Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
04/25/2009 - Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thierry Henry's goal with five minutes to play allowed Barcelona to earn a 2-2 draw with Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday.
Barca took the lead 24 minutes into the match through Lionel Messi, but Valencia scored twice in the final three minutes of the first half to claim a 2-1 lead at the break.
However, Henry picked up a loose ball inside the box after a failed clearance attempt by Valencia goalkeeper Cesar, and his deflected effort made its way across the goal line.
The result leaves Barca seven points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, but a Real win over Sevilla on Sunday would close the gap to four points, with the two Spanish giants set to meet on May 3.
Valencia remains in fourth place, one point behind third-placed Sevilla.
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes was the first to be called into action in the 18th minute when he was forced to get down and stop David Villa's free kick, but it was Cesar that was first to pick the ball out of his own goal.
Messi exchanged passes with Andres Iniesta inside the area, and after Cesar came off his line to challenge Iniesta, he slipped the ball back to Messi to slam into the empty net.
It was a neat piece of play from Barca's talented duo, but the rest of the half belonged to the home side, who had a penalty appeal turned down five minutes after Messi's goal.
Valencia looked increasingly threatening as the first half wore on, and they nearly leveled the match when Carlos Marchena floated a long ball over the top for David Silva, whose looping header forced Valdes to tip the ball over the crossbar.
It was a good save from the Barca keeper, but it was his mistake on the ensuing corner kick that handed Valencia the equalizer.
The ball was whipped into the six-yard box and Valdes attempted to claim it, but he collided with defender Carles Puyol, allowing the ball to slip through and hit off of Hedwiges Maduro and roll into the back of the net.
There was nothing Valdes could do two minutes later as Pablo and Mata worked a nice one-two outside the box, with Pablo pushing the ball between two Barca defenders and firing into the bottom right corner.
The hosts took the momentum into halftime, but the pace of the match slowed considerably in the second half.
Henry was able to get a few shots on goal, but nothing that seriously threatened the Valencia net.
The home side didn't get a good look at goal in the second half until the 74th minute, when Mata fired wide of the near post from inside the box.
However, a free kick with five minutes to play handed the visitors another chance and they made the most of it.
The ball was played into the middle of the box for Sergi Busquets and Cesar came off his line to punch it clear. The keeper nearly collided with the Barca player and didn't get enough on his clearance, and the ball ended up on the foot of Henry, whose deflected effort ended up in the back of the net.
Almeria kept Numancia on the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win while Malaga could have jumped into the top five but had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Deportivo.
Albert Luque put Malaga in front in the 33rd minute but his opener was canceled out by Sergio.
Malaga was then given a penalty kick with two minutes to play, but goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia saved Apono's spot kick.
<< Penguins rally from three goals down to eliminate Flyers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby picked up a pair of goals
and Sergei Gonchar netted the deciding score early in the third period, as the
Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from a three-goal deficit to down the Philadelphia
F
<< Janssen salvages draw for Twente
Heerenveen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Theo Janssen scored in stoppage
time as Twente was able to come away with a 1-1 draw against Heerenveen at Abe
Lenstra Stadion on Saturday.
The home side went in front in the 77th minute wi
<< Jets trade up to take Sanchez at No. 5
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets acquired the No. 5 pick in
Saturday's NFL Draft from Cleveland in order to select USC quarterback Mark
Sanchez.
In exchange for getting the fifth pick, the Jets gave the Browns t
<< NFL Draft Update
(The Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have the 9th pick, which is the 9th
Round One:
1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford (QB, Georgia); 2. St. Louis Rams - Jason
Smith (OT, Baylor); 3. Kansas City Chiefs - Tyson Jackson (DE, L-S-U)
Browns move down again, Eagles take Maclin at No. 19 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns moved down again in
Saturday's NFL Draft, trading the No. 19 selection to Philadelphia.
In exchange for the pick, the Eagles gave the Browns their No. 21 selection
and a sixth-ro
Kelly extends lead in New Orleans >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Kelly posted a three-under 69 on
Saturday to extend his lead to three shots after the third round of the Zurich
Classic of New Orleans.
Kelly, the overnight leader by one, finished 54 holes at
Ravens move up to No. 23, select OL Oher >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens acquired the 23rd
overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft from the New England Patriots and selected
Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher.
The Ravens sent their original first-rou
Garciaparra helps A's top Rays >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nomar Garciaparra's three-run double in the
fourth and a strong start from Dallas Braden helped the Oakland Athletics to a
5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Garciaparra finished the game 2-for-4, as the A
(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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting