10/29/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Things didn't quite go the way they were supposed to in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Curlin was supposed to win the Classic and secure his second Horse of the Year title.
With a quarter-mile to run the pre-written script was being followed to the letter. Jockey Robby Albarado had Curlin moving on the outside and the two took the lead at the top of the stretch. In mid-stretch Curlin was on his way to winning his second $5 million Classic and wrap up Horse of the Year honors.
With 200 yards to go Curlin tired and Raven's Pass, who simply followed the favorite's path into the stretch, took the lead and won by a little under two- lengths. Curlin faded to fourth in the 12 horse field.
"With Curlin, nothing is a consolation," trainer Steve Asmussen said. "We're just proud of who he is. He's the first North American-based horse over $10 million and he's just had a remarkable run.
"Watching the race first time by, I was very concerned. It kind of looked like the Man o' War. He was off the bridle. Very concerned. I think he had to struggle to get where he was, the first time by. When he went under the wire the first time, he was further back and Robby was nudging him forward. He works harder to go over it than he works to go over the dirt."
Because of that fourth place finish by Curlin, the undefeated filly Zenyatta could be voted Horse of the Year. In the final NTRA National Poll, Zenyatta was first with 170 points to 158 for Curlin. The filly received 11 first place votes and Curlin got seven.
"It's quite an accomplishment to go all year undefeated, and to step up each time, four of them in Grade 1, like she did," said trainer John Shirreffs of the four-year-old filly, unbeaten in nine starts, seven of them this year. "In the vote, she would have to be seriously considered for that."
The major problem I have with Zenyatta, as opposed to Curlin, is the fact that the filly has only raced once outside of the southern California region. Curlin has been overseas, Kentucky and New York this year, and was clearly the best thoroughbred, until Saturday.
When the Eclipse Awards are announced in January, Curlin will receive one for champion older male and Zenyatta will be crowned top older female horse. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a tie for Horse of the Year, as long as one of those horses is Curlin.
<< Brees, Kiwanuka, Moss earn NFC weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees,
New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, and wide receiver-punt
returner Santana Moss of the Washington Redskins were selected as the NFC's
top pla
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New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington,
Tennessee Titans safety Chris Hope and Houston kick returner Jacoby Jones were
selected as the AFC's top players for Week 8 of the NFL season.
Pennington earned t
<< Coyotes send Lisin to San Antonio
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes assigned right wing Enver
Lisin to the San Antonio Rampage, the club's American Hockey League affiliate,
on Wednesday.
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<< Chiefs add T Carnahan, LS Gafford
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs signed offensive
tackle Andrew Carnahan and long snapper Thomas Gafford to two-year contracts
on Wednesday.
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NHL pushes trade deadline back one day >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League announced Wednesday
that it has pushed its trade deadline back one day, to March 4, 2009.
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Line of Scrimmage: Week 9 - Burnout Alert for Singletary >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - We love Mike Singletary's passion, and so
do the people at Coors, we're guessing.
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Rays, Phils to resume Game 5 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay
Rays will complete Game 5 of the World Series this evening at Citizens Bank
Park.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:37 p.m. (et). The game will resume from th
Panthers ink Kasay to four-year extension >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers signed kicker John
Kasay to a four-year contract extension on Wednesday, meaning that the last
member of the club's original expansion roster could play in Carolina through
the 201
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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