07/17/2008 - Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown heads a list of 33 thoroughbreds that have been invited to this year's edition of the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. The 41st Haskell will be conducted on Sunday, August 3 over 1 1/8 miles.
"This is shaping up to be one of the greatest runnings of the Haskell in the long history of Monmouth Park," said Dennis Dowd, senior executive vice president of racing for the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. "The presence of Big Brown in the field guarantees a race to remember."
Owned by IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., Big Brown lost his Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes on June 7 when he was eased down the stretch. The colt, trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., has won five of six career starts for better than $2.6 million.
Along with Big Brown, the horse that won the Belmont Stakes has also received an invitation. Da' Tara registered a 5 1/4 length victory in the Belmont as a 38-1 long shot. The three-year-old is trained by Nick Zito for Robert LaPenta and has banked $664,067 with two wins in eight career starts.
Here is the complete list of Haskell Invitational invitees: Anak Nakal, Atoned, Behindatthebar, Big Brown, Big Truck, Cherokee Artist, Chris Got Even, Colonel John, Cool Coal Man, Da' Tara, Dixie Chatter, Famous Patriot, Harlem Rocker, Hey Byrn, Icabad Crane, Macho Again, Magical Forest, Mambo Meister, Maya's Storm, Mint Lane, My Pal Charlie, Nistle's Crunch, Pyro, Ready Set, Ready's Echo, Recapturetheglory, Roman Emperor, Tale of Ekati, Tiz Now Tiz Then, Tres Borrachos, Truth Rules, Two Step Salsa and Z Fortune.
<< Ferguson admits United is searching for new player
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sir Alex Ferguson has followed up
reports suggesting Manchester United is interested in signing Dimitar Berbatov
by confirming he has made an offer for one unnamed player.
The Tottenham Hotspu
<< Chivas midfielder Wicky undergoes ankle surgery
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA midfielder Raphael Wicky had surgery
on his right ankle Wednesday and will be sidelined three to four months.
A World Cup veteran with Switzerland, Wicky has more than a decade's experience
in Germa
<< Chivas unveils Mexican striker Nurse in SuperLiga
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexican striker Roberto Nurse, who signed with
Chivas USA on Tuesday, received his International Transfer Certificate and made
his debut with the Major League Soccer club Wednesday in the SuperLiga.
Nurse, 24
<< Dalby returns from Europe, signs with Rapids
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids signed 2007 draft pick
Greg Dalby, who played last season for Charleroi in the Belgian first division,
on Wednesday.
Dalby was originally selected by Colorado with the 17th pick in th
Mediate back in major spotlight >>
Southport, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One month and one day removed from
losing the U.S. Open in a playoff to Tiger Woods, Rocco Mediate once again put
his name in the ring for a major title.
Mediate, who lasted 91 holes before Woods dispatc
Rain wreaks havoc in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain forced the suspension of one
match and the postponement of six other second-rounders Thursday at the
$175,000 Gastein Ladies tennis event.
Thursday's lone result saw 21-year-old Austri
Barcelona standing firm over Messi >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting director Txiki Begiristain has
revealed that Barcelona will fight to prevent Lionel Messi from playing in the
Olympic Games.
Messi has been named in the Argentina squad for next month's game
Sharks sign Kinch and Westgarth >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks signed free agent
defensemen Matt Kinch and Brett Westgarth to one-year deals on Thursday. As
per club policy, terms of the deals were not made public.
The 28-year-old Kinch t
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting