Fulham's Sidwell set to miss more time

Soccer Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell is set to spend another spell on the sidelines after sustaining a hernia injury in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with West Bromwich.

The 29-year-old already missed time this season after undergoing hernia surgery, and although the former Reading, Chelsea and Aston Villa man completed the full 90 minutes in Wednesday's match, Fulham boss Martin Jol is fearing another extended absence.

"We had an injury to Steve and he will be out for a long time - for four, five or six weeks," Jol told the league's website. "He had a hernia operation as you know and it is almost the same problem.

"He had an operation and now we have to wait, but we fear he needs another operation."

Sidwell has appeared in 14 league games for the Cottagers so far this term and has played in 41 matches in all competitions since joining from Villa in January 2011.

Indexspreads Soccer Betting News

<< Calhoun takes medical leave of absence
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Connecticut men's basketball head coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, starting with Saturday's game against Seton Hall. Calhoun is suffering from spinal stenosis

<< Portland's Valencia to miss 6-12 months
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Timbers forward Jose Adolfo Valencia will undergo surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee and will be sidelined six to 12 months. Valencia was acquired on loan from Colombian first-divi

<< Safety among prevalent issues for Goodell
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armed with labor peace for the next 10 years, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell discussed a number of topics Friday in his annual state of the league address. Last year's session with the assembled m

<< Berdych, French seeds reach Open Sud semis
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils were a trio of quarterfinal winners Friday at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament. The Czech world No. 7 Berdych handled France's Nicolas Mah

<< Derdiyok out three weeks after freak injury
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayer Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok will miss the next three weeks after he cut his foot on a toothbrush holder. A glass holding Derdiyok's toothbrush fell and shattered on his bathroom floor,

ACC sets new scheduling formats for expansion >>
Fort Lauderdale, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced its scheduling format once Syracuse and Pittsburgh join the league. Syracuse and Pittsburgh were announced as new members in September, giving the ACC

Report: Clippers, Martin reach deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Clippers have agreed to a deal, pending a physical, with free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Martin played for the Xinjiang Tigers of the Chinese Bask

Manning mania leaving Brady an afterthought >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's not every Super Bowl where the team with the league's worst record gets as much attention as the two that will be competing for the NFL's most cherished piece of sterling silver. Or when Chad Och

Every day still a struggle for Hamilton >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton relapsed this past week. The 2010 American League Most Valuable Player met the media on Friday to address the situation. According to Hamilton a family issue led him to

Red Wings' Howard out with broken finger >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings announced Friday that All-Star goaltender Jimmy Howard will miss at least the next two games because of a broken finger. Howard, who leads the NHL with 32 wins, broke the index fing

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.