Rachel Alexandra is 8-5 Preakness favorite

Rachel Alexandra was made the early 8-5 favorite Wednesday for the Preakness Stakes, the first filly accorded that status since 1988.

She brings a five-race winning streak into Saturday's 1 3-16-mile race at Pimlico.

Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Calvin Borel, Rachel Alexandra drew the No. 13 post on the far outside.

"It's beautiful. She's going to be able to get position," said Scott Blasi, Asmussen's assistant.

Borel chose to stay on as Rachel Alexandra's regular rider, switching off Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who gets Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.

"Calvin knows this filly so well, I don't …

Hinsdale S.'s pair follow in footsteps

It isn't exactly celebrity softball, but the roster of thesophomore team at Hinsdale South includes pitcher-first basemanGretchen Boerwinkle, whose father Tom was a star for the Bulls andinfielder Misty Soderholm, whose dad Eric played for several majorleague teams including the White Sox.

"Both girls start for the sophomore team and dress for varsitygames," Hinsdale South coach Brenda Whitesell said. "Both fathersare very supportive and attend the games. It is a lot funnier when(Boerwinkle) comes because he is so tall (7-1) that everyone noticeshim."

Whitesell said Boerwinkle has expressed interest in helpingcoach the Hornets' summer team.

"Gretchen …

Swedish court upholds Assange detention order

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a court order to detain WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual molestation.

The 39-year-old Australian, who denies the accusations made by two Swedish women after his visit to the country in August, had appealed two lower court rulings allowing investigators to bring him into custody and issue an international arrest warrant.

He has not been formally charged.

WikiLeaks has angered the U.S. and other governments by publishing almost half a million secret documents about U.S. diplomatic relations and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The search for Assange, whose …

Syrian member: IOC should seek Nobel peace prize

IOC president Jacques Rogge rebuffed a proposal Wednesday from a Syrian member that the Olympic body should campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Samih Moudallal made the recommendation during the general assembly of the International Olympic Committee and received support from Uruguayan member Julio Cesar Maglione.

But Rogge, who has been IOC president since 2001, quickly put the proposal to rest.

"I'm very frank with you," he said. "I don't think that would be a wise thing to do. You don't ask for an honor but you don't refuse it either.

"Deploying diplomatic activities or lobbying activities would definitely not be …

Go figure - Barbie's rival dolly says hello to reality

Wider hips, a thicker waist, bigger feet and larger thighs arenot the things that little girls dream of. But they are the thingslittle girls probably will live with.

Cathy Meredig, a Minneapolis entrepreneur, hopes her newinvention, the Happy To Be Me doll, will bring little girls' dreamsin line with their reality.

Unlike its fashion doll rivals, Meredig's doll will have morerealistic measurements - 36-27-38 vs. 36-18-33 for Barbie - its feetwill be bigger and its legs will be shorter. Just like real women.

Meredig, a computer scientist by profession, spent $100,000 tobring the doll to market after she failed to persuade established toymanufacturers to …

How can utilities effectively and efficiently develop new sources of revenue?

In the next five years, utilities will be investing an unprecedented amount of money in call center services. Some of that investment will be in internal infrastructure while some will be in outsourced alliances. The critical objective for utilities, however, will focus on adopting sophisticated call center strategies in this new era of deregulation, and to achieve their goals of enhancing customer service, improving efficiencies, reducing costs and, ultimately, finding new sources of revenue.

The utility industry's core competency in call center services has historically been in the areas of customer service and collections. Today. the deregulation in the utility industry has …

US study links oil prices to speculation

An independent study of oil markets concludes that speculation by large investors was a primary reason for the surge in oil prices during the first half of the year and for the more recent price declines.

It said investors poured $60 billion into oil futures markets during the first six months of the year as oil prices soared from $95 to $145 a barrel and since then …