Blair dominates as No. 4 Pitt spanks DePaul

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2009 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sophomore sensation DeJuan Blair posted a monster effort with 20 points and 18 rebounds -- 10 on the offensive glass -- as the fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers manhandled Big East cellar dweller DePaul, 80-61.

There was no letdown for Pitt (25-2, 12-2 Big East) after Monday's impressive road victory over top-ranked UConn. The Panthers will likely garner consideration for a No. 1 ranking next week thanks to No. 3 North Carolina's overtime loss at Maryland on Saturday.

Sam Young filled the bucket for 16 points in the blowout, while Tyrell Biggs and Jermaine Dixon chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively, in the club's seventh straight triumph.

The Blue Demons (8-19, 0-14) haven't won since topping Alcorn State back on December 28, a span of 14 games. Dar Tucker's 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists paced the team in all three categories.

The Panthers were in control from start to finish. An early 9-0 run had the hosts ahead, 12-3, three minutes into the game. DePaul hung tough for the remainder of the stanza and trailed 40-30 at the break.

Pitt was off and running in the second half, though, as Young started things with a three-pointer. Tucker hit a field goal on the Blue Demons' first possession, but the club failed to score for the next five minutes.

The inside-outside attack of the heavy favorites yielded a 13-0 run and a 56-32 lead after Blair's bucket around the 15-minute mark.

The lead was never seriously threatened the rest of the way, as seven straight Pitt points, capped by a Brad Wanamaker basket, had the hosts up 63-37, at the midway point.

Game Notes

Pitt improved to 17-0 at home this season...Pitt's Levance Fields doled out six assists to go with five points in the win...Will Walker netted five three- pointers for 17 points, while Jeremiah Kelly had 11 points for DePaul...Mac Koshwal, who came in averaging 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, logged 10 points and four rebounds in defeat...Pitt had a 49-25 rebounding edge.

Fpxsports NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Report: Son of Yankees VP linked to steroids
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The son of New York Yankees vice president Felix Lopez Jr. was arrested in 2002 for trafficking in a banned date-rape drug that athletes have used for muscle recovery and for possession of anaboli

<< Rhode Island football coach Rizzi steps down
Kingston, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Rhode Island announced Saturday that head football coach Darren Rizzi has stepped down to become an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins. Rizzi had been an assistant for Rutge

<< Jokinen's hat trick helps Coyotes down Kings
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen posted his first hat trick of the season as Phoenix used a second-period burst to top Los Angeles, 6-3, at Staples Center. "It's been a month without a goal but the bottom line is to get the

<< Blue Jackets claim Gratton off waivers
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed forward Chris Gratton off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the club announced Saturday. Gratton, 33, played in only 18 games for the Lightning this season, colle

<< Baffert horse captures Turf Paradise Derby
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even-money favorite Mayor Marv went wire-to- wire Saturday in winning the $100,000 Turf Paradise Derby for three-year-olds at Turf Paradise. The colt is owned by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert. Ridd

Yankees P Johnson diagnosed with melanoma >>
Tampa Bay, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Jason Johnson has been diagnosed with cancer of the retina in the right eye, which is limiting him to only indoor activities at the team's spring training complex

Pondexter powers Huskies over Trojans >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quincy Pondexter scored eight of his game- high 22 points in a key stretch late in the second half, leading 22nd-ranked Washington to a 60-51 win over Southern California. Jon Brockman added six points

Home sweet home: Griffey reflects on return to Seattle >>
Peoria, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After turning down the Atlanta Braves to take an incentive-laden one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners, Ken Griffey Jr. reflected Saturday about his return to the team that selected him as the No. 1 overall

Danis, Isles blank Devils >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yann Danis made a career-high 40 saves to earn his second career shutout, as the New York Islanders cooled off the New Jersey Devils with a 4-0 victory at Nassau Coliseum. Sean Bergenheim, Jon Sim, Kyl

Ducks snap skid by topping Columbus >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry finished with a goal and two assists, as the Anaheim Ducks got back in the win column with a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brendan Morrison, Chris Kunitz, Chris Pronger and

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.