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07/09/2010 - Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Friday's Dollar General 300 Nationwide Series race after turning the fastest lap in qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway.
Harvick posted a lap of 177.696 m.p.h. around the one-and-a-half-mile oval for his second pole of the season and the 21st of his Nationwide Series career. He is the only driver with multiple Nationwide victories at Chicagoland, winning here in 2005 and '07.
Points leader Brad Keselowski will start on the outside pole with a qualifying lap of 177.509 m.p.h. Trevor Bayne qualified third, followed by Carl Edwards and Joey Logano, who is the defending race winner. Keselowski currently holds a 277-point advantage over Edwards.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Shelby Howard completed the top-10.
Danica Patrick will start 28th. Patrick was the first driver in the 47-car field to make her qualifying attempt.
Jeremy Clements, Kevin Hamlin, Brian Keselowski and Jennifer Jo Cobb failed to qualify.
The 300-mile race at Chicagoland is scheduled to start around 8:00 p.m.
<< White Sox lose Peavy for season
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will be without the
services of Jake Peavy for the rest of the season after the right-hander
announced Friday he will undergo surgery.
Peavy has a detached latissimus dorsi m
<< Rangers emerge as winner of Lee sweepstakes
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have acquired highly
sought-after pitcher Cliff Lee, along with pitcher Mark Lowe and cash
considerations, from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for first baseman Justin
Smoak and three minor
<< Rangers reportedly land Lee; PC scheduled
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers are holding a press
conference at 6 pm (et) to make a major announcement.
According to multiple sources, including Evan Grant, who covers the team for
the Dallas Morning News, the
<< Mets demote Igarashi, recall Evans
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have optioned right-handed
reliever Ryota Igarashi to Single-A St. Lucie and recalled utility man Nick
Evans from Double-A Binghamton.
Igarashi was 0-1 with a 7.91 earned run average in
Rockies reinstate P De La Rosa from DL >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies reinstated pitcher Jorge De
La Rosa from the 15-day disabled list in time to make his start against San
Diego on Friday.
De La Rosa, who was placed on the DL on April 27, missed the l
Tennessee dismisses one, suspends two others after bar brawl >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee football program
dismissed Darren Myles Jr. and suspended Marlon Walls and Greg King
indefinitely for their participation in a bar fight in Knoxville early Friday
morning
Nationals option P Atilano >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals optioned rookie
right-handed pitcher Luis Atilano to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday.
The move was made in order for Atilano to get extra work during the All-Star
break. However,
Clippers sign free agent Brian Cook >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Clippers have signed free agent forward Brian Cook, bringing him back to the city where he began his NBA career with the Lakers.The deal was announced Friday, a day after the Clippers signed free agents Randy Foye a
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
(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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