Saddle up for historic ride
Triple Crown bid highlights viewing on busy weekend
American Pharoah will win Saturday’s Belmont Stakes (1:30 p.m., NBC (3)) to become the first horse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown.
At least that’s what Predicteform.com’s computer model forecasts — and last year the website correctly predicted that California Chrome would win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and that Tonalist would take the Belmont.
American Pharoah is the 3-5 favorite in the eight-horse field, with Frosted at 5-1, Materiality at 6-1 and Madefromlucky at 12-1.
Predicteform.com general manager Paul Bessire told Yahoo Sports that American Pharoah is “the clear favorite, just over 50 percent likely to win the race.”
“Based on current betting odds, Madefromlucky is the only horse with decent win bet value,” he said. “With a smaller field and only half of that field competitive, we do not expect quite the excitement of recent years down the stretch, but that is actually good for a chance at a Triple Crown.”
The Belmont is one of the highlights of a loaded weekend sports TV slate that includes the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Finals and French Open men’s and women’s finals. TODAY
Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees (4 p.m., FSW (49)): The bullpen for the first-place Yankees (29-25) has been virtually unhittable this season, as closer Andrew Miller has converted his first 17 save opportunities and setup man Dellin Betances hasn’t allowed an earned run in 29 1/3 innings. The Angels (2826) have lost two straight after a five-game win streak and will try to get back on track behind Jered Weaver, who is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his past five starts.
BEST OF REST: MLB: New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks (6:30 p.m., Prime (50)); NCAA baseball tournament: Super Regionals, Florida State at No. 4 Florida, Game 1 (4:30 p.m., ESPN2 (31)); PGA Tour: The Memorial Tournament, second round (11:30 a.m., TGC (339)). SATURDAY
NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 2 (4:15 p.m., NBC (3)): Chicago scored two goals in less than two minutes in the third period to steal Game 1 — and home-ice advantage — from a young Tampa Bay team that had been 9-0 in the playoffs when scoring first and 7-0 when leading after two periods. The veteran Blackhawks would love nothing more than to head home halfway to their third Stanley Cup title in six years.
BEST OF REST: French Open: women’s final, Serena Williams vs. Lucie Safarova (6 a.m., NBC (3)); MLB: Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals (9 a.m., MLBN (314)), Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals (11 a.m., FS1 (329), Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees (4 p.m., Fox (5)); PGA Tour: The Memorial Tournament, third round (9:30 a.m. TGC (339), noon, CBS (8)). SUNDAY
NBA Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, Game 2 (5 p.m., ABC (13)): Both teams are starving for a championship, as the city of Cleveland hasn’t won a major title since 1964 — when the Browns captured the NFL crown — and the Warriors haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 1975, when they swept the Washington Bullets.
Can four-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James almost single-handedly carry the Cavs to their first title, or will newly minted NBA MVP Steph Curry and Co. be too hot for him to handle? It should be fun to find out.
BEST OF REST: French Open: men’s final, TBD (6 a.m., NBC (3)); MLB: Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees (10 a.m., FSW (49)), St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers (5 p.m., ESPN (30)); PGA Tour: The Memorial Tournament, final round (9 a.m., TGC (339), 11:30 a.m., CBS (8)). Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.