Sharks rally in third to down Blue Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Nabokov made 21 stops, and San Jose rallied in the third period to take a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at HP Pavilion.

Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who have won the past two games.

Andrew Murray scored the lone goal while Steve Mason made 42 stops for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped their past four games.

Columbus was holding a 1-0 lead in the third period when Antoine Vermette was called for hooking, and the San Jose power play went to work.

Joe Thornton had the puck at the right side, and he shoved it out front where Heatley one-timed it home at the 7:53 mark.

Shortly after Thornton almost gave the Sharks the lead, the team did take the lead, as several shots in front saw the puck come to the right side. Pavelski grabbed it, skated around behind the net and from the left side wristed it home with 4:40 to play.

After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead just one minute into the second.

On the transition, R.J. Umberger skated down the right wing, made a move to get behind his defender and slid a backhand pass to the slot where Murray redirected it into the net.

Game Notes

San Jose hosts Nashville on Thursday...Columbus continues its three-game west coast swing in Los Angeles on Monday...The Sharks took three of four against Columbus this season...San Jose went 1-for-8 on the power play while Columbus was 0-for-4.

Wwwnyra Hockey Betting News

<< Montreal doubles up Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Gionta and Benoit Pouliot each had a goal and an assist in Montreal's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Tomas Plekanec and Dominic Moore also scored for the Canadiens, who bounced back from a

<< Bucks topple Cavs; James rests
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Jennings led five Milwaukee players in double figures with 25 points on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, as the Bucks took down the Cleveland Cavaliers, minus LeBron James, 92-85, at the Bradley Center.

<< Big Sky Conference Tournament Recaps
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Jones sunk a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the sixth-seeded Portland State Vikings to a 68-65 victory over the third-seeded Montana State Bobcats in the quarter

<< Suns help Pacers finish four-game trip winless
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire poured in a game-best 30 points to go with six rebounds, as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Indiana Pacers, 113-105, at US Airways Center. Grant Hill added 22 points and eight rebo

<< UTEP clips UAB to finish season on 14-game win streak
El Paso, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Caracter scored UTEP's final six points and finished with 13 to lead the 24th ranked Miners to a 52-50 win over the UAB Blazers at Don Haskins Center in the regular-season finale for both teams. Myro

Buckeyes top Wisconsin in Big Ten semifinals >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and went 4-of-7 from three-point range in leading 10th-ranked Ohio State to an 82-73 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. Jantel Laven

Redskins sign OL Hicks >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins bolstered their offensive line by signing veteran guard Artis Hicks on Saturday. The deal is reportedly for three years and worth as much as $9 million. Hicks has played for

Webb blows away field at ANZ Ladies Masters >>
Gold Coast, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karrie Webb, who led by one entering Sunday's final round of the ANZ Ladies Masters, fired a course-record 11-under 61 to blow away the field for a six-stroke victory. Webb completed her seventh AN

Teenager Seung-yul Noh wins Malaysian Open >>
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seung-yul Noh got up and down for birdie on the final hole Sunday to fend off K.J. Choi and win the Malaysian Open by a single stroke. The South Korean Noh shot four-under 68 and completed his

Vokoun stops 31 in win over Carolina >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun's 31 saves set the tone for Florida's 4-1 victory to snap the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game win streak at Bank Atlantic Center. Kamil Kreps scored twice, including an empty-net goal,

MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa 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.