Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/08/2012 - Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles look to remain in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings tonight as they head to the Conte Forum to take on the Boston College Eagles.
This will be just the ninth meeting between the conference rivals. The series is tied 4-4 as the Seminoles have won three straight to even it up. In last year's meeting, Florida State won 67-51 at the Tucker Center.
The Seminoles have reeled off seven straight wins since losing their conference opener to arrive at a 7-1 mark in conference play, tied with North Carolina atop the standings. Florida State outlasted the nationally ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday and walked away with a 58-55 victory which made its overall record 16-6. Head coach Leonard Hamilton's team was very active on the defensive end of the floor for the second-straight game their last time out, as they forced Virginia into 20 turnovers. The Seminoles have been excellent in league action so far, as they have outscored ACC opponents by an average of 9.2 ppg.
Michael Snaer has been the main ingredient to Florida State's success this season. The junior guard leads the team with 13.8 ppg and has come up huge in big spots. Snaer put the Seminoles on the nation's radar last month with a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer that snapped Duke's impressive 45 game home-winning streak. Bernard James is a very good contributor for Florida State as well, as he averages 10.2 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. Okara White and Xavier Gibson get into the mix on a regular basis as well.
The Eagles hope a return home will help, as they are riding a six-game losing streak into this one after they fell 51-47 to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday. The loss to Georgia Tech made Boston College 7-16 overall and 2-7 in league play. The Eagles were held to 34.7 percent shooting from the floor as they were held under 60 points for the fifth-straight game. Boston College has the lowest scoring offense in ACC play as it averages just 55.4 ppg. Conference opponents have managed to score 66.1 ppg against BC. The Eagles are last in the league in rebounding margin, as they are being beat on the boards by an average of 5.2 rpg.
Boston College lacks a standout player that many of its ACC rivals possess. Matt Humphrey's 10.1 points per game, which is not in the top 25 in the conference, is the highest on the team. Humphrey has scored 15 points in each of his last two outings. Lonnie Jackson added 10 points in each of the same contests. Ryan Anderson contributes 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while Patrick Heckmann nets 9.1 ppg. Dennis Clifford has been a decent man in the middle with averages of 9.3 points and 5.1 boards per game. Heckmann, Jackson, Anderson, and Clifford are all freshmen.
<< ACC heavyweights square off in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the greatest rivalries in all of
sports adds another chapter to its storied history this evening, as the 10th-
ranked Duke Blue Devils and fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels square off
in ACC action
<< Nebraska entertains No. 22 Michigan
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meeting for the first time in nearly 20 years,
the 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines and Nebraska Cornhuskers square off in
Lincoln tonight for a Big Ten Conference tussle at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
Michi
<< Sabres open homestand against Bruins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Buffalo Sabres will try to open a four-game
homestand on a positive note when they host the Boston Bruins this evening at
First Niagara Center.
The Bruins, meanwhile, will try to record consecutive wins for the
<< Western Illinois offensive coordinator resigns
Macomb, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Western Illinois is seeking an offensive
coordinator following the resignation of Doug Ruse on Tuesday.
He held the position over the the last two years, including the Leathernecks'
2010 FCS playoff season.
"
Demon Deacons and Cavs meet in ACC affair >>
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will
attempt to snap their four-game losing streak tonight as they head to the John
Paul Jones Arena for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle against the 19th-
ranked Virginia
Penn State comes calling on No. 11 Michigan State >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten
Conference standings meet in East Lansing this evening, as the Penn State
Nittany Lions challenge the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin
Center.
P
Motoring: Red Wings seek 18th straight home win vs. Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will put the NHL's longest home
winning streak since the mid-1970s on the line tonight, as they welcome the
Edmonton Oilers for a battle at Joe Louis Arena.
It's been over three months since the Red W
Clippers continue road trip in Cleveland minus Billups >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers eye a third straight win this
evening, but their thoughts may be with their fallen veteran, as they continue
a long road trip in Cleveland.
Los Angeles will be without Chauncey Billups for the rest
Sportsbooks that take credit cards are not always easy to come by....Everything from credit card companies denying gambling transactions to the fear of chargebacks by customers has slowed down sportsbook credit card transactions by a high percentage.
There are however still sportsbooks that take credit cards.
When using your credit card it is highly recommended that you try either: MySportsbook.com or Sportsbooks.com. Both sportsbooks have a high rate of accepting credit cards and will save you the time and hassle of looking around the web to make a credit card transaction.
Furthermore, Sportsbooks.com is one of the oldest sportsbooks on the web and Sportsbook offers security in that they are the biggest online sportsbook in the world! Publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, they are ROCK SOLID!
(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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting