History will have to wait at least one more year.

Orb, the Kentucky Derby champion who many hoped would become the first Triple Crown winner in 35 years, finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, as 15-1 longshot Oxbow pulled off a surprise wire-to-wire win at Pimlico.

"It's so special," said Oxbow jockey Gary Stevens, who came out of retirement this year at age 50. "We were kind of flying under the radar after the Derby. Didn't get a lot of respect."

Oxbow trainer D. Wayne Lukas seemed to take pleasure from dashing Orb's Triple Crown hopes.

"I get paid to spoil dreams," Lukas said.

Orb's fate may have been sealed days before the race, when he drew the No. 1 post position along the rail -- only two horses have won the Preakness from that position over the last 63 years. Sure enough, Orb got boxed in against the rail by a pack of horses early in the race, and could never find room to break free.

Meanwhile, Oxbow pulled ahead of the pack and never relinquished the lead.

"When I hit the half-mile pole, I just said, 'Are you kidding me, is this happening?'" said Stevens, who worked for NBC as a racing analyst during his seven-year retirement.

Oxbow finished the 1 3/16th-mile race in 1:57.54. Itsmyluckyday finished second, Mylute finished third and Orb, the 3-5 favorite, finished fourth.

But nobody ever gave Oxbow a serious threat.

It's a landmark win for Lukas: Oxbow's Preakness victory marks the trainer's 14th Triple Crown win, the most ever. He's won the Preakness six times, and the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont four times each. He passed James Fitzsimmons, who has won 13 Triple Crown races.

Jockey Gary Stevens has now notched three wins apiece at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont over his career.

Oxbow's win means the Triple Crown drought continues.

In the lead-up to the Preakness, Orb seemed like a prime candidate to end that drought, and bettors made him a heavy favorite. His breathtaking late push in the Kentucky Derby had people believing: He emerged from the back of the pack down the stretch, blew past a large group of horses and pulled away from the pack for a dominant win. Combined with a pedigree to make race fans drool -- his blood lines includes two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew (1977) and Secretariat (1973) -- many thought the three-year-old colt would take a place among the horse-racing elite.

Instead, he'll become another in a long line of almosts and what-ifs. Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown, and none since Affirmed in 1978.

Orb wasn't the only one trying to make history on Saturday who came up short in Baltimore.

Rosie Napravnik, the jockey riding Mylute, hoped to become the first female jockey to win the race. Instead Mylute finished in third place.

Kevin Krigger, the jockey riding Goldencents, hoped to become the first African-American jockey to win the race since 1898. He too came up short as Goldencents finished in fifth place.

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade granted a South Florida teen's wish and showed up at her senior prom on Friday.

Nicole Muxo said that she was called up to the dance floor, where she was told that Wade was on the phone.

“So I talked to him on the phone, and as I was talking to him the doors opened and he walked out and I was completely shocked, I had no idea that he was going to even call," said Muxo, who attends Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School in West Kendall. "So I was super-excited, everyone else was super-excited in there.”

Photos show Wade taking pics with the teen and others before the prom at the La Jolla Ballroom in Coral Gables. He also was snapped at the dance.

Muxo said Wade brought her flowers and then they danced.

Wade tweeted about the prom and shared photos on Twitter.

"I had a blast at Prom w @nicole_muxo... Never be 2 scared to ask.. They might just say… " Wade Tweeted.

Muxo thanked the NBA player for coming by.

"It meant a lot to me. It made my dreams come true," she said.

Initially Wade had said he wasn't aware of the YouTube video, in which Muxo makes her pitch to the NBA superstar while wearing a No 3. Wade jersey. Kanye West's "The Glory" plays in the background.

WATCH the YouTube video here.

"My senior prom is coming up, and I have everything set for a perfect night except for one thing: a perfect date," she says.

In the video she called Wade her favorite basketball player and used signs and "Prom?" written on basketballs to ask Wade to the big event.

Muxo had told NBC 6 South Florida she asked out Wade because he's her favorite player and because he's a positive role model for a lot of people.

It wasn't the first time she asked him out.

"Back when I met him last year, I asked him to Homecoming, but the season was about to start, and he had practice, so he couldn’t make it, so I thought, why not take another shot and ask him to prom?” she said.

