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02/02/2012 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While they haven't been at their best on the road, the Portland Trail Blazers have had almost no trouble winning at the Rose Garden.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points while Gerald Wallace netted 23 points against his old team as the Trail Blazers dismantled the Charlotte Bobcats, 112-68.
"My teammates did a good job finding me," Crawford said. "It's never just the guy making the shots."
LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points while Marcus Camby blocked five shots for Portland, which moved to 10-1 at home this season. The Blazers shot 55 percent from the floor.
Gerald Henderson poured in 16 points while Derrick Brown finished with 12 points for the Bobcats, who shot just 32.1 percent from the field. They have lost 10 straight games.
"This one's over and we have to move on...it was a bad game for us," Bobcats head coach Paul Silas said.
A 15-2 run by the Blazers, capped by Aldridge's layup, gave the hosts a 24-9 lead with 3:10 remaining in the opening quarter.
Aldridge netted 14 points while Wallace added nine as the Blazers took a commanding 35-18 advantage into the second.
The Blazers led by as many as 28 in the second stanza before taking a 61-35 lead at halftime. Portland shot 57.1 percent and scored 24 points off of 13 Charlotte turnovers in the opening half.
Portland took a 92-48 lead into the fourth and led by as many as 48 points in the final stanza before cruising to the easy win.
The Blazers forced 18 steals and scored 33 points off 23 Charlotte turnovers.
Game Notes
The Bobcats have lost 10 straight road games...The Blazers dished out 26 assists...Raymond Felton had 11 points and seven assists for Portland...Charlotte made just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc while Portland was 7-of-14 from three-point range.
<< Doughty scores in final second as Kings down Jackets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Doughty rammed home the game-winning
goal with two-tenths of a second remaining to send the Los Angeles Kings to a
3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Staples Center.
After Blue Jackets'
<< Stars start second half with win over Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Ryder and Jamie Benn each had a goal
and two assists as the Dallas Stars took a 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at
Honda Center.
Stephane Robidas, Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and Sheldon Souray ea
<< No. 17 San Diego State edges Boise State
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamaal Franklin scored 16 points and pulled
down eight rebounds as No. 17 San Diego State survived to take a 58-56 win
over Boise State.
The game came down to the final shot after Chase Tapley hit 1-
<< No. 11 UNLV fends off Colorado State
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chace Stanback and Oscar Bellfield each
scored 16 points, and No. 11 UNLV fended off the upset-minded Colorado State
Rams, 82-63, to remain undefeated at home this season.
Mike Moser finished with 13
Hot Hawks kick off homestand vs. Grizzlies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks are back home after an impressive road
trip and will kick off a four-game residency this evening versus the Memphis
Grizzlies.
Hidden in all the hype by the likes of Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia in the
Avs host Wild in Northwest Division battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key battle in the Western Conference playoff race is on
tap tonight in Denver, as the sliding Colorado Avalanche host the Minnesota
Wild at the Pepsi Center.
Despite posting just four wins in their last 20 games (4-12-4)
Blackhawks try to stop slide in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The return of two of Chicago's top forwards wasn't enough
to halt the club's losing streak last time out and the Blackhawks will try to
avoid matching their longest skid of the season tonight when they visit the
Edmonton Oile
Sharks, Stars renew hostilities in San Jose >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks turned in an impressive performance in
their first game following the All-Star break and the Pacific Division leaders
will aim for a third straight win tonight when they host the rival Dallas
Stars at HP P
(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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