Griffin, Moore 2009 Wooden Award winners

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma standout forward Blake Griffin was named the 2009 Wooden Award winner as college basketball's player of the year, while Connecticut's Maya Moore captured the women's version of the honor.

Griffin, who has already captured the Naismith Award and Robertson Trophy as the top player in college basketball, announced earlier this week he's going to turn pro.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore led the Sooners in scoring and rebounding this past season, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds in 35 games. He also had a team-best 41 blocked shots and finished third on the squad with 80 assists, while shooting 65.4 percent from the field, all while compiling an incredible 30 double-doubles on the season.

Oklahoma finished the campaign with a record of 30-6 and reached the South Regional final of the NCAA Tournament, bowing out to eventual national champion North Carolina.

Griffin established an Oklahoma record with 25 double-doubles during the regular season and set a Big 12 mark with 13 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.

The final tally had Griffin with 3,960 possible points as he beat out North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough (3,004). Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair (2,320) was next in the voting, followed by UNC's Ty Lawson (2,034) and Davidson's Stephen Curry (1,933).

Moore, also the 2009 Naismith winner, had 176 points to beat out Oklahoma's Courtney Paris (133). Louisville's Angel McCoughtry (101) was third.

Moore led the Huskies to an unbeaten season this year (39-0), and the NCAA title, all while averaging 21.0 points, 8.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.3 blocks as a sophomore.

Flslottery NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Cavs wrap up East's top seed in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 27, dished out 10 assists and Cleveland hit 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc to help clinch homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 102-92 triumph

<< Petrova sneaks into MPS semis, Wozniacki breezes in
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova barely won her quarterfinal match Friday at the inaugural MPS Group Championships. The world No. 10 Petrova had to come from behind to best seve

<< Dodgers' Kuroda placed on DL
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left oblique muscle. Kuroda pitched on Opening Day for the Dodgers, earning the win after allow

<< Chase Field to host 2011 MLB All-Star Game
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will host the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. MLB has called a news conference for Saturday afternoon when an official announcement is expected from

<< Hawks F Marvin Williams returns to lineup
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams returned to the lineup in Friday's game with the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena after missing the last 16 with a lower back injury. The former North Carolina product is

Orioles stay hot to start season, clip Rays in series opener >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora went 2-for-4 with three RBI as the Baltimore Orioles took a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game set at Camden Yards. Adam Jones had two hits and two runs scored

Celtics cool off Heat >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce scored 28 points and pulled down eight rebounds to guide the Boston Celtics to a 105-98 win over the Miami Heat. Glen Davis tallied 22 points, Ray Allen 21, while Rajon Rondo chipped in seve

The Butler did it: Wizards beat Raptors at buzzer >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caron Butler hit a jumper at the buzzer as the Washington Wizards took a 100-98 win over the Toronto Raptors. Butler had 21 points and seven assists while Antawn Jamison added 24 points and 12 rebounds for

Hawks beat Pacers, secure home-court for first round of playoffs >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith scored a team-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after claiming a 122-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers

Memphis tops Phoenix, snaps long losing string to Suns >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo scored 20 points apiece, and the Memphis Grizzlies downed Phoenix, 106-89, to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Suns. Mayo added six assists as did Mike Conley, who posted 17 points

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.