opener 4-2 by outplaying and outhustling Phoenix.

Knowing Phoenix’s makeup, the Kings figured to get more of a pushback in Game 2.

And the Coyotes were much more aggressive early, winning some of the individual battles they lost in Game 1 while creating some decent scoring chances.

Even with all of Phoenix’s hard work and a couple of line changes by coach Dave Tippett, the Kings still managed to score first. King got it, redirecting a shot by Drew Doughty that beat Mike Smith stick side late in the period.

Hard work in the corners by Mike Richards set up Los Angeles’ second goal, by Carter. He muscled the puck past Smith’s glove side as he was going down on a feed from Dustin Penner that made it 2-0 early in the second period.

“I’ve been working hard in practice to get my game where I wanted it,” Carter said.

Then things completely unraveled for the Coyotes.

Doan, who was suspended three games for elbowing earlier in the season, was given a game misconduct and a five-minute boarding penalty for ramming Lewis from behind. Defenseman Keith Yandle was already in the penalty box and Daymond Langkow joined him after a slashing penalty, giving Los Angeles a two-man advantage for more than 2 minutes.

Brown was sent off for diving on a slash by Smith, but that didn’t bother the Kings. Carter scored his second a few seconds later on a redirect of a shot by Anze Kopitar, putting Los Angeles up 3-0.

“It’s no secret we been struggling a bit with the power play and to get some goals will give us confidence on it,” Carter said. “We have some pretty skilled guys out there on the power play.”

With the Coyotes racking up penalties seemingly on every shift, Carter finished them off with his fifth career hat trick, punching in a rebound with the Kings on a two-man advantage after Hanzal’s hit on Brown.

Notes: The Kings were without D Colin Fraser, out of the lineup attending to a family matter. … Coyotes LW Ray Whitney played in his 100th career playoff game. D Michael Stone played his first with Adrian Aucoin still out of the lineup and David Schlemko still not fully healthy. … Rocker Alice Cooper, who lives in the Valley, attended the game. … The last team to win seven straight road playoff games in one season was Chicago in 2010.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and members of his cabinet will be fanning out across Nevada on Thursday, visiting businesses to get their perspective on jobs and the economy.

The first-term Republican governor has made economic development a cornerstone of his administration.

Sandoval says Nevada businesses are key to the state’s economic recovery and he wants to hear how they are faring.

The governor intends to tour a business in Sparks.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and members of the governor’s cabinet will visit businesses in Carson City, Elko, Reno, Winnemucca and Las Vegas at various times throughout the day.

Exact times and locations were not immediately released by the governor’s office.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

A new survey by Priceline.com finds the North Strip ahead of Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue area.

The south end of the Vegas Strip ranks fifth, behind midtown New York City and San Diego’s downtown area.

Downtown Vegas is 13th on the list for the official start of the summer travel season, based on hotel room booking requests.

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Metro Police say 43-year-old Ricardo Martinez was involved in a head-on collision with an SUV early Sunday morning at Flamingo Road and Koval Lane.  Martinez, a North Las Vegas resident, died from blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

Four people inside the SUV were hospitalized with various injuries.

A few years ago Drew Stevens and his son, Josh were together when an accident took Josh’s life a week before his 13^th birthday. At that moment Drew knew Josh would make an impact on others’ lives. “I knew Josh was too special of a child to just not have him here anymore.”

That’s when Drew, his wife Barbara and other caring friends decided to start the Josh Stevens Foundation aimed at mirroring the life that Josh lived before that tragic day. And nothing defined Josh more than being kind. The Josh Stevens Foundation has roughly 200 schools part of the “Be Kind” project; aimed at inspiring all of us to be kind, more often.

“From the time he was born he was extraordinarily kind. That was the one thing we could not allow to somehow disappear and be forgotten.”, said Drew.

The listing service ForeclosureRadar says notice of default filings in the Las Vegas Valley fell nearly 30% in April, compared to a year earlier.

Sales of foreclosure properties are also down, with investors snapping up nearly 51% of available foreclosed homes in Nevada.

Terry Lamuraglia claimed he was fired in 2008 for an aborted plan to leave dozens of parks unguarded during the Memorial Day holiday.  Lamuraglia also alleged he refused to discriminate against a gay manager who made then-parks director Leonard Cash feel “uncomfortable.”

Commissioner Steve Sisolak was the only member to vote against the settlement.

Buck told the audience, many of whom were city workers, that a combination of foreclosures, lower property taxes, and a small share of the c-tax had created a “perfect storm” for a budget crisis in North Las Vegas.  The c-tax (consolidated) is a revenue source made up of various tax streams collected outside of the city, and distributed according to a formula Buck says has slighted North Las Vegas by $100 million over the years.

A letter to City Manager Tim Hacker from  the Teamsters Local 14 indicated the union will come back to the table and try to reach further concessions.  Teamsters represents all city employees except police and fire.

The North Las Vegas budget process has oversight from the Nevada Department of Taxation, which takes financial control of local jurisdictions in cases of insolvency.  Nevada does not allow cities to file for bankruptcy.

Hour 1:

Does Ron Paul’s decision change the voting landscape for conservatives? Callers tell us if it changes anything.

Hour 2:

Callers tell us if they support Ron Paul or Mitt Romney.

Hour 3:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Clark County coroner’s office is identifying a 16-year-old boy killed in a rollover crash on a ramp linking two key Las Vegas-area freeways.

Isaac Sam Polu of Las Vegas was killed when the Ford Focus he was driving crashed a little after 6 a.m. Monday on the curved ramp from the eastbound 215 Beltway to southbound Interstate 15.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremie Elliott says alcohol was a factor.

An 18-year-old woman who was ejected from the vehicle is in critical condition, while a 24-year-old man has less severe injuries.

Elliott says it appears all three were from Las Vegas.

 (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A 94-page document filed Tuesday in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas alleges Simpson was so badly represented by his trial and prior appellate lawyers that he deserves a new trial.

Almost all of the 22 grounds attorney Patricial Palm cites fault the trial strategy and performance of attorneys Yale Galanter of Miami and Gabriel Grasso of Las Vegas.

Galanter declined immediate comment until he sees the filing.

Grasso did not immediately respond to messages.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Mesquite police officials say that the girl was playing on the side of the river when she fell in about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials say the child went into the water near the Riverside Road bridge that connects Mesquite to Bunkerville. That’s about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas police were called to assist in the extensive search.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

At its inaugural meeting Tuesday, the Greater Sage Grouse Advisory Committee was told the governor’s goal is to have a plan to protect the bird and prevent its listing as an endangered species.

At the same time, the plan needs to balance the various interests of agriculture, energy, mining and local governments, who fear development and rural livelihoods could be jeopardized if the bird is given federal protection.

Sandoval wants a report and recommendations from the committee by the end of July.

The committee is working with a land resource expert and conservationist who helped draft Wyoming’s sage grouse plan.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Clark County firefighter Donald Munn was fired a year ago amid department-wide allegations of sick leave abuse. Under the arbitration order, he must be rehired and repaid any losses in earnings or benefits.

Arbitrator Michael Rappaport says the county didn’t have cause to fire Munn under a union contract.

Munn says he missed work so frequently because he was caring for his handicapped son.

More than 230 Clark County firefighters each missed at least a month’s worth of 24-hour shifts because of sick calls in 2009, and a dozen missed more than three months of work because of sick leave.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.