Stanford holds shocking lead on UConn at halftime
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
04/06/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut's 77-game winning streak and the Huskies' hope for a repeat national championship is in jeopardy, as Stanford holds a surprising 20-12 lead at halftime of the women's NCAA Tournament title game.
The 32 combined points are the fewest in a half for the national championship contest. The 12 points ties the least amount ever in a half in the history of UConn's program.
UConn's standout tandem of Maya Moore and Tina Charles have struggled to go 3- of-14 from the field. The Huskies are just 5-of-29 overall.
Stanford and the Huskies are playing for the second time this season and exactly two years to the day of UConn's last loss, 82-73, to the Cardinal at the 2008 Final Four. Stanford played the Huskies tough for a half earlier this season, but lost 80-68, in Hartford on December 23. The Cardinal held a 40-38 halftime lead in that December contest, but were dominated in the second half.
This is in fact the third straight season the two storied programs are meeting in the Final Four. Connecticut defeated Stanford, 83-64, in the 2009 national semifinals in St. Louis.
The Huskies, coming off a 70-50 win over Baylor and Brittney Griner Sunday night, have won by double digits in every game during their current winning streak. They also entered Tuesday a perfect 6-0 in NCAA national championship games, but a long scoring drought contributed to UConn falling behind early at the Alamodome.
The Cardinal, which topped Oklahoma, 73-66, Sunday at the Alamodome, is trying to win the championship for the first time since 1992. They lost to Tennessee in the 2008 title game.
Connecticut missed 16 straight shots during one juncture of the first half, going more than 10 1/2 minutes without a point. The Cardinal didn't take enough advantage, despite scoring 12 in a row after falling behind 5-0 early.
Kayla Pedersen's three-pointer provided the 12-5 lead with under 12 minutes left in the half, but Stanford had numerous opportunities go awry as the Cardinal shot 8-of-31 in the opening half.
Moore finally broke the drought for UConn with a scoop shot with nearly 7 1/2 minutes left in the half, but Jeanette Pohlen drained a three-pointer for a 15-7 cushion.
Pedersen added another three-ball as UConn faced an 18-9 deficit, its largest of the season.
Moore came back with a three-pointer with about four minutes to go, but the Huskies didn't score again. Pedersen made a put-back layup in the closing minute and has 10 points through the opening 20 minutes.
New Jersey 1 1 1-3Atlanta 0 0 0-0First Period-1, New Jersey, McAmmond 7 (Zubrus, Letourneau-Leblond), 15:28.Second Period-2, New Jersey, Parise 37 (Martin, Salvador), :51.Third Period-3, New Jersey, Zajac 24 (Skoula, Zubrus), :10.Shots on G
<< Seahawks terminate contract of TE Owens
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks have terminated the
contract of tight end John Owens.
The move wasn't a surprise considering the Seahawks signed free agent tight
end Chris Baker last month.
The 30-year-old O
<< Bosh taken to hospital after being elbowed in face
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Chris Bosh
was taken to a local hospital after being elbowed in the face during the first
quarter of Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bosh was struck by Antawn
<< Dynamo's Ching to miss 4-6 weeks
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Dynamo and U.S. striker Brian Ching is
expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a hamstring injury, MLSsoccer.com reported on
Tuesday.
Ching injured his left hamstring in a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Thurs
<< Cardinals re-sign S Ware
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday re-signed safety
Matt Ware to a one-year contract.
Ware recorded 27 tackles and one interception in 11 games last season before a
knee injury ended his season in December.
For
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur notched 19 saves for his 600th career win and second straight shutout as the New Jersey Devils took a 3-0 win over the Thrashers in Ilya Kovalchuk's first appearance in Atlanta as an opponen
Cavs and James pound Toronto >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James had 19 points and dished out 13
assists as the Cavaliers topped Toronto, 113-101, for Cleveland's 11th
straight home win.
Raptors All-Star forward Chris Bosh was taken to a local hospit
Wizards prevent Nelson's historic win >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - JaVale McGee set new career-highs with 25
points and 15 rebounds, and the Washington Wizards denied Warriors head coach
Don Nelson an historic win with a 112-94 rout of Golden State.
McGee's previous b
Sabres down Rangers, lock up Northeast Division title >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Ennis picked up a goal and two assists,
as the Buffalo Sabres clinched their first Northeast Division title in three
years with a 5-2 victory over the Rangers at HSBC Arena.
Derek Roy, Drew Stafford
Fisher scores twice as Senators handle Panthers >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Fisher scored twice to help the playoff-
bound Ottawa Senators defeat the Florida Panthers, 5-2, at BankAtlantic
Center.
Chris Neil registered a goal and two assists for the Senators, who lost out
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.