Kings edge Celts

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 22 points as the Kings held off a late Boston rally to beat the Celtics, 104-101, and continued their domination in the series.

Ron Artest contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals for Sacramento, which snapped a three-game skid, but beat the Celtics for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings. The Kings beat Boston for the 11th straight time at home.

"We're hustling off the bench and playing good defense," Sacramento's Francisco Garcia said.

Paul Pierce had 26 points for Boston, which was back to its old tricks in the first game after the All-Star break. The Celtics ended a franchise-record 18- game losing streak with a victory against Milwaukee last Wednesday, but couldn't overcome the Kings and lost their ninth straight on the road.

Delonte West added 23 with six rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, but his three-point shot at the buzzer came up short.

Brad Miller, who played in his first game since February 8, hit two free throws with 1:37 left that represented the game's final points. Artest then blocked a shot from Al Jefferson, but Martin missed a jumper with nearly a minute remaining.

Rajon Rondo then missed a jumper and a follow shot for the Celtics, and Brian Scalabrine failed to save the ball in bounds, giving it back to the Kings with 45.7 seconds left.

John Salmons and Artest missed three-pointers on the other end, and West then raced up the court, but his shot fell shy of the basket.

"Del made a good choice because he did see an opening," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He actually had a good look."

Miller ended with 12 points, Kenny Thomas 11 and Mike Bibby 10 for the Kings.

Jefferson had 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Ryan Gomes scored 10 before fouling out for Boston.

The Kings led 34-26 after one quarter, but Boston rallied to close the gap in the second. Sebastian Telfair's three-pointer had the Celtics within 55-51 and it was 66-62 in favor of the home team at the half.

A Pierce three had the Celtics within 68-67, but Boston could never take the lead in the final 24 minutes. Miller's two free throws capped 12 straight Sacramento points for an 89-71 margin with 3:42 left in the quarter.

It was 91-81 going into the fourth and it was 102-94 with 6:05 left before the Celtics rallied to get within one at 102-101 on Rondo's jumper with 1:57 to go.

Game Notes

Boston is 0-8 against the Pacific Division...The last time the Celtics defeated the Kings on the road was on February 16, 1996...Boston's last road win was January 5 against Memphis...Gerald Green, who won the NBA All-Star dunk title on Saturday, was limited to four points. He had five fouls...Miller had been out with a partially torn fascia in his left foot...Boston's Wally Szczerbiak sprained his left ankle...The Kings now head to the road for four games in five nights against Washington, New Jersey, Indiana and Philadelphia.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.

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.