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12/27/2008 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Mason stopped all 20 shots he faced for his third career shutout as the Columbus Blue Jackets downed the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-0, at Nationwide Arena.
Jan Hejda, Andrew Murray and Manny Malhotra each had a goal for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a three-game skid.
Antero Niittymaki stopped 30 shots in the loss for the Flyers, who have dropped the first two contests of a six-game road trip.
This was the first time Philadelphia lost to Columbus. The team was 4-0-3 (three ties) against Columbus coming into the game.
The Blue Jackets scored early and late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Columbus nearly had a goal during a scrum in front as several whacks resulted in the puck sitting on the goal line, but Ossi Vaananen was able to clear the puck away from danger. However, it went right to the left point where Hejda fired it home at the 3:22 mark.
Later on the power play, R.J. Umberger threw a pass from the low right side to the front of the net where Murray tapped it home with just 1:52 left in the first.
Mason needed to make just five saves in the opening frame to keep Philadelphia off the board.
The Blue Jackets took a 3-0 lead at the 7:39 mark of the second period. Rick Nash found himself with the puck along the left boards in the Philadelphia end and sent a pass to the right circle where Malhotra took the puck from the backhand to the forehand and went top shelf over Niittymaki.
Philadelphia put 11 shots on net in the second period, but Mason made several nice saves and kept the puck out of the net.
Columbus stymied the Philadelphia offense in the third period as the Blue Jackets limited the Flyers to just four shots on net.
Game Notes
The first goal Columbus had snapped a scoreless streak of 129 minutes and eight seconds...Philadelphia plays in Vancouver on Tuesday...Columbus begins a six-game road trip in Los Angeles on Monday...The Blue Jackets went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Flyers were stopped on their three chances.
<< Pistons' Hamilton out against Bucks
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit guard Richard Hamilton is
inactive for the Pistons' game against the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night due
to a groin injury.
Hamilton was said to have aggravated the injury during Friday's
<< Houston's McGrady out with knee injury
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady will miss
tonight's game against Utah due to a sore left knee.
McGrady, who is averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists, missed
his eighth game of the season
<< Something to Ponder: Florida State crushes Wisconsin
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Ponder threw two touchdowns and the
Florida State defense added two touchdowns as the Seminoles crushed the
Wisconsin Badgers, 42-13, at the Champs Sports Bowl.
Ponder went 18-for-31 with 1
<< Bulls' Deng sits with ankle injury
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng sat out
Saturday's game against the Hawks with a sprained left ankle.
Deng, who is averaging 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26 games for Chicago,
suffered the injury
Kariya to have hip surgery >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Blues forward Paul Kariya will need
left hip surgery and be sidelined indefinitely, the club announced Saturday.
Kariya has played in only 11 contests this season, and not since a November 5
game a
Sabres blow lead, but top Isles in shootout >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ales Kotalik scored the winner in the shootout
as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Islanders, 4-3, despite blowing a
two-goal lead late in the game.
The Islanders scored two goals in the final 1:34 o
Johnson and Hawks outlast Chicago >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson poured in a season-high 41 points
and managed to dish out eight assists as the Atlanta Hawks bested the Chicago
Bulls, 129-117, in an offensive showcase at Philips Arena.
Johnson, coming off hi
Kostitsyn's hat trick carries Canadiens past Penguins >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Kostitsyn registered his first career
hat trick to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 triumph over the Pittsburgh
Penguins at Mellon Arena.
Carey Price was in top form, holding the high-powered P
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
(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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