All eyes will be on Orb Saturday afternoon when the Kentucky Derby champion takes his post at the Preakness Stakes, aiming to win the second leg of the elusive Triple Crown.

The colt's resounding victory at the Derby, marked by a surge of power in the final stretch, has fueled hopes for the first Triple Crown triumph since 1978, when Affirmed won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Orb, the even-money favorite at Pimlico, will either dash those hopes or move one step closer to the coveted crown.

For fans hoping to see the first Triple Crown in decades, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. In the Derby, on May 4, Orb handily beat five of the eight horses he will take on in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes. Since then, his performance in training has earned stellar reviews.

Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey called Orb's workout at Belmont earlier this week "breathtaking," "spectacular" and even better than his performance leading up to the Derby, according to the Associated Press. The colt ran four furlongs in 47.18 seconds and five furlongs in 59.54.

But the widespread optimism was dampened just days later when Orb drew the rail, or No. 1 post—a position that has launched only two Preakness victors since 1950. Running from that position, other horses could crowd Orb against the rail, making it difficult for Orb to find room to maneuver to the head of the pack.

"Obviously, if I was going to pick it out, I wouldn't have picked the 1," McGaughey told the AP when the positions were drawn. "But with only nine horse in there to run a mile and three-sixteenths, with a rider like Joel (Rosario), he's going to figure out what to do. He'll have him in the right spot."

The shorter race could also favor some of the horses that faded at the end of the mile-and-a-quarter Derby. Goldencents—partially owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino— was one of the favorites heading into the Kentucky Derby, but finished 17th in a field of 19 horses. That performance hasn't deterred bettors from putting their money on the colt in the Preakness. Heading into the race he's among the four favorites, with 8-1 morning line odds.

Mylute, who has 5-1 odds after placing fifth in the Kentucky Derby, is another Preakness favorite. The horse will be ridden by rising star Rosie Napravnik, who will be the third female jockey ever to compete in the Preakness Stakes. She heads into the weekend with more wins than any other jockey posting for the race, besides Joel Rosario, who will be riding Orb.

Departing, who skipped the Derby, could also pose a threat to the even-money favorite. The horse arrives at Pimlico with four wins this year, including a big victory two weeks ago at the Illinois Derby, where he managed to pull ahead of the pack and finish by 3 1/4 lengths.

Govenor Charlie, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and Titletown Five, co-owned by Packers Hall of Famers Paul Hornung and Willie Davis, will also make their Triple Crown debuts in the second leg of the contest.

Govenor Charlie, who descends from the 1998 Derby and Preakness winner Real Quiet, has 12-1 odds, while Titletown Five is a much longer shot. Despite his 30-1 odds, Titletown Five's trainer D. Wayne Lukas still has a decent chance to taste victory. The Hall of Fame trainer has two other horses in the race— Oxbow and Will Take Charge.

The $1 million race begins at 6:20 p.m. and will be streamed live on NBC Live Extra beginning at 4:30 p.m.

If Orb wins, he'll race for the Triple Crown at Belmont on June 8. Twenty-two horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but only 11 have won all three. 

Eagles starting offensive lineman Evan Mathis has never strayed far from controversy even calling fans "idiots" for wanting former Eagles coach Andy Reid fired.

This time Mathis’ anger was geared towards the Internal Revenue Service.

Per Pro Football Talk:

Like most if not all Americans, Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis doesn’t like it.  Unlike most if not all Americans, Mathis has opted to make his views known, in an entertaining way.

“Audit This,” tweeted Mathis as he posted an Instagram photo making it look as if he's urinating on the sign for the IRS’ offices.

In the midst of a federal scandal involving the IRS’ treatment of Tea party and other right-wing non-profit groups Mathis’ photo created plenty of chatter online even getting its own Mashable writeup along with plenty of comments and retweets.

The most interesting aspect of the photo however could be the boot on Mathis’ left leg confirming an earlier CSNPhilly.com report that Mathis would miss the Eagles recent OTAs after ankle surgery.

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points to help the New York Knicks stay alive in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series.

