Three-year-olds take spotlight at Tampa Bay
Horseracing Betting Lines
02/03/2012 - Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday gets solidly onto the Kentucky Derby trail with the running of the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes. The 32nd edition of the 1 1/16-mile race has attracted a field of 11 three- year-olds and is the final local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby on March 10.
Heading the field as the 3-1 morning-line favorite is Reveron, winner of the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year's Day. Owned by Stipa Racing Stable, Reveron will be ridden by Fernando Jara from post 10.
The colt is trained by Augustin Bezara and is working on a three race win streak with total earnings of $104,460.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will be seeking his third straight victory in the Davis with 7-2 second choice Ecabroni. Javier Castellano has the mount and the pair will break from post four. Four of the last six Davis renewals have been taken by three-year-olds trained by Pletcher.
Ecabroni will be making only his third career start on Saturday and is coming off his maiden win last month at Gulfstream Park.
The people who captured last year's Kentucky Derby have entered the 4-1 third pick in the field with State of Play. Owned by Team Valor International and trained by Graham Motion, State of Play will be making his first start on dirt with Alan Garcia riding from the inside post.
"He's a pretty stocky, big-boned horse who might look to be on the heavy side, but he is all muscle," assistant trainer Heather Craig said. "I think he looks a lot fitter than he did as a two-year-old. Tampa Bay Downs is not an easy track to handle, but he has been training great and has handled the dirt better than we could have imagined."
Last July the colt won in his initial start at Saratoga on grass and followed with a victory in the historic track's With Anticipation Stakes. In the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs he went off at 10-1, but finished 12th in the 14-horse field.
State of Play earned $120,000 in his three 2011 turf starts.
Here is the full field for the Davis in post position order: State of Play, Alan Garcia, 4-1; Holy Highway, Angel Serpa, 20-1; Battle Hardened, Julien Leparoux, 12-1; Ecabroni, Javier Castellano, 7-2; Moroccan Brew, Ricardo Feliciano, 30-1; Neck 'n Neck, Jose Lezcano, 5-1; Fox Rules, Huber Villa- Gomez, 30-1; Ravelo's Boy, Jeffrey Sanchez, 15-1; Burning Time, Leandro Goncalves, 12-1; Reveron, Fernando Jara, 3-1 and Prospective, Luis Contreras, 6-1.
The Sam F. Davis Stakes is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. (et).
Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy, which has won three of the last six Fed Cup titles, will host Ukraine this weekend in a best-of-five World Group quarterfinal. First up on Saturday in Biella, Italian Sara Errani will face
<< Jankovic will open for Serbs against Belgium
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2012 Fed Cup quarterfinal between
Serbia and host Belgium will get underway Saturday with a singles match
between the visitors' former world No. 1 star Jelena Jankovic and Kirsten
Flipken
<< Kvitova ready for Fed Cup action against Germany
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova will play in Saturday's
second opening singles rubber in the Fed Cup quarterfinal between her reigning
champion Czech Republic team and a host German squad.
Saturday's first singles bo
<< Irsay: Manning not yet cleared by Colts
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said
early Friday morning that quarterback Peyton Manning has not yet been cleared
to play by the team.
Reports on Thursday indicated that Manning has been cleared by
<< Play called for wind in Qatar; tourney reduced to 54 holes
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The heavy wind that sent scores soaring in
round one, became too much in round two.
The second round of the Qatar Masters was suspended on Friday due to high
winds and unplayable conditions at Doha
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs avoided arbitration with Matt Garza on Friday, signing the starter to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Chicago Tribune reported the settlement to be for
U.S. men to face Canada in June friendly >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. men's national team will be renewing
its rivalry with Canada on June 3 when the two sides meet up at BMO Field in
Toronto for a friendly.
The game will be part of the Centenary celebrations fo
Wizards visit ACC to take on Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors try to avoid a third straight loss
this evening when they welcome the woeful Washington Wizards north of the
border to the Air Canada Centre.
With star forward Andrea Bargnani sidelined with a calf inj
Nuggets entertain Lakers at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets shoot for a two-day sweep of Los Angeles
when they welcome a Lakers team that has struggled on the road this season to
the Rocky Mountains.
The Nuggets were in the City of Angels on Thursday and summari
Jennings, Bucks visit lowly Pistons >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fear the deer.
Opposing teams are beginning to build some trepidation for Milwaukee Bucks
point guard Brandon Jennings too. Jennings and the resurgent Bucks will hit
the road tonight to take on the lowly Detroit Pistons an
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
2007 online football betting Preview
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
Las Vegas Sports Lines
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.