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03/07/2010 - Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun's 31 saves set the tone for Florida's 4-1 victory to snap the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game win streak at Bank Atlantic Center.
Kamil Kreps scored twice, including an empty-net goal, while Michael Frolik and Cory Stillman picked up the scoring slack in the Panthers' second straight win following a season-long seven-game losing skid.
"We scored seven goals in the game before and were able to get two quick goals in this game," said Frolik. "It's good cause it helps us grab the momentum in the game and carry it through. It was a big win for us."
Jussi Jokinen scored for the Hurricanes, who remain 11-3-0 over their last 14 games. Justin Peters had 26 saves in his fourth start of the season.
"It was a matter of breaks and bounces tonight," said Carolina head coach Paul Maurice. "But I'll tell you what, they (Florida) did as good a job tonight as we've seen in a long time."
Frolik was able to bat in a loose puck at the right side of the net to open the scoring at 13:58 of the first at the conclusion of a Panther power play.
Just 1:11 later Nick Tarnasky set up Kreps for a one-timer in the slot to make it 2-0.
Vokoun's sturdy play between the pipes kept it that way through the first two periods with 16 saves.
Jokinen knocked in a fluttering puck off the rebound of a Brandon Sutter offering to finally break through for Carolina at 7:58 of the third.
Steven Reinprecht snuck out from behind the net a short time later to set up Stillman's one-timer from in close for some breathing room at 3-1 with 3:30 left to play.
Kreps empty-netter sealed it just outside the final minute.
Game Notes
The Hurricanes' streak was their longest since a nine-game tear from March 18- April 7 of last season...They also had a three-game road winning streak broken in the first of three away from Raleigh...Florida will kick off a three-game road trip Tuesday in Minnesota...Florida's Bryan McCabe had three assists.
<< Webb blows away field at ANZ Ladies Masters
Gold Coast, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karrie Webb, who led by one entering
Sunday's final round of the ANZ Ladies Masters, fired a course-record 11-under
61 to blow away the field for a six-stroke victory.
Webb completed her seventh AN
<< Redskins sign OL Hicks
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins bolstered their
offensive line by signing veteran guard Artis Hicks on Saturday.
The deal is reportedly for three years and worth as much as $9 million.
Hicks has played for
<< Buckeyes top Wisconsin in Big Ten semifinals
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and
went 4-of-7 from three-point range in leading 10th-ranked Ohio State to an
82-73 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.
Jantel Laven
<< Sharks rally in third to down Blue Jackets
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Nabokov made 21 stops, and San Jose
rallied in the third period to take a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets
at HP Pavilion.
Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who h
Spartans can claim share of Big Ten title with win over Wolverines >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter Big Ten Conference rivals close out
the regular season against each other this afternoon in East Lansing, as the
Michigan Wolverines come calling on the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan
Illinois welcomes No. 15 Wisconsin to Champaign >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In desperate need of a win, the Illinois
Fighting Illini seek an upset of the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers today in a
Big Ten showdown at Assembly.
At 10-7 within the conference, Illinois is already guarante
Shockers battle Panthers for MVC Tournament crown >>
St. Louis. MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their second straight Missouri
Valley Conference Tournament championship, top-seeded Northern Iowa takes on
second-seeded Wichita State in the title game this afternoon at the Scottrade
Center in St.
SEC showdown pits Gators against Wildcats >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats close out
the regular season this afternoon with an SEC clash against the Florida
Gators, who need a victory to help their NCAA Tournament prospects.
Losses in the last two
(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.
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