Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/17/2010 - Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The feud between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski in NASCAR reached another boiling point on Saturday when Edwards spun out Keselowski for the lead coming out of the final turn of the last lap to win the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway.
A multi-car crash in the closing laps setup a green-white-checkered finish. Keselowski held the lead for the final restart, but Edwards made several attempts to pass him in the final two laps before bumping him out of the way.
Both drivers have had previous on-track altercations, particularly in March when Edwards intentionally bumped Keselowski from behind and sent him flying upside down into the frontstretch wall during the closing laps of the Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta.
Edwards claimed his second victory of the season and the 27th of his Nationwide career. He now leads all drivers with three wins at Gateway.
Reed Sorenson finished second, while Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard and Steve Wallace completed the top-five.
<< Walker leads 17-hit attack, Pirates finally beat Astros
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker collected three hits, scored
three times and knocked in a pair of runs as Pittsburgh pounded out 17 hits in
a 12-6 win over Houston in the middle meeting of a three-game set.
Jose Tabata and
<< Covello still leads suspended Players Cup
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Covello is one-over through 11 holes,
but is still in the first during Saturday's suspended third round of The
Players Cup.
Covello is nine-under par for the championship and one shot ahead
<< Volquez solid in return to mound; Reds rout Rockies
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez made a triumphant return
to the mound in his first start in more than a year and was backed by four
home runs, as the Reds crushed the Rockies, 8-1, at Great American Ball Park.
Volqu
<< One More Laugh captures Meadowlands Pace
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One More Laugh, driven by Tim Tetrick,
turned the tables on Rock N Roll Heaven to win Saturday's $1 million
Meadowlands Pace at The Meadowlands. The three-year-old gelding covered the
mile in
Rivera's HR lifts Angels to win over M's >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera went 3-for-4 and hit the go-ahead
home run in the seventh inning, lifting the Angels to a 7-6 victory over the
Seattle Mariners.
Mike Napoli went 2-for-4 with a home run for the Angels, who had
Sandoval, Giants handle Mets >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-4 with three
RBI and a run scored as the San Francisco Giants took an 8-4 decision over the
New York Mets in the third of a four-game set.
Buster Posey hit a solo home run an
Padres hit four homers in win over Diamondbacks >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Gwynn Jr. hit his second inside-the-
park home run of the season and Yorvit Torrealba drove in four, as the San
Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5, at Petco Park.
Gwynn, who has onl
Kearns lifts Tribe to doubleheader sweep of Detroit >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Kearns hit an RBI single in the
bottom of the 11th inning, as the Cleveland Indians edged the Detroit Tigers,
2-1, in the second part of a doubleheader.
Robbie Weinhardt (0-1) put runners on
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting