Stojakovic is no longshot in this contest
Peja Stojakovic, who won the event in 2002 and 2003, is the 2-1 favorite for the three-point shootout Saturday night in New Orleans. The annual event is part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
Joining Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Mark Price and Jeff Hornacek as a multiple winner of the shootout, Stojakovic will be making his first appearance as a member of the hometown Hornets against a field that will include Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Detroit’s Richard Hamilton, Toronto’s Jason Kapono and Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson. Stojakovic represented Sacramento in his two previous wins.
Kobe Bryant, who pulled out because of a finger injury, was next at 14-5, followed by Nash at 3-1 and Kapono, who defeated Gilbert Arenas in the finals a year ago when playing for Miami, at 17-5. Both Gibson and Hamilton are 5-1.
If a participant’s career three-point shooting percentage is a measuring stick, Kapono should be favored. He has made 46.7% of his long-range attempts, compared to Gibson (.451), Nash (.429), Stojakovic (.404), Nowitzki (.377) and Hamilton (.347).
Horse racing
War Pass, who has yet to make his 2008 debut for trainer Nick Zito, remains the future book favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
War Pass, the undefeated 2-year-old champion who clinched his title with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 27 over a sloppy surface at Monmouth Park, is 3-1 on Bodoglife.com.
Second to War Pass in the Juvenile, Pyro is the 5-1 second choice. He rose to the top on the list of many as the top 3-year-old in the country with a powerful come-from-behind win in the Risen Star on Saturday at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
The shortest prices among the California-based horses are Crown Of Thorns and Into Mischief, both 12-1.
Hockey
Detroit and Columbus, a pair of struggling teams, will get together tonight at Joe Louis Arena.
Despite a four-game losing streak, the Red Wings still easily have the NHL’s best record and it would take a monumental collapse for them not to be seeded No. 1 in the Western Conference when the playoffs begin in April.
Columbus, meanwhile, has dropped three in a row and is trying to keep a playoff berth within sight. The Blue Jackets, defeated, 7-2, by visiting Chicago on Wednesday night, entered Thursday four points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Maybe a road game will help Columbus turn things around. The Blue Jackets have lost five in a row at home.
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