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02/08/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas remained the top team in the latest Associated Press men's college basketball poll, while Syracuse moved up one spot to No. 2.
The Jayhawks (22-1) regained the top spot last week after spending the first eight weeks of the season atop the rankings before their lone loss of the season on January 10 at Tennessee. Kansas received 55 first-place votes, one more than last week, and a total of 1,613 points from a nationwide media panel.
Syracuse (23-1) moved up one spot, garnering eight first-place votes, while Kentucky also climbed one spot to third. The Wildcats, who spent one week at No. 1, picked up a pair of top tallies.
Villanova and West Virginia, combatants on Monday in Morgantown, round out the top five. The Wildcats were second last week, but suffered their first Big East loss on Saturday at Georgetown, while West Virginia moved up one spot from sixth.
Purdue jumped up two spots to sixth and this week is followed by Georgetown, Duke, Kansas State and Michigan State. The Spartans lost to Wisconsin and Illinois last week and dropped five places from fifth.
The second 10 consists of Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas, New Mexico, Gonzaga, BYU, Butler, Northern Iowa and Georgia Tech. Wisconsin moved up five spots from 16th after beating Michigan State and Michigan, while Texas dropped five places after a loss Saturday at Oklahoma. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 for two weeks, but have lost four of their last six games entering Monday's Big 12 tussle against Kansas.
Temple, Vanderbilt, UNLV, Baylor and Pittsburgh are the last five teams ranked this week.
UNLV is the lone newcomer, thanks to a five-game winning streak that included Saturday's 88-74 victory over BYU. The Runnin' Rebels were ranked for two weeks earlier this season.
Ole Miss was the only team to drop from the rankings. The Rebels were 25th, but lost to Kentucky last Tuesday before beating Alabama.
In addition to Monday's matchups of ranked foes, Tuesday's slate features an SEC showdown between Tennessee and Vanderbilt in Nashville and a Big Ten battle pitting Purdue and Michigan State in East Lansing. On Wednesday, UNLV will host New Mexico and a rare Friday top-25 contest has West Virginia at Pittsburgh in the second 2010 basketball edition of the Backyard Brawl. The two rivals squared off last Wednesday in Morgantown with West Virginia taking a 70-51 decision. Only one ranked matchup Saturday is a big one in the SEC, as Kentucky welcomes Tennessee.
<< Patrick given green light for Daytona Nationwide race
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar series star Danica Patrick will
continue to be in the spotlight during Speedweeks at Daytona International
Speedway.
Patrick announced on Monday she will make her Nationwide Series debu
<< Lisicki rolls in Pattaya opener
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Sabine Lisicki
highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis
event.
The German Lisicki was pasting Akgul Amanmuradova 6-0 when the Uzbekista
<< Kostner to remain at Wolfsburg through season
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caretaker manager Lorenz-Gunter Kostner
will remain in charge at German champions Wolfsburg until the end of the
season.
Kostner took charge of the Wolves a couple of weeks ago when Armin Veh
<< City waits on Bellamy injury news
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City are waiting to discover
how long Craig Bellamy faces on the sidelines after the striker suffered a
knee injury during the 2-1 defeat at Hull City.
The 30-year-old Wales internation
Connecticut continues to top women's poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained a unanimous choice as the
top-ranked team in women's college basketball, as the Associated Press
released its latest poll Monday.
The Huskies (23-0) enter the week with a 62-gam
Gainey stepping down as Canadiens GM >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey
will reportedly step down from his post, as the team has scheduled a press
conference for 4 p.m. (et).
According to a report by TSN Canada, assistant general
Stricker up to second in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker's victory on Sunday at the
Northern Trust Open moved the American to second in this week's world
rankings.
Tiger Woods remained in first, followed by Stricker, who was third last
Vesnina, Szavay advance in France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Elena Vesnina and Hungarian
Agnes Szavay were Monday's first-round winners at the $700,000 Open GDF Suez
tennis tournament.
The Russian Vesnina vaulted past Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6
(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.
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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