Anthony, who didn't make a basket in the fourth quarter of either game in Indiana, made a jumper midway through the fourth quarter after Indiana closed within four points. He followed with two free throws, Raymond Felton made a layup, and the Knicks were never in jeopardy again.

Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. They played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers.

But George battled foul trouble and couldn't contain Anthony quite as well as he had while the Pacers easily won the previous two games.

David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

The winner faces the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in a series that will start Wednesday.

New York didn't really shake its scoring slump, shooting only 41 percent from the field, but put together a few runs during the game to open just enough space against a Pacers team that shot 36 percent and was a dismal 19 of 33 at the free throw line.

They clearly missed Hill after learning about four hours before the game they would be without him.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Hill was hurt after a collision with Knicks center Tyson Chandler during the first half of Indiana's 93-82 victory on Tuesday. Hill finished the game and scored 26 points, but experienced some headaches and showed concussion symptoms since and wasn't able to pass the league's concussion tests so he could play Thursday night.

The Knicks went back to their regular lineup, reinserting Pablo Prigioni, after going with a bigger group in Game 4 in a futile effort to match Indiana on the boards. The smaller group did a better job, getting outrebounded only 43-40.

The Knicks finally opened it up midway through the third quarter with a 12-4 run, started by Smith's bank shot and featuring a 3-pointer and follow shot from Copeland, who got more playing time while coach Mike Woodson gave little to veterans Amare Stoudemire and the slumping Jason Kidd, who missed his only shot and remains scoreless in the series.

Anthony made a jumper and a 3-pointer on his first two shots, and Iman Shumpert followed with another jumper for a 7-0 start. Smith got a big ovation when he checked in, which grew much louder when he made his first shot, dribbling back behind the arc for a 3-pointer that made it 17-12 with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.

Smith has endured a miserable stretch since elbowing Boston's Jason Terry in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the first round. Suspended for Game 4, he hasn't relocated his shot since, hitting 28 percent in the first four games and has been criticized for not being focused after he was seen out a nightclub with singer Rihanna the night before Game 1 — a day game.

He was only 4 of 11, but hit the jumper that started the Knicks' run in the third quarter.

The Knicks extended their 19-15 lead after one to 32-23 on Copeland's 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the second. The Pacers chipped away for most of the half but couldn't take the large in part because of their sloppy free throw shooting, going 8 of 16 in the half that agonizingly wouldn't end when both Chandler and the Pacers' Sam Young committed fouls more than 30 feet from the basket in the final 2.4 seconds.

Notes: The Phoenix Suns are the last team to win a series after trailing 3-1, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006. The Brooklyn Nets forced Chicago to a seventh game in the first round but dropped Game 7 on their home floor. ... West was 5 of 13 in the first half. The other four Indiana starters were 5 for 23.

For a while there, it looked as if the Preakness was shaping up to be a runaway victory for Kentucky Derby winner Orb.

Then came the post-position draw. Suddenly things got very interesting.

Orb's pursuit of the Triple Crown received an unexpected jolt Wednesday when trainer Shug McGaughey's horse drew the rail for Saturday's race. McGaughey tried to brush off the development as a mere inconvenience, but he couldn't entirely mask his disappointment over starting inside eight other horses in the smallest Preakness field since 2007.

"Obviously, if I was going to pick it out, I wouldn't have picked the 1," McGaughey said. "But with only nine horses in there to run a mile and three-sixteenths, with a rider like Joel (Rosario), he's going to figure out what to do. He'll have him in the right spot."

That's the plan. Yet, if Orb doesn't get in front early, he risks becoming pinned on the rail or pushed to the back of the field. The inside post is even worse in the Derby, where this year there were 19 horses in the field.

"If it had come out the 1 in the Derby, you'd almost have felt like you needed to go home," McGaughey said. "But I don't feel that way here."

Still, history suggests Orb's advantage in this race has dwindled, even though he was made the even-money favorite in the morning line. Only twice since 1950 has a horse won from the No. 1 post — Bally Ache in 1960 and Tabasco Cat in 1994.

So the rest of the field has a little bit more hope than it did before Orb got stuck on the rail.

"Out of the nine numbers, the 1 is probably the one you want the least," said Al Stall Jr., the trainer of Departing.

