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03/17/2010 - Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of 11 three-year-olds has been entered for Saturday's $750,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/8- mile race is historically a major stepping stone on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
In 2009, Quality Road won Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth Stakes, and last month he came back to win the Donn Handicap.
Eskendereya, winner of this year's Fountain of Youth Stakes, will skip the Florida Derby for the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 3.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will instead start highly regarded Rule in the race. The colt has won his last four starts, including the Sam F. Davis Stakes last month at Tampa Bay Downs.
For the Florida Derby, Rule will start from post seven with John Velazquez again in the saddle. Rule is owned by WinStar Farm and has career earnings of $716,700 in six starts with four wins.
A horse that will bring back a lot of memories is Lentenor, a full-brother to 2006 Florida and Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Lentenor is also owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson and trained by Mike Matz.
Lentenor has drawn post two with Alan Garcia riding. The colt will be making his stakes debut on Saturday. In four career starts, he has one win, two seconds and a third for $42,200.
Pleasant Prince, fourth in the Fountain of Youth, will break from post four with Eclipse Award winner Julien Leparoux back to ride. The chestnut colt is trained by Wesley Ward for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey.
In the Fountain of Youth, Pleasant Prince came from ninth to hit the board, more than 10-lengths behind the winner. The colt has earned $47,620 with one win in six starts.
Here is the complete field for the 59th Florida Derby in post position order: Soaring Empire, Eddie Castro; Lentenor, Alan Garcia; Pulsion, Corey Nakatani; Pleasant Prince, Julien Leparoux; Game On Dude, Jeremy Rose; First Dude, Ramon Dominguez; Rule, John Velazquez; Ice Box, Jose Lezcano; Miner's Reserve, Kent Desormeaux; Best Actor Javier Castellano and Radiohead, Edgar Prado.
Post-time for the Florida Derby is scheduled for 6:20 p.m. (et).
<< Rutgers retains Hill for now
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rutgers University will retain the services
of men's head basketball coach Fred Hill for the upcoming season.
The school on Wednesday issued a brief release from director of
intercollegiate
<< Mariners release P Petit
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners released right-handed
pitcher Yusmeiro Petit on Wednesday.
The move comes before Petit ever threw a pitch in a regular-season game for
Seattle, as the team claimed him off waivers f
<< Cliff Lee dealt five-game suspension
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball handed down a five-
game suspension and an undisclosed fine to Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee
Wednesday.
MLB's ruling indicated Lee intentionally threw at the head of Arizona c
<< Ljubicic stuns Djokovic at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former top-five performer Ivan Ljubicic
upset world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in Wednesday's fourth-round action at the
$4.5 million BNP Paribas Open.
The 20th-seeded Ljubicic toppled the second-seeded Djoko
Devils sweep season series with Penguins >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise and Patrik Elias each posted a goal
and one assist as New Jersey completed a six-game regular-season sweep of
Pittsburgh with a 5-2 decision at the Prudential Center.
Dainius Zubrus, Paul Mar
Bosh sends Raptors past Hawks on last-second shot >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Bosh hit the winning jump shot with 2.1
seconds left, boosting the Toronto Raptors to a 106-105 decision over the
Atlanta Hawks.
Bosh had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani totaled
Cavs win division, continue home dominance of Pacers >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James nearly had his second straight
triple-double, finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and
the Cleveland Cavaliers captured their second straight Central Division title
with a
Sixers stop slide, topple Nets >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Iguodala netted 20 points and
dished out eight assists as the Sixers took down the reeling Nets, 108-97, at
the Wachovia Center.
Jrue Holiday netted 19 and Elton Brand added 12 points and eig
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
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