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03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals didn't have to break a sweat in clinching their third straight Southeast Division title on Wednesday.
Tonight, they'll try to move closer to locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Verizon Center.
The Capitals were off Wednesday, but clinched the division title as a result of Atlanta's regulation loss against Columbus. Washington -- which leads the Southeast by a whopping 33 points over the Thrashers and Tampa -- not only became the first NHL club this season to win its division, but also is the first to secure a playoff spot.
With 99 points, Washington also comes into tonight with a 14-point lead over Pittsburgh for the East's top seed with 17 games remaining for both teams. The Caps could also claim their first Presidents' Trophy as they lead the NHL by four points over San Jose.
Washington is coming off a close victory Wednesday against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to lift the Caps to the 4-3 decision at Verizon Center.
In the extra session, Fleischmann hammered an Eric Belanger feed past Carolina goaltender Manny Legace.
"I jumped from the bench and (Belanger) made the pass. I didn't get all of it. But it went in so I was happy," Fleischmann said.
Mike Green scored twice on the power play for Washington, while Jose Theodore turned aside 28 shots to earn the win -- the Caps' 21st victory in their last 26 games.
NHL leading scorer Alex Ovechkin added two assists, giving him two or more points in 30 of his 59 games this season. The Russian superstar leads the NHL with 94 points this year.
Washington, which is capping a five-game homestand tonight, is 26-3-4 as the host this season.
Tampa Bay enters tonight trailing Boston by six points for the East's final playoff spot and the Lightning have lost two straight and seven of their last eight games.
The Bolts were dealt a 4-3 overtime loss Thursday in Toronto, losing on Phil Kessel's tally 3:33 into OT.
Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, stretching his amazing points streak to a franchise-record 18 games and his goal string to seven contests. The sophomore star has 42 goals this year, placing him behind only Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for the league lead.
Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie also lit the lamp for Tampa Bay, while Mike Smith stopped 34 shots in defeat.
"There's a lot of young guys that are fighting for jobs in the next upcoming season," Stamkos said. "They worked hard and wanted it a little more."
The Lightning have a dismal 9-19-6 record as the guest this year and are closing out a three-game road trip tonight. Tampa will begin a four-game homestand with Sunday's test against the Penguins.
The Capitals have taken three of four from Tampa this year and 14 of the last 15 matchups overall. The Bolts have dropped seven straight and nine of 10 in D.C. The teams will wrap the season series March 20 in Tampa.
<< Lafayette and Lehigh renew rivalry in Patriot League title tilt
Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arch rivals Lafayette and Lehigh will collide
in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament this afternoon in
Bethlehem, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This is t
<< Blue Devils hope to avoid upset in ACC tourney clash with Cavs
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and fourth-ranked Duke Blue
Devils begin their quest for another ACC Tournament title today, as they take
on the ninth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the quarterfinal round at Greensboro
Coliseum.
<< Tulsa takes on UTEP in C-USA Tournament semifinals
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso
Miners come together with the fifth-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the
semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament today at the BOK Center. The
survivor of this bo
<< Irish and Mountaineers fight for right to play for Big East title
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-seeded and seventh-ranked West
Virginia Mountaineers duke it out with the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting
Irish in the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament tonight at Madison
Square Garden. The
Thunder host hapless Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Oklahoma City Thunder posting their
fifth straight home win look promising, as they will resume a three-game
residency versus the miserable New Jersey Nets from the Ford Center.
The Thunder made it four
Desperate Grizzlies welcome Knicks to Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies are still alive in the Western
Conference playoff race, but time is running short. Tonight they'll begin a
three-game homestand versus the New York Knicks at FedEx Forum with hopes of
gaining ground in t
Sabres try to run win streak to four games versus Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will aim for a fourth consecutive
victory when they welcome the Minnesota Wild for an interconference clash at
HSBC Arena.
The Sabres' three-game winning streak is the club's longest since a season-
bes
Spurs, Wolves square off in Twin Cities >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to continue their mastery of
the Minnesota Timberwolves when the two Western Conference inhabitants get
together tonight at the Target Center.
San Antonio has won 10 straight and 15 of the pa
(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.
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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