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03/12/2010 - Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Randolph had 24 points and 11 rebounds, as the Memphis Grizzlies held on to take a 119-112 victory over the New York Knicks.
O.J. Mayo had 22 points and Rudy Gay provided 20 for Memphis, which led by as many as 29 before the Knicks got within single digits in the final minutes. But the Grizzlies held on to get their second straight win at home following an eight-game losing streak at FedExForum.
Mike Conley added 18 points, six assists and five boards for Memphis, which has won three in a row overall.
Bill Walker had 21 points off the bench to pace the Knicks, who have lost four of their last five. Fellow reserves Toney Douglas and Al Harrington had 19 and 15 points, respectively, while David Lee ended with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The Knicks trailed 110-87 with a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but went on a 15-2 run to cut into their deficit. Douglas provided eight points, including a three that got New York within 112-102 with 2:25 left.
Each team was unsuccessful on its next possession, and after Conley went 1- of-2 from the line, Walker got hot from beyond the arc. He made one before Randolph sank a layup, then came back and buried a second trey to make it a 115-108 game with 56.2 seconds remaining.
An offensive foul by Marc Gasol gave the Knicks an opportunity to get closer, and Wilson Chandler delivered, getting a short jumper in the lane to fall with 34.7 left. But the Knicks never got their deficit under five, as Conley and Randolph each sank two free throws in the remaining time.
Memphis used a 10-0 run to move in front 19-10 just past the midway point of the first, and led 32-24 at the quarter's conclusion.
The Grizzlies continued to play in front in the second and used a 13-0 run to take control. Mayo closed the stretch with a jumper to make it 55-37, and Memphis led 63-42 at the break.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 29 in the third, and were ahead 94-73 moving to the fourth.
Game Notes
Memphis went 30-of-33 at the line, while New York sank 25-of-29 free throws...Gasol had 12 points for the Grizzlies, while Sam Young added 13 off the bench...Chandler ended with 14 points for the Knicks, who shot 7-for-24 from three-point range.
<< Durant sets franchise mark, Thunder slide by Nets
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant poured in 32 points and
pulled down 12 rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the lowly New
Jersey Nets, 104-102.
Durant's 30-point game was his 36th this season, breaking
<< Harding solid as Wild escape Sabres
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Harding stopped a season-high 43 shots, as
Minnesota escaped from Buffalo with a 3-2 win at HSBC Arena.
Andrew Ebbett, Andrew Brunette and Guillaume Latendresse lit the lamp for the
Wild, who halted a fou
<< Richardson and Heat clobber Bulls
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quentin Richardson made 7-of-11 three-pointers on
his way to 23 points while pulling down seven rebounds, as the Miami Heat
handled the Chicago Bulls, 108-95.
Jermaine O'Neal had a season-high 25 points t
<< San Diego inks CB Strickland
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers announced the signing
of free agent cornerback Donald Strickland to a two-year contract on Friday.
Strickland, 29, saw his playing time diminish with the New York Jets last
season
Salmons, Bucks drop Jazz to continue hot streak >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Salmons scored 24 points and hit a pair
of important free throws with less than 20 seconds to go, and the Milwaukee
Bucks continued their impressive homestand with a 95-87 win over the Utah
Jazz.
Bynum's 20 assists keys Detroit's win over Wizards >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Bynum provided a spark with a career-
best 20 assists, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards for a
sixth straight time, 101-87, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Tayshaun Prince, Jonas
Aztecs shock Lobos, gain berth in MWC final >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy White scored 28 points, as San Diego
State ended New Mexico's 15-game winning streak with a 72-69 victory over the
eighth-ranked Lobos in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals.
Kawhi Le
Kings reach 40 wins with shootout victory over Dallas >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarret Stoll tallied the lone goal in the sixth
round of the shootout, as Los Angeles topped Dallas, 2-1, at American Airlines
Center.
After Jamie Benn's shot to open the round found its way into the sliding
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
(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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