Spurs, Wolves square off in Twin Cities

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to continue their mastery of the Minnesota Timberwolves when the two Western Conference inhabitants get together tonight at the Target Center.

San Antonio has won 10 straight and 15 of the past 16 meetings with the Timberwolves, who have lost five in a row as the host in this series. Minnesota's last win over the Spurs was a 103-101 overtime triumph back on January 3, 2007 in the Twin Cities.

The Spurs have won five of their last six games overall, including Wednesday's 97-87 triumph versus the New York Knicks in the Alamo City. Manu Ginobili scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the way. Ginobili has scored in double figures 10 times and has posted 20-plus points on six different occasions in 11 games since the All-Star break, averaging 20.9 ppg in that period.

Tim Duncan added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who sit seventh in the conference standings. Keith Bogans donated 13 points, while George Hill registered 12 in a winning cause. Hill has started the last 23 games and is posting 16.0 ppg.

"We held them to 18 less than they usually score. I'm pretty happy with that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after beating the Knickerbockers.

San Antonio will try to push its road record of 14-15 to the .500 mark Friday.

The Timberwolves have seen better days and are playing out the string this evening. They have lost seven straight and 13 of their last 14 games, and are coming off Wednesday's 110-102 loss versus the Denver Nuggets. Nuggets forward J.R. Smith put the game away with a trio of threes late in the game.

"Those three (three-pointers) gave them the momentum. A team like that, you have to put them away. They're a great team," said Minnesota guard Ramon Sessions, who had nine points.

Corey Brewer had 21 points and Al Jefferson posted 17 and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which is 0-3 on a four-game homestand and winless in its last seven contests in the Twin Cities.

Kevin Love notched 15 points and 11 boards in defeat. Minnesota is 9-24 as the host this season.

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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.