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New-look Knicks play host to ThunderBasketball Betting Lines02/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks team president Donnie Walsh said the team has more 'flexibility' to bring in high-priced players now that the trade deadline has come and gone. The Knicks acquired former scoring champion Tracy McGrady on Thursday in a three-team swap with Houston and Sacramento, and will resume a three-game homestand tonight versus the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden. They're now capable of offering two maximum salary contracts to the 2010 free agent class which includes stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, among others. New York, which freed itself of about $32 million in salary cap space, received McGrady's league-high $23 million expiring contract from the Rockets as well as Kings point guard Sergio Rodriguez. Houston gets forwards Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from the Knicks, and a protected 2012 first-round pick. The Rockets have the option of exchanging first-round draft picks in 2011. The Kings acquired guard Larry Hughes from New York, and forwards Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey from Houston. McGrady could make his Big Apple debut tonight, but it's still unclear. He has appeared in just six games this season after returning from knee surgery and has career averages of 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 34.4 minutes in 790 career games (640 starts) in 13 NBA seasons with Toronto, Orlando and Houston. All the players involved in the three-team trade have to pass a physical and get all the necessary paperwork completed before anyone can play with their new team. "Hopefully we get it done," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said on the team's site. "They're all excited to play and they want to play. It's not just up to us, it's the other teams, everybody has to pass their physicals and get all the paperwork. If we can get it all done, they'll be ready to play tomorrow. And I hope that that's the case." The Knicks could use any kind of boost right now and have lost five in a row, including Wednesday's 115-109 setback versus the Chicago Bulls in the opener of the homestand. Al Harrington had 27 points and Wilson Chandler added 26, while David Lee had 23 points and 12 boards. The Knicks will also host Milwaukee and are 12-17 at MSG this season. Oklahoma City will try to extend its season high winning streak to eight games Saturday night. The Thunder made it seven wins in a row with a 99-86 triumph at Dallas on Tuesday, as All-Star Kevin Durant extended his franchise record of scoring at least 25 points in 26 consecutive games with exactly 25 points. His current stretch is the longest run since Allen Iverson reached the magic number in 27 straight games during his MVP 2000-2001 season. Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden each had 17 points in the win, as Oklahoma City improved to a season-best 10 games above .500. The seven consecutive victories is the longest since a nine-game run early in the 2004-05 campaign. "It's just how we've been playing defense together," Russell Westbrook said of the recent success. The Thunder are fighting for playoff positioning in the West and will also visit Minnesota on the current road swing. They've won three in a row as the guest and are 15-11 away from home this season. Oklahoma City beat the Knicks by a 106-88 count at home on January 11 thanks to Durant's game-high 30 points. The Thunder have won five of the last six meetings with New York.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even without All-Star Chris Bosh the Toronto Raptors were able to crank out a win, but then again it was against the woeful New Jersey Nets. The Raptors hope to have Bosh back in the lineup tonight, when they kick off a t
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A blockbuster trade has given the Houston Rockets an entirely new look as Rick Adelman's bunch gets ready to play host to the Indiana Pacers tonight at the Toyota Center. Houston general manager Daryl Morey d
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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. |
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