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07/25/2010 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have signed veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck.
Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bulluck, who was originally drafted 30th overall by the Titans in the 2000 draft, spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Tennessee.
The Syracuse product has 758 tackles, 18 sacks, and 19 interceptions in 157 career games.
<< Padres rock Pirates in Matos' return
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera and Oscar Salazar each drove
in two runs and Mat Latos was solid in his return from the disabled list, as
the San Diego Padres dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second test
of a th
<< Busch outruns Edwards for ORP win
Clermont, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch put on a dominating performance,
but had to hold off a furious challenge from Carl Edwards during a green-
white-checkered finish to win Saturday's Kroger 200 Nationwide Series race at
O'Reill
<< Braun hits game-winner as Brewers edge Nationals
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun drove in Rickie Weeks with the
game-winning run in the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the
Washington Nationals, 4-3, in the middle test of a three-game series.
Braun and Ji
<< Orioles' Tatum leaves with hand injury
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles catcher Craig Tatum left
Saturday's 7-2 loss to Minnesota with a right hand injury.
In the top of the seventh inning with the Twins' Jason Repko at the plate,
Tatum was hit on the t
RSL, Chivas USA battle to draw >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA battled to a 1-1
draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.
Ned Grabavoy and Jose Padilla scored second-half goals just four minutes apart
for thei
Saunders' homer sparks Mariners over Lester, Red Sox >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Saunders homered in the sixth inning
after Eric Patterson's missed catch ruined a perfect game bid for Boston
starter Jon Lester, and the Mariners went on to take a 5-1 victory over the
Red Sox
Burris carries Stampeders over Roughriders >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris threw four touchdown passes as he
led the Calgary Stampeders to a convincing 40-20 win over the Saskatchewan
Roughriders at McMahon Stadium in Alberta.
Burris, who last week threw four inte
Tigers' Ordonez out 6-8 weeks with broken ankle >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez left
Saturday's 3-2 loss against Toronto with a fractured right ankle.
Ordonez was thrown out at home trying to score on a Miguel Cabrera double in
the bottom of the
(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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