Mylute, who will start from the No. 5 post as the second-favorite at 5-1, trailed Orb for much of the race in Kentucky. This race could develop quite differently with Orb inside.

"We need to make up three or four lengths, and that may be one of the factors that helps us," said Todd Quast, general manager of GoldMark Farm, co-owner of the Derby's fifth-place finisher.

Soon after the draw ended, Mylute jockey Rosie Napravnik said on Twitter, "Perfect draw! super excited!

Quast said, "We're ecstatic about it. With this horse, it doesn't matter as much, but it sure is nice being inside, a little bit toward the middle, and then having Orb inside us and Departing inside us, the two big threats. It's great to be outside of them."

Departing, a bay gelding, won the Grade III Illinois Derby on April 20 and skipped the Kentucky Derby because Stall did not think the horse was ready. The trainer thinks it might be an advantage at the Preakness.

"In this day and age, the modern thoroughbred seems to like a little time in-between races. I don't know why," Stall said. "So we're fortunate enough to have 28 days between the Illinois Derby and now. It gave us time to improve and he really has improved. You can see it on a day-to-day basis when you train him."

Stall is among those who believe the rail won't be a hindrance to Orb.

"The post doesn't really matter in this type of race, this type of track with a nine-horse field," he said. "It's just a good party to come to."

Orb won the Derby by 2½ lengths and has won five straight races, so he's certainly worth of being the favorite in spite of his starting position.

"I don't know that the rail's all that bad," said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has three horses in the race: Oxbow, Will Take Charge and Titletown Five. "Orb is still the one to beat."

The field, from the rail, with odds in parenthesis: Orb (1-1), Goldencents (8-1), Titletown Five (30-1), Departing (6-1), Mylute (5-1), Oxbow (15-1), Will Take Charge (12-1), Govenor Charlie (12-1) and Itsmyluckyday (10-1).

Lukas was delighted with the post positions drawn by his trio of entrants.

"I love mine. I thought it was real good," he said. "Oxbow for a change got inside a little bit. He'll be forwardly placed. We shouldn't have any trouble. I'm going to have to come up with a different excuse when we get beat."

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings last month, a number of security policies will be in effect at Saturday's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, raceway officials said.

Security agents will be wanding all attendees, with all camera bags, purses and containers entering Pimlico Race Course grounds to be searched upon entry.

Backpacks, duffel bags, coolers and or thermoses will be prohibited.

For the fifth year in a row, attendees are prohibited from bringing their own alcoholic beverages to the infield. Faced with dangerous drunkenness in the past, Pimlico now controls all alcohol sales.

Those in the grandstands will be allowed to bring beverages in clear plastic containers, no larger than 18" by 18". Food must also be in clear containers or clear plastic bags no larger than 12" by 12".

Other items banned from the grandstand, clubhouse and infield include:

• Laser lights or pointers, cameras with lenses more than 6" long, cameras over 35mm, camcorders, tripods, tents, balloons or balls, fireworks, mace or pepper spray, grills,
  umbrellas, weapons, wagons, non-folding or folding metal chairs, ladders, scaffolding or other raised devices

Items allowed on the grandstand, clubhouse or infield include:

• Beach blankets (infield only), suntan lotion, beach tote bags, cell phones, tablets, cameras, binoculars, purses and lightweight aluminum or plastic lawn chairs (infield only)

The Preakness Stakes — the second leg of the Triple Crown — will be held May 18 at 4:30 p.m.

The halls of Grand Central Terminal Wednesday were echoing with curious chants and cheers from an international wrestling match.

Wrestlers from the world's top teams — Russia, the U.S. and Iran — faced off in the iconic train station's Vanderbilt Hall for Rumble on the Rails, an event aimed at raising funds for a New York City wrestling program and raising the profile of a sport fighting to get off the Olympic chopping block.

Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee recommended that wrestling, a fixture on the Olympic docket since the first modern Games, be cut from the Summer Olympics beginning in 2020. Since then, wrestling organizers have been working to promote the sport ahead of a final vote.

"We're all working together for the same reasons," Olympic wrestling champion and pro wrestler Kurt Angle said from the event, adding that wrestling fans have to help advocate for the sport.

