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09/04/2010 - Crans Montana, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez protected his three-shot lead at the European Masters Saturday with a three-under 68 in the third round.
Jimenez appeared to have shot a 67 after rolling in a long birdie putt at the 18th hole, only to call a one-shot penalty on himself after the round.
The infraction occurred eight holes earlier at No. 10 when Jimenez picked up his ball in the fairway, mistakenly believing he could lift and place it. The ball was near a sprinkler head.
Instead of signing for a par on the hole, Jimenez, who is chasing his third win of the season, gave himself a bogey. He new immediately that he had made a mistake.
"I thought 'What are you doing?'" Jimenez said. "But I'm still feeling good."
The 46-year-old Spaniard took a three-shot lead into the round after firing a 61 on Friday, and he remained ahead by the same count Saturday at 17-under 196.
Trailing him again was Edoardo Molinari, who also shot a 68 to stay three back at 14-under 199. Fellow Italian Matteo Manassero, 17, carded a 69 to share third place with Steve Webster (64) at 13-under 200.
No one else was within six shots of Jimenez's lead heading into the final round at the Crans-sur-Sierre course.
The final threesome of Jimenez, Molinari and Manassero was bothered all day by noise in the gallery. Jimenez's caddie repeatedly scolded spectators to keep quiet and put their cameras and cell phones away.
Molinari screamed at one shutterbug on the No. 7 tee, pleading for him to wait until after he hit the ball to take a picture. Molinari still knocked his tee shot onto the green at the 331-yard par four, but he missed the eagle putt.
He tapped in for a birdie instead, the first of three in a row for the talented Italian, who was named to his first Ryder Cup team last Sunday after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship for his second victory of the season.
Despite the birdie run by Molinari, Jimenez was still able to protect the three-shot edge he carried into the round as both players made four birdies on the front nine.
Jimenez's lead was cut to two strokes by a bogey at the par-four 12th, where he knocked his first two shots into the rough and then chipped through the green with his third.
Molinari bogeyed the 13th to again fall three behind, but Jimenez followed with a bogey at the 14th.
While Molinari parred his final five holes, Jimenez picked up birdies at the 15th and 18th to seemingly build a four-stroke lead.
That was, until the score for the 17-time European Tour winner changed moments after the round. He said he was still happy with a three-shot lead.
"We'll see what happens tomorrow," Jimenez said.
NOTES: Ten of Jimenez's 17 tour wins have come after the age of 40...Jimenez and Molinari are the only players from Colin Montgomerie's European Ryder Cup team in the field this week...Manassero was the 2009 British Amateur champion.
<< Dodgers hoping to further cripple Giants' playoff hopes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain tries to make it two straight wins against the
club that has given him more trouble than any other team in his young career
when the San Francisco Giants continue their three-game set against the Los
Angeles Dodgers
<< D-Backs host Astros, shoot for fifth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recent trade acquisition Joe Saunders tries to make it two
wins in a row for the first time since arriving in Arizona tonight, when the
Diamondbacks meet the Houston Astros in the middle matchup of a three-game
weekend series
<< Tigers vie to break even in matchup with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers can pull back to .500 in the midst of a
lengthy second-half slump tonight, when they visit Kauffman Stadium for the
second of three weekend games with the host Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers won Friday's
<< Cellar-dwellers face off again in Bucs-Nats clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm can make it two straight wins
for the Pirates and end his own four-decision skid tonight, when the
Washington Nationals return to PNC Park for the middle test of a three-game
weekend series.
T
Woods rebounds nicely with a 65 >>
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods shot a five-under 65 in the second
round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday, matching his lowest round
of the season.
More importantly? Woods played well enough to ensure he makes the 36
Soderling reaches fourth round in Flushing >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time French Open runner-up
Robin Soderling was an easy third-round winner Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Soderling whipped Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on
Day 6 at the US
Serbia edges Croatia to reach World Championship quarters >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one
second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the
quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship.
The Serbs led by seven during the fou
Jankovic exits U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Jelena Jankovic was
a third-round upset victim Saturday at the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi stunned the former world No. 1 Jankovic
6-2, 7-6 (7-1) at the USTA Bil
(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."
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MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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