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05/22/2009 - Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by senior Azahara Munoz, the Arizona State women's golf team combined to shoot a three-over 291 on Friday to win the NCAA Women's Golf Championship.
Munoz and teammates Juliana Murcia and Carlota Ciganda each posted even-par 72s in the final round at Caves Valley to lead the Sun Devils to their seventh women's golf championship.
Jennifer Osborn and Jaclyn Sweeney both shot three-over 75s to round out the scoring for Arizona State, which completed the four-day championship at a combined 30-over par.
Only the four best scores from every five-player team count towards the day's scoring totals.
The top-ranked Sun Devils scored an eight-shot win over second-ranked UCLA, which posted a nine-over 297 in the final round.
Southern California, which held the third-round lead, dropped into third place after posting a 13-over 301 team score Friday. The Trojans finished a stroke behind city rivals UCLA at 39-over 301.
Purdue senior Maria Hernandez shot a one-under 71 and claimed the individual championship at one-over 289, a stroke in front of Southern California freshman Jennifer Song.
<< Braves recall Acosta, option Parr
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves recalled reliever Manny
Acosta from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday and optioned right-hander James Parr
to its International League affiliate.
Acosta appeared in 46 games for Atlanta las
<< Icher remains atop Corning leaderboard
Corning, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chasing her first tour win, France's Karine
Icher shot a six-under 66 on Friday to remain atop the leaderboard midway
through the LPGA Corning Classic.
Icher set a 36-hole tournament scoring record at
<< Wang activated off DL, will work from bullpen
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees activated pitcher Chien-
Ming Wang from the 15-day disabled list on Friday and will work him out of the
bullpen.
Wang was scheduled for a minor league rehab start at Triple-A Scranton/Wil
<< Too hot to handle: Keenan out as Flames head coach
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames announced on Friday that
head coach Mike Keenan has been relieved of his duties, effective immediately.
Keenan had been behind the bench for the last two seasons in Calgary, but
desp
Datsyuk out for Game 3 >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk was
not in the lineup for Game 3 of his club's Western Conference final series
against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury.
Datsyuk was hit in the fo
Sabbatini, Mallinger share Byron Nelson lead >>
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory Sabbatini fired a six-under 64 Friday to
grab a piece of the lead after two rounds of the Byron Nelson Championship.
Sabbatini shares the 36-hole lead with John Mallinger at eight-under-par 132.
Malling
Havlat knocked out of Game 3 >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks forward Martin Havlat will
not return to Game 3 of his club's Western Conference final series with the
Detroit Red Wings with an apparent upper-body injury.
Havlat was leveled with a
Reds use late push to top Tribe >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Rosales' RBI double in the eighth broke
a tie, and the Cincinnati Reds used eight strong innings from Bronson Arroyo
to take a 3-1 victory over their cross-state rival, the Cleveland Indians, at
Great A
(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.
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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