"Let your politicians know how much wrestling means to you," he said. "It means everything to me."

Scores of spectators crowded into the makeshift arena, concealed from ticketless commuters and passersby by a heavy black curtain. Supporters of team Iran waved flags, blew horns and chanted for the dominant group, which beat the Americans 6-1 in their first visit to the U.S. in a decade.

Reza Shaibani, a real-estate developer from Long Island, was among a group of Iranian-Americans who came to support Iran's wrestling team and the endangered sport itself.

"I hope it stays in the Olympics," he said. "This is one of the greatest sports, the most ancient sports in the world."

Four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake, from Ithaca, N.Y., was the only American to win a match against Iran. He defeated Hassan Tahmasebi 2-0, 1-0 in his first major international event on the senior level.

But the Americans fared far better against the Russians, winning eight of their nine matches against Russia. That streak began with the men's freestyle team sweeping all five of its matches; afterward, the U.S. women's freestyle team won, too, and the Americans also won two of the three Greco-Roman matches.

The event raised money for Beat the Streets, a group that organizes youth wrestling programs for school-aged kids in New York City.

The competitions come just two weeks before representatives from the eight sports vying for addition to the Summer Olympic lineup make their cases for inclusion at an IOC meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. Officials from wrestling, baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and wushu will all be competing for one open slot in the 2020 Games.

The IOC said its decision to drop wrestling came after analysis of more than three dozen criteria, including ticket sales, TV ratings, global participation and popularity. FILA, the sport's international governing board, issued a statement in February calling the decision an "aberration" and vowing to convince the IOC of its error.

Since then, the U.S., Russia and Iran have formed an alliance for their common cause.

"We'll be standing arm-in-arm with Iran, and we'll be standing with Russia as we will with lots of other countries," Mitch Hull, national teams director for USA Wrestling, told AP Television News in February. "Those (countries) really do make a difference because politically we're not always on the same page, or politically with Russia, but in wrestling, there's no doubt that we are all together in this effort."

The IOC's executive board will make its final decision on the matter at a meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September.

Shug McGaughey worked as a trainer for more than 30 years before finally saddling his first Kentucky Derby winner.

It was worth the wait.

Speaking at Pimlico Race Course, where he will seek to win the Preakness with Orb, the 62-year-old McGaughey said, "I always said I wish I won the Derby when I was young so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. I'm not sure that's true now. If I had won in '89 with Easy Goer, I don't know if I'd appreciate it as much as I did this past Saturday."

McGaughey and his horse have attracted much attention this week, for good reason. Coming off his solid win at Churchill Downs on May 4, Orb is in position to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

With a victory, McGaughey can add a Preakness win to his suddenly blossoming resume. The last time he was a participant in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, Easy Goer lost to Sunday Silence by a nose in 1989.

"As soon as I got here, it all came back to me — where I needed to be, where I was going," he said. "I feel like I'm back on familiar ground, and I'm tickled to death to be here."

McGaughey sent Orb to Baltimore from New York by van on Monday and was delighted to see his horse make a quick adjustment to his new surroundings.

"He had a lot of energy. I walked him a few turns and had to give him up," McGaughey said Tuesday. "So far, so good. I worried a little bit (Monday) coming down here. But I'm glad we got in here while it's still good and quiet and got settled in. He had a good night and a nice morning. Everything is good."

__

BAFFERT NEARS DECISION: It appears as if Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will enter Govenor Charlie in the Preakness.

After the horse ran well over six furlongs on Monday at Churchill Downs, Baffert said Tuesday, "He came of his work really, really well. We are prepared to go."

Baffert is at home in California this week and has been receiving reports from Kentucky on the colt from his longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes.

Govenor Charlie did not run in the Kentucky Derby because of a minor foot bruise that caused him to miss training time in April. The injury no longer appears to be an issue.

Baffert has until Wednesday morning to make a decision, but he said, "Unless he shows me something, it's pretty likely he'll be on that plane."

___

FIRST SINCE 1898?: The last time an African-American jockey won the Preakness was in 1898, when Willie Simms reached the finish line aboard Sly Fox.

Kevin Krigger has a chance to be the next, on Goldencents this Saturday.

