Clippers kick off trek in Washington

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards.

The Clippers will begin a six-game road trip against the Wizards, Magic, Cavaliers, 76ers, Bobcats and Mavericks, and are 3-4 away from home this season. They are much better as the host with a 10-3 ledger, however.

Los Angeles had a four-game winning streak come to an end with Thursday's 112-91 loss versus the Denver Nuggets, as Griffin paced LA with 18 points and Paul logged 15 and nine assists in defeat. The Clippers are still a half-game ahead of the Lakers for first place in the Pacific Division.

"We played alright for the first quarter and a half, and then the floodgates opened up," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Our energy wasn't there, we got outrebounded and we didn't manage the game well in any aspects."

Randy Foye and Mo Williams netted 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the Clippers, who had scored 100-plus points in three straight games and blew a comfortable 32-19 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. LA is averaging an NBA-best 30.9 points in the first quarter this season. DeAndre Jordan had only two points and nine rebounds and is still bothered by a hyper-extended left knee suffered against Utah in a win on Wednesday.

Caron Butler had 11 points after missing the win over the Jazz with a sore lower back. Paul was averaging 28.3 points, 10.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 3.7 rebounds in three games before facing the Nuggets. Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe (knee) is questionable for Saturday and has appeared in one game this season.

In other team news, the Clippers bolstered their roster by signing free agent Kenyon Martin on Friday. Martin played for the Xinjiang Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association during the NBA lockout, and was contractually obligated to wait until the end of the Tigers' season before returning to the NBA. He was cleared to play by FIBA, basketball's international governing body, on Thursday. Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 48 games last season with the Denver Nuggets.

"Kenyon is the ultimate competitor and a key acquisition," stated club vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. "We expect that he will provide additional experience, passion and professionalism, as well as some important depth to our front court."

Meanwhile, the Wizards will begin a four-game homestand tonight versus the Clippers, Raptors, Knicks and Heat, and are 3-9 in D.C. this season.

Washington has lost three in a row and seven of its last nine games, including Friday's 106-89 loss to Toronto at Air Canada Centre. Nick Young led the Wizards with 21 points and John Wall finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Trevor Booker added 13 points and seven boards for Washington, which dropped to 4-19 on the season and shot 37.9 percent for the game.

The Wizards were killed on the boards to the tune of a 61-37 margin.

"There's not much to say about this one, you have to tip your hats to Toronto. They outplayed us in every phase of the game," Wizards interim head coach Randy Wittman said. "We fell back into some of our bad habits, we have to correct that."

Rashard Lewis finished with eight points and is six shy of reaching the 15,000-point mark in his career. Lewis will join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history who have scored at least 15,000 points, grabbed 5,000 rebounds and made 1,500 three-pointers.

Washington lost both meetings against the Clippers last season and has dropped five straight overall in this series. The Clippers, though, have lost seven of 10 trips to the nation's capital.

Wwbetonsports Basketball Betting News

<< Lakers resume trek in Utah
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will resume a six-game road trip tonight against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. The Lakers have won three in a row and four of five games since a season-high three-game slide and kicke

<< Bobcats hope to end slide against Suns
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats certainly hope to halt an ugly 10- game skid tonight but maybe Paul Silas' club should just focus on staying competitive when its visits the desert to take on the Phoenix Suns. The Bobcats are

<< Blazers entertain Nuggets at Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northwest Division rivals meet in Rip City on Saturday when the Jekyll and Hyde Portland Trail Blazers entertain the well-rounded Denver Nuggets at the Rose Garden. The Blazers have been two different teams this season

<< Hawks host 76ers at Philips Arena
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will try to bounce back tonight versus the Philadelphia 76ers in the continuation of a four-game homestand. Atlanta had won three straight and nine of 11 games until dropping a 96-77 decision to t

<< Pacers try to stay hot vs. Magic
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will try to extend their season-high winning streak to five games when they entertain the Orlando Magic tonight in the opener of a modest two-game homestand. Indiana has won four in a row and se

Kings, Warriors meet again in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals meet for the second time this week when the Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors just finished up a lengthy six-game homestand by beating Sacramento on Tuesday by

Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday. Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies. He i

Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova each won three-set thrillers to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over Germany in its Fed Cup quarterfinal. Benesova gave the defending Fed Cup champions

Italy and Ukraine even after opening day at Fed Cup >>
Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy and the Ukraine are surprisingly even after Saturday's opening singles matches of their Fed Cup quarterfinal. The matchups and home court clearly favored the Italians and Sara Errani gave the hosts

Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew from her Fed Cup match with a lower back injury on Saturday. She will be replaced by teammate Anastasiya Yakimova, but she is still elig

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.

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.