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02/24/2008 - Playa del Carmen, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After going 292 career starts without a win, Brian Gay needed just a one-under 69 Sunday to pick up tour victory No. 1 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Gay completed the tournament at 16-under-par 264, which was a new record. The previous 72-hole record of 266 was set last year by Fred Funk and Jose Coceres.
"It seemed like a long day out there. Even though I had a big lead, it was tough just trying to not make mistakes," said Gay, who collected $630,000 for the win. "I was just trying to make pars and get the ball in the center of the green."
Gay's final winning margin of two strokes was the closest anyone came to him during the final round.
Steve Marino closed with a four-under 66, including a birdie at the last, to finish alone in second at minus-14.
Matt Kuchar and John Merrick both closed with rounds of three-under 67 to share third place at 12-under-par 268. Cliff Kresge was one stroke further back at minus-11.
Gay opened with three straight pars before dropping a shot on the par-four fourth at El Camaleon Golf Club. He was still comfortably in the lead and extended his margin toward the end of the opening nine.
The 36-year-old Gay birdied the par-three seventh and came right back with a birdie on eight to extend his lead to six strokes.
Gay stumbled to his second bogey of the day at the 10th, but he erased that mistake with a birdie on 11. He collected his fourth birdie of the day at the par-five 13th.
After three pars, Gay tripped to another bogey on the 17th as his lead slipped to three. He parred the last as Marino closed with birdie to end two back.
"That was a huge putt," said Gay of his par save at 16. "I had a couple of huge putts there on the back, because Steve was really playing good.
"The birdie putt on 11 was huge after he made birdie. And the birdie putt on the par-five 13th, he had a good chance for eagle there, and I laid up and made birdie there, that was big."
Marino did not make a move over the opening 10 holes as he parred every hole. However, he ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the 11th to jump to 13-under. His closing birdie left him two back.
"I played well today. I didn't make any bogeys," said Marino, who posted his best career finish on the PGA Tour. "I just didn't really make enough putts to put any serious heat on Brian."
Patrick Sheehan fired a five-under 65 to take sixth place at 10-under-par 270. Tim Petrovic (66) and Peter Lonard (68) were one stroke further back at minus- nine.
Nick Flanagan and Roland Thatcher tied for ninth at seven-under-par 273.
<< Madden, Devs top Caps in OT
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Madden's goal with 50 seconds left in
overtime lifted the New Jersey Devils past the Washington Capitals, 2-1, at
the Verizon Center
Martin Brodeur made 37 saves for the Devils, who have won five s
<< No. 21 Texas A&M rolls over Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Takia Starks shot 3-for-6 beyond the arc en
route to a game-high 22-point performance, as 21st-ranked Texas A&M bested
Texas, 65-50, at the Erwin Center.
Danielle Gant finished with 12 points, seven
<< Hughes, UTEP beat UCF; win Conference USA crown
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jareica Hughes had 23 points and nine assists
as 19th-ranked UTEP cruised to an 89-74 win over Central Florida, clinching
the school's first regular-season Conference USA championship in its 34-year
history
<< Bordeaux, Marseille lose points
Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bordeaux slipped three points behind Lyon
and Marseille wasted a chance to move closer to a top-three finish and a berth
in the Champions League after the top-five clubs played 0-0 ties in Ligue 1 in
France
Bohannon leads Badgers over Buckeyes >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bohannon scored 16 points to lead the
11th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers past the Ohio State Buckeyes, 58-53, at Value
City Arena.
Michael Flowers chipped in 14 points for the Badgers (23-4, 13-2 Big Te
Sharks top Penguins in shootout >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Cheechoo scored his 18th goal of
the season and Jeremy Roenick posted the deciding tally in a shootout as the
San Jose Sharks took down the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1, at Mellon Arena.
After Pit
Sakic activated from IR >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche activated captain
Joe Sakic from the injured reserve list on Sunday.
The center underwent hernia surgery on December 28 and has missed a total of
38 games due to the ailment,
War Pass and Cool Coal Man post Gulfstream wins >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winner War Pass and Cool
Coal Man, both trained by Nick Zito, registered victories Sunday at Gulfstream
Park.
War Pass, the 2007 champion two-year-old male, defeated four rivals in a
(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.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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