"The media actually is paying more attention to it than I am because I really don't have time to worry about that," Krigger said. "I'm focused here on getting Goldencents in the Preakness winner's circle."

Krigger will be the first African-American to ride in the Preakness since Wayne Barnett, who finished eighth on Sparrowvon in 1985.

O.J. Simpson testified Wednesday in court -- something he did not do during his 1995 murder trial or 2008 robbery-kidnapping case -- that guns were never "a subject" during discussions leading up to a Las Vegas hotel room raid that led to the former NFL Hall of Famer's conviction and prison sentence.

Simpson testified Wednesday about the 2007 raid and his relationship with the trial attorney Yale Galanter, who is the key figure in this week's hearing that might go a long way in determining whether Simpson spends the rest of his life in prison. Simpson wants a new trial because he says his longtime lawyer failed to disclose that he knew about the hotel room raid in advance, told Simpson it was legal and provided bad advice at trial.

Simpson, 65, repeated his assertion Wednesday that he was not aware two of the men who accompanied him on a mission to retrieve the sports memorabilia at the Palace Station hotel had guns. He testified that he just needed "a couple of big guys" to help carry items from the hotel.

"I don't need security," Simpson said he told others involved in the conversation.

He was asked by his co-counsel whether he ever asked the men to bring weapons.

"No, never was a subject," he replied.

Several of the questions from Simpson co-counsel Patricia Palm addressed his consumption of alcohol on the night before and day of the raid. Simpson was in Las Vegas for a wedding and the memorabilia dealers were "essentially, down the street," he said.

"I wouldn't have gotten behind the wheel of a car," Simpson said of his activities the night before the raid. "I'm in Las Vegas with a lot of friends. We were in a very celebrative mood."

He started drinking alcohol again the next day at the Palms hotel, Simpson said. That's when plans to retrieve the memorabilia were discussed, he said.

Galanter gained an acquittal for Simpson in a 2000 Florida road rage case, but Simpson testified Wednesday that he socialized with Galanter, such as going out to dinner. It was at one of those dinners that Galanter and Simpson discussed the recovery of the sports memorabilia, including autographed footballs and framed photos.

The former USC Trojans star and Heisman trophy winner said the items went missing after his acquittal in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Simpson testified Wednesday that once he learned the collection included family photos, he wanted them back.

"That's when I got interested," Simpson said.

Simspon was asked why he thought his actions to retrieve the items were legal.

"It was my stuff," he responded.

Crowds at the courthouse had been small, unlike the 1995 murder trial in Los Angeles and the 2008 robbery and kidnapping trials, until Wednesday. A court marshal turned people away, sending more than 15 people to an overflow room where video was streamed live.

During Tuesday's testimony, attorney Gabriel Grasso said he was contacted to work on the robbery-kidnap case and believed Galanter did not spend enough money to win an acquittal.

"I was under the impression that we were operating on a shoestring," Grasso said Tuesday. "There were no experts to be had. We didn't have any money to hire experts."

He also told the court he thought Simpson should have testified at trial.

"I had the distinct feeling that O.J. had to testify in this case," Grasso said. "That was our only shot."

The sports memorabilia dealer in the hotel room during the raid told NBC4 he believes Simpson was a "pawn." Bruce Fromong said one of the men pointed a gun to his head and told him he would be shot if he did not cooperate.

"O.J. was stupid that night," said Fromong. "In many ways, O.J. Simpson was a pawn just as I was."

The new challenge follows the Nevada Supreme Court's denial of Simpson's 2010 appeal, also handled by Galanter. Simpson's new attorney filed the writ of habeas corpus in May 2012, seeking her client's release from prison and reversal of the conviction.

He has already served four years in prison, but must serve nine of the maximum 33-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Simpson has appeared in court in blue prison clothes and shackles, although the judge Tuesday allowed him to uncuff his right hand so he could take notes during testimony.

Four Simpson co-defendants pleaded guilty to felonies and testified for the prosecution. A fifth defendant, Clarence "C.J.'' Stewart, was convicted and served more than two years in prison before the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that Simpson's fame tainted Stewart's conviction.

A judge eventually ruled that the items should be delivered to Simpson's civil case attorney.