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10/22/2011 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Family members, friends and many in the auto racing community gathered to pay their respects to two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in a multi- car crash during last Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Wheldon, 33, was remembered as an accomplished race car driver as well as a young father and husband during the hour-long service held on Saturday at First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg. He was born in Emberton, England but had resided in St. Petersburg. Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, and two sons, Sebastian and Oliver.
"Although the last few days have been unbearable for our family, the overwhelming love and support we have received are rays of sunshine during these dark days," Susie Wheldon said in a statement earlier this week. "The outpouring of sympathy and condolences has been so comforting, and I want to thank everyone for their kind notes, letters, gifts and flowers."
IndyCar drivers Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan were among those who served as pallbearers for Wheldon. Wynonna Judd performed "Amazing Grace" during the service. Her sister, Ashley Judd, who is Franchitti's wife, was also in attendance.
Large crowds formed outside the church to mourn Wheldon. A private burial for Wheldon was held after the funeral.
IndyCar has planned a public memorial service for the 2005 series titleholder on Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The memorial will be televised live on VERSUS and ESPNEWS as well as streamed online at IndyCar.com.
Wheldon won his second Indianapolis 500 in May. He made just three starts in the series this year.
<< Pender Harbour sails home in Bunty Lawless
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pender Harbour, ridden by Luis Contreras,
controlled the pace and the race to win Saturday's $125,000 Bunty Lawless
Stakes at Woodbine Race Course. The three-year-old gelding toured the mile in
1:38.66
<< Ayew's brace leads Marseille over Ajaccio
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ayew made up for a missed penalty
with a pair of goals, and Marseille won for just the second time in France's
Ligue 1, 2-0 over promoted Ajaccio on Saturday at the Stade Velodrome.
Ajaccio's Me
<< Coles one clear at Sawgrass
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gavin Coles managed a one-under 69 on
Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Jacksonville
Open.
Coles, a four-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, finished 54 holes at seven-
und
<< Leonard, Chappell share lead in Florida
Lake Buena Vista, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Leonard posted a two-under 70
on Saturday and was joined atop the leaderboard by Kevin Chappell after three
rounds of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
Chappell fired a six-under
Saints officially release C Kreutz >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints waived center Olin
Kreutz on Saturday.
Kreutz left the team this week because due to a lack of desire to continue
playing. The 14-year veteran reportedly lost his passion for th
No. 13 Nebraska beats Minnesota for 15th straight time >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nebraska and Minnesota may have met for the
first time in 21 years on Saturday, but the result remained the same.
Taylor Martinez passed for a touchdown and Rex Burkhead ran for another, as
the 13th-ran
No. 16 Virginia Tech downs Boston College >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Wilson ran for 134 yards and a score
on 17 carries to lift the No. 16 Virginia Tech Hokies over the Boston College
Eagles, 30-14.
Logan Thomas threw for 268 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-36 pa
No. 9 Ducks run over Colorado >>
Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even without LaMichael James and Darron Thomas,
ninth-ranked Oregon had no problems with Colorado, earning a 45-2 victory
behind a dominating rushing attack.
Kenjon Barner had 115 yards and two scores o
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
(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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