Sharks eye West's top seed in home test against Avalanche

Hockey Betting Lines

03/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already clinched the Pacific Division title, the San Jose Sharks can regain the top seed in the Western Conference when they host the lowly Colorado Avalanche tonight at HP Pavilion.

The Sharks have 104 points on the season and are just one point in back of idle Detroit for not only the top spot in the West, but also in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

San Jose has won two straight and four of its last five contests. The Sharks were in action Saturday afternoon and recorded an easy home win over the Dallas Stars. Joe Pavelski tallied a goal and two assists, as the Sharks downed the struggling Stars, 5-2.

Joe Thornton, Devin Setoguchi, Milan Michalek, and Patrick Marleau also lit the lamp for the Sharks, who won their third consecutive game at home. Marleau and Setoguchi also added one assist apiece for the victors.

Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves and improved to 4-0-0 since returning on March 14 from an upper-body injury.

The Sharks are 29-3-4 as the host this year and are completing a three-game homestand tonight. San Jose's next two games will be on the road against Chicago and Nashville.

The Avalanche, who are last in the West with 64 points, have lost three straight on the heels of back-to-back wins.

Colorado last played on Thursday against visiting Edmonton and was handed a humiliating loss. Sam Gagner scored his first career hat trick and registered an assist as the Oilers pounded the Avalanche, 8-1, at Pepsi Center.

Cody McLeod scored the lone goal for Colorado, which has also dropped 10 of 13 overall. Peter Budaj allowed eight goals on only 24 shots in the Avs' most lopsided loss of the season.

The Avalanche are just 13-22-2 as the guest this year and have lost two straight and seven of their last nine road games. Colorado's next two games will come on home ice, beginning with Wednesday's test against Anaheim.

San Jose has won both meetings against the Avs this season and this will be the first encounter between the clubs in Silicon Valley. The Sharks have won four of the last five overall matchups against Colorado.

Jazzspoets Hockey Betting News

<< Ducks take aim at third straight win in home test vs. Coyotes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will shoot for their first three-game winning streak in nearly four months when they welcome the Phoenix Coyotes for today's clash at the Honda Center. The Ducks last won three in a row during a four-game

<< Oilers visit Wild with shot at fourth straight victory
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will try for their first four-game winning streak since the early stages of the season when they visit the struggling Minnesota Wild for today's Northwest Division battle at Xcel Energy Center. The Oil

<< Sliding Blackhawks welcome Kings to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The stumbling Chicago Blackhawks will try to end a five- game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Kings in an afternoon clash today at the United Center. With the regular season winding down, the Blackhawks have p

<< Flyers visit sizzling Pens for key battle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key Eastern Conference playoff battle is on tap today in the Steel City, as the scorching Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the rival Philadelphia Flyers for an Atlantic Division battle at Mellon Arena. The Penguins and Flyers

<< Heat pay a visit to Pistons at The Palace
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The recently-struggling Miami Heat will try to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip Sunday against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Miami has dropped the first three tests of the road swing a

Surging clubs meet as Rangers host Sens at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of hot teams will meet tonight in the Big Apple, as the New York Rangers welcome the Ottawa Senators for an Eastern Conference battle at Madison Square Garden. The Senators have won four straight and eight of their

No. 1 Louisville to try and avoid upset at hands of Siena >>
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Midwest Regional was full of upsets on the first day and the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will try to avoid one themselves against the ninth-seeded Siena Saints in second-round play at UD Arena this evening.

Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a showdown at TD Banknorth Garden. The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con

BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament. The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while the other No. 1 seeds f

Blackhawks activate RW Sharp >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve. Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt in a February 14 game against San Jose a

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.