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Arcadia, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Odds-on favorite Calculator ran away down the stretch to capture Saturdays $100,000 Sham Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita. The mile stakes is the first this year leading up to the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4. Trained by Peter Miller and ridden by Elvis Trujillo, Calculator went off as the 3-5 favorite in the eight-horse field. The gray colt settled off the pace but made progress going into the far turn. Owned by Richard Pell, Calculator joined the leaders on the final turn and easily moved to the front entering the stretch. Winless coming into the Sham, Calculator drove down the stretch to break his maiden by six lengths over 21-1 longshot and stablemate Rock Shandy. Finishing third was Pioneerof the West with St. Joe Bay, also trained by Miller, fourth and Papacoolpapacool fifth followed by Hero Ten All, Unblunted and Rockinatten. The time for the mile was 1:34.88 on a fast track. Winning the Sham, part of the Kentucky Derby points system, was worth 10 points for Calculator to gain entry into the Run for the Roses. The 3-year-old added $60,000 to his bankroll. Finally getting to the winners circle in his fifth start brought Calculators earnings to $193,500. Calculator finished third in his career debut at Del Mar on July 19 and fourth three weeks later over the tracks synthetic main track. His two most recent starts were versus Eclipse Award finalist American Pharoah. The gray colt posted a pair of seconds to American Pharoah in the Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 3 and the FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27. Calculator paid $3.20, $2.40 and $2.20. Rock Shandy returned $10.60 and $5.40, and Pioneerof The West paid $6.00 to show. .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. . The 25-year-old Lu, a regular on the Japan LPGA Tour after giving up her LPGA Tour membership in 2010, shot an 8-under 64 in windy, wet conditions at Kintetsu Kashikojima. .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. NEW ORLEANS -- Portland was trailing by three points with under five minutes left in the game and Damian Lillard was determined to keep the Trail Blazers losing streak from reaching five games. Lillard nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game and give Portland the momentum it needed to snap its four-game skid with a 111-103 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. Lillard finished with 27 points, Nicolas Batum added 22 and Wesley Matthews had 20 for the Trail Blazers, who played without All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge. He was sitting out with a back contusion. Anthony Davis scored a career-high 36 points for New Orleans and Brian Roberts added 19. Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon added 16 apiece after both missed one game because of illness. Portland was trailing 94-89 with 7:30 to go in the fourth quarter when Lillard scored the games next seven points, and his jumper with 4:15 gave the Trail Blazers the lead for good at 96-94. "Up to that point I hadnt been able to get it going the entire game," Lillard said. "... Coach Stotts just kept deciding to put me in ball screens and in situations where I could attack; especially late in the game. My shot started to fall. I was able to make some plays and get it going a little bit." Wrapping up a five-game road trip, Portland opened the game on a 10-2 run. From there it became a back-and-forth affair that featured 18 lead changes with no team ever having a double-digit advantage. Davis alley-oop dunk with under 3 seconds to go in the half gave the Pelicans a 55-53 lead at the break. "A much-needed win needless to say," Stotts said. "I was proud of the way we competed and kept focused. ... Everybody that was on the floor tonight rreally had an impact on the game.dddddddddddd." The game was tied 75-75 with 3:36 to go in the third quarter when the Pelicans went on a 6-0 run to grab an 81-75 lead. They stayed in front until midway through the final quarter, when Lillard scored 16 points to lead Portland to victory. Emotional throughout the game, particularly after his jumper gave Portland the lead for good in the fourth quarter, Lillard said the victory was crucial to his teams post-season hopes. "I mean we had lost four games in a row," he said. "Then we finally were able to close a team out in the fourth quarter and come away with the victory. It was a great feeling." New Orleans coach Monty Williams wasnt surprised by Lillards performance. "You know what hes capable of doing," he said. "Some of the stuff is un-guardable like the last 3-pointer he made. Our guys know that when hes going left late game, you know hes going to raise up. We just didnt execute that well. Weve played against him a number of times the past two years so youve got to know what to expect." Davis scored 30-plus points for the sixth time this season "I didnt care about that," he said. "I only care about winning. We lost, so all of that is up to you guys. We just didnt get the stops. I missed some shots. They (Portland) made some shots. We just have to defend. We cant let them score thirty-something points in one quarter. We especially need to defend." NOTES: Davis received the February Kia Community Assist Award in recognition of his community work around NBA All-Star 2014 festivities. ... Davis tied the New Orleans franchise record for most consecutive games with 28-plus points with his 36 Friday night against the Trail Blazers. ' ' '
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