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03/03/2008 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pyro, winner of the Risen Star Stakes, heads a field of nine for Saturday's $600,000 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. The 1 1/16 mile race is a major event on the way to the Kentucky Derby.
Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Pyro has career earnings of $696,718 with two wins in five starts. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the three-year-old is the 7-5 morning-line favorite and will start from post three with Shaun Bridgmohan again in the saddle.
Following a win in his initial lifetime start, Pyro was third in an allowance race and then posted two straight second-place finishes in the Champagne Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. It was War Pass who got the best of Pyro in those two stakes races.
If all goes according to plan Pyro will race in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday, April 12 prior to the Kentucky Derby.
Asmussen's other starter in the Louisiana Derby will be J Be K, who will break from post four with Kent Desormeaux riding. Owned by Zayat Stables, J Be K is undefeated in two career starts and is 12-1 in the program.
Making his 2008 debut is highly regarded Tale of Ekati, who is 7-2 in the morning-line. The colt will be ridden by Edgar Prado from post six.
Tale of Ekati is trained by Barclay Tagg for Charles Fipke. The three-year-old has won two of four starts, including last year's Futurity at Belmont Park. He was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and second in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, and brings a bankroll of $313,200 into Saturday's race.
California Derby winner Yankee Bravo is the third choice at 4-1. Trained by Paddy Gallagher, the colt will start from post eight with Alex Solis riding for the third straight time.
Yankee Bravo came from last in a 12-horse field to win the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in late January. He is perfect in three career starts for $142,049. The colt is nominated for the Santa Anita Derby on April 5.
Here is the complete field for the Louisiana Derby, which has a post-time of 5:48 p.m. (et): Stevil, Calvin Borel 15-1; My Pal Charlie, Julien Leparoux 20-1; Pyro, Shaun Bridgmohan 7-5; J Be K, Kent Desormeaux 12-1; Unbridled Vicar, Corie Lanerie 20-1; Tale of Ekati, Edgar Prado 7-2; Blackberry Road, Robby Albarado 10-1; Yankee Bravo, Alex Solis 4-1; and Majestic Warrior, Garrett Gomez 9-2.
<< Belenenses loses six points for infraction
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portuguese club Belenenses was issued a
six-point deduction by the Portuguese Professional Soccer League on Monday
after it was discovered that the club fielded an ineligible player.
The incident
<< LeBron, Kobe named Players of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Stars LeBron James of the Cleveland
Cavaliers and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers have been selected as the
Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for
Februar
<< Ex-Bears QB Griese headed back to Tampa Bay
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears have reportedly eliminated
one of their options at quarterback, sending Brian Griese to the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers for a late-round draft choice.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the
<< North Carolina back atop men's basketball poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina has returned to the top of the
Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Tar Heels, who held the lofty ranking for the first 10 weeks of the
season, edged Memphis, UCLA and
Kobe, Andre Miller chosen for NBA's weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was
selected as the Western Conference's top player for the week ending March 2,
while Philadelphia guard Andre Miller earned the Eastern Conference honor.
Bryant,
Patriots and Moss close to new deal >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots and star wide receiver
Randy Moss are reportedly on the verge of a new contract.
The Boston Globe reported on its website that the sides have agreed to a
three-year, $27 million
Rapids add Brazilian midfielder Gomes >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on Monday
the signing of Brazilian Midfielder Rafael Gomes for the 2008 season.
"We welcome Rafael to the team with open arms," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo
said.
Gome
Jets make it official with Faneca >>
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets made it official on Monday
and announced the signing of Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, who played the first
10 years of his NFL career with Pittsburgh.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, b
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.
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