Dolphins sign veteran DE Douglas

Football Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins signed veteran defensive end Marques Douglas to an undisclosed contract on Tuesday.

Douglas has spent each of the past three seasons with a different club, playing in all 16 regular season games for the Jets in 2009 while compiling 64 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.

The 33-year-old has played in 120 games throughout his 10-year career and has logged 316 tackles -- 123 solo -- and 20 1/2 sacks during stints with the Jets, Ravens, 49ers and Saints.

Mtsportsbook Football Betting News

<< Braves send McLouth to minors
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have sent slumping outfielder Nate McLouth to Triple-A Gwinnett. In 62 games this season, the sixth-year pro was hitting just .168 and missed more than a month with concussion-l

<< Aaron Glenn, 15-year NFL veteran, finally announces retirement
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Glenn will sign a one-day contract with the Houston Texans on Wednesday and then announce his retirement after 15 years in the NFL. Glenn, a first-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 1994 out

<< Pac-10 announces future name change
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pac-10 Conference will officially undergo a name change once two new schools join the grouping. The announcement was made on Tuesday, as conference commissioner Larry Scott unveiled new branding

<< Wolves' Flynn has hip surgery
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a labral tear and remove extra bone from his left hip. The Wolves have already planned for Flynn's absence, signing f

<< Eagles come to terms with second-round pick Allen
Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have signed safety Nate Allen, their 2010 second-round draft pick, to a four-year contract. Allen was taken with the 37th overall selection out of South Florida, where he picked off

Big Hurt returns to White Sox as team ambassador >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time American League MVP Frank Thomas, who announced his retirement last winter, will rejoin the Chicago White Sox as a team ambassador. Thomas, who played 19 seasons in the majors, will have his un

Caps sign Fleischmann for one year >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals inked forward Tomas Fleischmann to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The 26-year-old native of the Czech Republic notched career-highs with 23 goals, 28 assists and 51 points in

Broncos sign draft picks Beadles, Decker >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos came to terms with their second and third-round draft picks, offensive lineman Zane Beadles and wide receiver Eric Decker, the team announced on Tuesday. Terms of the deals were not di

No Strasburg, no problem: Nationals shut out Braves >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Batista, thrust into emergency duty after the late scratch to phenom Stephen Strasburg, hurled five scoreless frames as Washington downed Atlanta, 3-0, in the first of three games at Nationa

Tomlin shines in MLB debut; A-Rod held homerless on birthday >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Tomlin pitched into the eighth inning in his major league debut and Matt LaPorta provided enough support with two RBI, as Cleveland downed the Yankees, 4-1, in the continuation of a four-game series

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.