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Hornets sting WizardsBasketball Betting Lines01/13/2007 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Desmond Mason scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets outlasted the Washington Wizards, 104-97. Rasual Butler scored 20 points for the Hornets, who had lost five of six coming into the game. Devin Brown scored 19 and doled out nine assists, and Jannero Pargo scored 19 points as well for the Hornets. Tyson Chandler netted 10 points and grabbed 11 boards, while Marc Jackson added 11 points. Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with a game-high 23 points, although Arenas only hit 5-of-19 from the field on the night. DeShawn Stevenson scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting for Washington, which had won three of four prior to the loss. Caron Butler scored 18 points and pulled down nine boards for Washington, and Antawn Jamison scored 14 points. Arenas hit a three-pointer with 3:11 left to pull Washington to within 91-90, and it appeared as if the back-and-forth game was headed for a tight finish. Mason answered on the other end, though, hitting a leaner and drawing a foul, converting the three-point play to put the Hornets up 94-90 with 2:49 left. Washington was able to stop the Hornets on their next two possessions, but back-to-back charges by Arenas and Stevenson squandered the Wizards chances to bridge the four-point deficit, and layups from Pargo and Butler put the Hornets ahead 98-90 with 40.3 seconds remaining. Stevenson did manage to hit a three from the corner to cut the deficit to 98-95 with 29.2 ticks left, but Pargo quickly broke the Washington press, finding an uncovered Linton Johnson for a dunk that put the Hornets up 100-95 with 23.7 seconds left. The Hornets were able to hit their free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. Washington trailed 76-73 entering the final quarter. Arenas and Stevenson scored eight points apiece in the first quarter, and the Wizards took a 32-24 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. A Stevenson three at the buzzer tied the game 51-51 at the half. Game Notes This was the first time in 19 games that the Wizards failed to score 100 points...The Hornets have won 10 straight at home over Washington.
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Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jessica Adair poured in 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, as 12th-ranked George Washington defeated Fordham, 77-51, at Rose Hill Gym. Kenan Cole added 12 points for the Colonials (13-2, 2-0 Atlantic 10)
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Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored two goals to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Brian Rolston and Keith Carney also tallied for Minnesota, which has won two straight
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Horse Betting(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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