Wagner dismissed at Oregon State
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
06/01/2010 - Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon State fired head women's basketball coach LaVonda Wagner on Tuesday.
She compiled a 68-85 record over five seasons with the Beavers. She also had a 26-64 mark within the Pac-10.
"It's always a difficult decision when you make a change in the leadership of a program," Oregon State athletics director Bob De Carolis said. "I appreciate Coach Wagner's service to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and wish her well in her future endeavors."
The Oregonian reported the school fired Wagner "without cause" and would pay her the remainder of her contract, which is about $1.2 million. She was signed through the 2013 season.
The newspaper also reported that Haiden Palmer, a freshman guard, was the latest in a series of players to request paperwork that could allow her to leave the program. Five players have already left the program this spring and a total of seven players are gone from the 2009-10 roster. That includes Talisa Rhea, who transferred to Seattle University. Rhea was the team's top scorer last season at 15.3 points per game. Palmer was the second-best scorer at 10.8 ppg.
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull Racing has switched crew chiefs and supporting personnel for its two Sprint Cup Series teams, beginning with this weekend's 500-mile race at Pocono, team officials announced on Tuesday. Driver
<< Brewers reinstate Edmonds from DL
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Brewers reinstated outfielder Jim Edmonds
from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday amid a host of roster moves.
Edmonds hit the DL with a strained left oblique muscle back on May 18. The
lefty-hitting
<< Diamondbacks acquire Dontrelle Willis in trade with Tigers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday
acquired left-handed pitcher Dontrelle Willis and cash considerations from
the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-hander Billy Buckner.
The 28-year-old Wil
<< Let's cut to the chase
Pocono, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thirteen races down and thirteen to go before
the 2010 Sprint Cup Series championship chase begins September 19 in New
Hampshire. After last Sunday's 600-mile race at Charlotte, the battle for
the 12-driver chase f
<< Blue Jays activate P Tallet
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays activated pitcher Brian
Tallet from the 15-day disabled list.
Tallet, who was on the DL since April 18 with a left forearm injury, will make
the start, his fourth of the season, Tuesday
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left Tuesday's game against the Orioles after fouling a pitch off his left foot. The injury has been labeled a bruised left foot. Teixeira was hit by a p
Walker's first career HR boosts Pirates over Cubs >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker's two-run home run in the
eighth inning, the first of his career, gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win
over the Chicago Cubs in the second contest of a three-game set.
Garrett Jones als
Cantu, Paulino help Florida down Milwaukee >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge Cantu doubled in the go-ahead run off
Trevor Hoffman in the seventh inning and the Florida Marlins downed the
Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, in the second installment of a four-game series.
Ronny Pau
Vazquez strong on mound as Yanks win in Bronx >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inconsistent Javier Vazquez bounced back from
a poor start to toss seven innings of one-run ball and a Miguel Tejada two-run
error in the seventh handed the Yankees a 3-1 win over Baltimore in the opener
of a th
Westbrook solid as Tribe edge Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Westbrook pitched 7 2/3 stellar innings to
lift the Cleveland Indians to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the opener
of a three-game AL Central series at Comerica Park.
Westbrook (3-3) allowed one run
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
Horse Betting
(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.