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01/28/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will resume a season-long seven-game homestand tonight by welcoming the struggling Detroit Pistons to Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers improved to 2-1 on the residency Friday when Lou Williams scored 17 points to lead a balanced Philadelphia attack as the 76ers easily handled Charlotte, 89-72, leading wire-to-wire and by as many as 30 points.
Jrue Holiday celebrated his own bobblehead night by adding 15 points and Jodie Meeks contributed 14 for the Atlantic division-leading Sixers, who avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. Thaddeus Young also reached double figures with 10 points off the bench.
"A very good win for us tonight from the standpoint of I really like the way we came out defensively and were very aggressive," said Sixers coach Doug Collins. "We really moved the ball well in that first half."
Philadelphia held the Bobcats to just 38.6 percent shooting and were able to rest many of their key contributors.
"To not have guys play heavy minutes is a real blessing," Collins said.
Centers Spencer Hawes (strained left Achilles) and Nikola Vucevic (hyperextended left knee/strained left quadriceps) remained out of the lineup for Philly. Hawes indicated he could play tonight but the team is likely targeting his return for Monday against Dwight Howard and the Magic. The rookie Vucevic, meanwhile, remains day-to-day.
Philadelphia, which is 9-2 this season at WFC, will finish its residency with games against much tougher competition: Orlando, Chicago and Miami.
The Pistons, who are opening up a four-game road trip tonight that will also feature visits to Milwaukee, New York and New Jersey, dropped their third straight on Friday, a 107-101 overtime loss to Atlanta in Auburn Hills.
Greg Monroe paced Detroit with 22 points and 11 boards while rookie Brandon Knight contributed 20 points and a career- high eight assists as the Pistons lost for the 13th time in 15 games. Jason Maxiell added a season-high 19 points off the bench in defeat.
"We take every loss personally, not just a close loss. I think every loss is a personal loss," Knight said. "You just don't favor one over the other, but this one will hurt a little bit more."
The banged-up Pistons were without guards Ben Gordon (sore left shoulder) and Will Bynum (sprained right foot) as well as forwards Tayshaun Prince (family issue) and Charlie Villanueva (sprained right ankle). None are expected back in Philadelphia tonight as Detroit attempts to improve on its dismal 1-8 road record.
The Sixers have won two of their last three games against the Pistons, including a 96-73 rout at the Wells Fargo Center back on Jan. 6 behind Meeks' 21 points.
Collins, however, thinks the Pistons are tougher than they seem.
"Detroit is better than its record," the coach said. "They have got good guards. They're a very good defensive team. We're going to have to play well to get that game tomorrow night."
<< Hornets trying to trade Kaman
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets are trying to trade
away center Chris Kaman, and will not play him as they go through that
process.
Kaman is not injured, but hasn't played in New Orleans' last two games. He
<< Bryans dethroned in Aussie doubles final
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek ended
the three-year Australian Open reign of Bob and Mike Bryan on Saturday,
beating the top-ranked twin brothers in the men's doubles final.
Paes and Stepanek
<< Historical games part of Maine's 2012 schedule
Orono, ME (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maine football's 2012 schedule includes the 100th
game against rival New Hampshire and a trip to Boston College for the 1,000th
official game in program history.
Coach Jack Cosgrove's Black Bears are coming off a
<< UC Davis set for first Big Sky season
Davis, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UC Davis football is set to enter a new era in
2012 with eight Big Sky Conference games as well as a visit to San Jose State
as part of an 11-game schedule.
The Aggies are joining the Big Sky from the Great West
Jimmer returns to SLC when Kings visit Jazz >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmer Fredette will return to Utah Saturday as the
Sacramento Kings attempt to put the brakes on a three-game skid when they open
up a brief two-game road trip against the Jazz.
The Kings were blown out in their last enco
Grizzlies finish road trip in the desert vs. Suns >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies hope to finish a four-game road trip
on a winning note Saturday when they pay a visit to the struggling Phoenix
Suns.
The Grizzlies started their trek in a positive fashion, winning at Golden
State b
Lakers begin tough stretch in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off halting a three-game skid, the Los Angeles Lakers
will begin a tough stretch tonight in Milwaukee in which they will play eight
of nine games on the road.
Kobe Bryant netted 24 points to go with seven rebounds an
Wizards try to conjure up a road win in Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference's worst two teams square off for the
second time this week Saturday when the Charlotte Bobcats play host to the
Washington Wizards.
The Bobcats are coming off an awful performance in Philadelphia on
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
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(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.
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