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
02/11/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ty Lawson scored 27 points to lead the Nuggets to a 113-109 win over the Pacers on Saturday.
Denver had five scorers in double figures, including 23 points from Arron Afflalo and 19 from Corey Brewer, as the Nuggets snapped a five-game losing streak.
Danny Granger led the way for the Pacers with 26 points and David West chipped in 22 points and seven rebounds. A.J. Price scored 13 points off the bench for a Pacers team that has now dropped a season-high three straight games.
Back-to-back triples from Paul George around an Al Harrington layup pulled the Pacers within four, 106-102, with 3:07 remaining in regulation.
After an Andre Miller miss, Darren Collison got the hoop and the harm to close the gap to 106-105 heading into the home stretch.
The Pacers had a chance to pull within one again on a three-point play but West's free throw was off the mark. Afflalo missed a jumper on the other end, and Indiana had the ball trailing 111-109 with 22.5 seconds to go.
Indiana looked to go inside to West again, but his kick out pass went wide of Collison and bounced into the backcourt for an over-and-back violation.
Afflalo, who scored 12 points in the final frame, calmly stepped to the charity stripe and hit both foul shots to give the Nuggets a two-possession lead.
Granger came out of the gates scorching as he scored 18 points in the first quarter on 7-of-9 shooting to give the Pacers a 35-26 lead heading into the second stanza.
The Nuggets showed resolve, reeling off 10 straight points to cut the lead to 53-51 with 3:05 left until halftime.
Ty Lawson finished the first half with 17 points, including a floater that capped the scoring to pull the Nuggets even, 60-60, heading into the locker room.
The two teams exchanged buckets throughout the third quarter as the Nuggets took a slight 87-84 lead into the final stanza.
Game Notes
The Pacers have dropped 12 of 15 meetings in this series...The Pacers are 7-3 at home...The Pacers will host Miami on Tuesday, while Denver will host the Suns on Tuesday...The Nuggets won the points in the paint battle 62-46...The Pacers turned the ball over 20 points which led to 22 points for the Nuggets.
<< Pinceton continues home dominance of Harvard
Princeton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harvard's unbeaten mark in the Ivy League
came to a halt Saturday night against a team they haven't solved on the road
in more than 23 years.
Ian Hummer scored 20 points, pulled down nine rebounds and h
<< Baylor thumps Texas A&M to stay perfect
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner dropped in a game-high 21 points
to go with 10 rebounds and six blocks as top-ranked Baylor took care of
business with a 71-48 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Odyssey Sims finishe
<< Spartans snap Ohio State's long home win streak
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adreian Payne scored a team-high 15 points as
No. 11 Michigan State handed third-ranked Ohio State its first home loss in
almost two years with a 58-48 decision at Value City Arena.
Keith Appling added 14
<< France tops Canada to take lead in Davis Cup
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra took
down Canadians Daniel Nestor and Milos Raonic in straight sets, 7-6 (7-1),
7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to give France a 2-1 edge in the third rubber of a best-of-
five tie
Stamkos leads Bolts past Sabres >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos lit the lamp and added an assist
while Mathieu Garon stopped 26 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the
Buffalo Sabres, 2-1.
Steve Downie also scored for Tampa Bay, which had lost t
Price, Canadiens blank Maple Leafs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carey Price made 32 saves to record his fourth
shutout of the season and 16th of his career as the Montreal Canadiens blanked
the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-0, at Air Canada Centre.
Mathieu Darche had a goal and a
Sixers stop shorthanded Cavs >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jrue Holiday led a balanced Philadelphia
attack with 20 points as the 76ers rolled to a 99-84 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lou Williams added 19 points, Thaddeus Young had 16, Elton
Umberger paces Blue Jackets over Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - R.J. Umberger scored a pair of goals, leading
the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy
Center.
James Wisniewski -- playing in his first game after missing the previous
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
(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.
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