 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Bears step out of conference to battle MinutemenNCAA Basketball Betting Lines01/23/2010 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Baylor Bears take a quick break from their grueling Big 12 slate to host the Massachusetts Minutemen at the Ferrell Center today. The Bears gave third-ranked Kansas all it could handle on Wednesday, but just didn't have enough to pull off the upset in an 81-75 setback in Lawrence. Baylor has now fallen in two of three games since moving into the Top 25, though the team is still a strong 14-3 overall. The Bears, who are also 9-0 at home, have Kansas State and Texas next on their schedule, so it's imperative they come away with a win today. As for the Minutemen, they don't figure to stand a chance today following losses in four straight and six of their past seven outings. UMass was recently edged, 70-69, by St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, dropping to 7-11 overall. To make matters worse, the Minutemen are now back on the road, where they have gone winless at 0-6. Today's game marks the first-ever meeting between UMass and Baylor on the hardwood. UMass battled back from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes, but Freddie Riley was unable to get a three-pointer to go down at the buzzer of a 70-69 loss to SBU on Wednesday. The Minutemen finished the game just 4-of-24 from beyond the arc and that was obviously a factor in the outcome. Ricky Harris led UMass in the setback with 22 points and five boards, while Anthony Gurley deposited 16 points. On the season, Harris leads the Minutemen in scoring at 17.3 ppg and he also has a team-high 24 steals to his name. Gurley has provided the team with another scoring option at 15.4 ppg, while Riley chips in with 11.0 ppg coming off the bench. After Baylor knotted the score at 67-67 with 2:58 remaining, Kansas responded with a 10-2 spurt en route to an 81-75 result on Wednesday. Despite the outcome, the Bears showed they could hang with any team and they were the first squad in 92 games to shoot over 50 percent from the floor against Kansas, finishing with a 52.1 percent effort. LaceDarius Dunn paced the team in defeat with an all-around effort of 27 points, nine boards and four steals. Tweety Carter pitched in with 17 points and seven helpers, while Quincy Acy and Ekpe Udoh each had 10 points. On the season, Dunn leads Baylor in scoring with a solid average of 19.5 ppg and he is shooting 42.4 percent from long range. Carter is another weapon with 15.7 ppg and a team-best 7.0 apg to his credit, while Udoh averages 13.8 ppg, to go with team highs of 11.0 rpg and 72 blocks.
<< Hoyas host Scarlet Knights in Big East affair
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas welcome the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to the Verizon Center today for a Big East affair. The Hoyas are coming off their biggest win of the campaign, as they upset ninth-ranke
<< Pokes try to put end to Wildcats' record home win streak
<< No. 4 Villanova comes to Big Apple to battle St. John's
<< Owls face Rams in clash of A-10 polar opposites
<< Crimson Tide seek upset of 23rd-ranked Bulldogs
Streaking Sens take on struggling Bruins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Ottawa Senators will try to extend their longest winning streak of the season today when they visit the sliding Boston Bruins for a Northeast Division battle at TD Garden. The Senators have won five in a row fo
Staal's Hurricanes make a stop in Philly >>
Isles hope to continue home streak vs. Devils >>
Habs welcome Rangers to Bell Centre >>
Maple Leafs pay a visit to Panthers >>
Horse Betting(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. Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds. Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month. Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards. |
|
