Brassard's OT winner lifts Columbus over Anaheim

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derick Brassard scored two goals, including the game-winner at 3:55 of the overtime period, leading the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.

Brassard poked the puck out to the neutral zone and raced up the left wing on a 2-on-1 with Rick Nash. Brassard looked off the defenders and wired a slap shot past Jonas Hiller from just inside the left circle to wrap up the victory for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a six-game losing streak.

"We found a way, I'm pretty excited right now," Brassard said. "In practice I try to go short side. I trusted my shot it, went high on the glove side and it worked."

Jeff Carter also scored for Columbus, which got 33 saves from Curtis Sanford in the victory.

Teemu Selanne scored both goals and Jonas Hiller stopped 18-of-21 shots in defeat for the Ducks, who have lost three of their last four games.

The Ducks opened the scoring just 1:46 into the game. Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky ripped a slap shot from the right point that Sanford knocked down with his blocker, but the rebound came right to Selanne, who put it home.

Columbus drew even at 14:47 of the second period when John Moore ripped a shot from the point that was stopped by Hiller, but he left a huge rebound and Brassard slammed it home.

Anaheim came right back to take the lead with a power-play tally at 16:52 of the second stanza when Corey Perry outworked his checker in the right corner, spun and found Selanne, who one-timed the puck past the stick side of Sanford for his second goal of the game.

But the Blue Jackets answered with a power-play goal of their own 2:05 into the third period when Vinny Prospal threw a shot on net from the left point that made its way to Antoine Vermette in front. Vermette shifted the puck to his backhand and slid it through the legs of Ducks' defenseman Francois Beauchemin to Carter, who chipped it into an open net to tie the game at two.

"We were ready but a couple of mistakes cost us," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "We didn't play to our capability tonight. A loss is a loss. We got one point but we needed two."

Game Notes

The Ducks are 2-9-2 against the Central Division this season, while the Blue Jackets are 5-8-0 against Pacific Division opposition...Blue Jackets defenseman Brett Lebda left the game in the first period with a hand injury...It was Brassard's first career multi-goal game...Selanne now has 655 career goals and is one behind Brendan Shanahan for 12th place on the NHL's all-time goals list...Columbus finished 1-for-4 with the power play, while Anaheim converted one of five power play chances.

Wwwchartshop Hockey Betting News

<< Denver's Mozgov leaves game with sprained ankle
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov left Friday's game against the Lakers with a sprained left ankle. With about 10 minutes to go in the third quarter, Mozgov came down awkwardly on his left ankle afte

<< Kiprusoff backstops Flames to win over reeling Blackhawks
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 26 shots and set a new franchise record in Calgary's 3-1 victory over Chicago at the Saddledome. Kiprusoff became the club's all-time leader in games played (527), surpassing Mike

<< Are the Heat all they are cracked up to be?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To most NBA fans, Miami is the big time. That's what happens when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decide to join Dwyane Wade on a "superteam" that plays on the shores of Biscayne Bay and the shadow of South Be

<< Celtics beat Knicks for 10th straight time in Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Allen scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Boston Celtics take down the New York Knicks, 91-89. Paul Pierce ended with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists for t

<< Pacers pick up rare win in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul George drained seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 30 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 98-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at America

Lakers hold off Nuggets >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew Bynum had 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, helping the Los Angeles Lakers hold off the Denver Nuggets, 93-89. Kobe Bryant added 20 points and nine assists for the Lakers, who have w

Lawrie leads by one in windy Qatar >>
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie fired a five-under 67 in breezy conditions Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Qatar Masters. Lawrie, who won both this event and the British Open in 1999, complete

Russia takes commanding Fed Cup edge over Spain >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova earned dominant straight-set wins Saturday to give Russia a commanding 2-0 edge in its Fed Cup quarterfinal against Spain. Sharapova, last week's Australian

Thunder, Spurs tangle in the Alamo City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have one more game left in the Alamo City before embarking on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, as they close out a three-game homestand tonight versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs have won

Penguins aim to rebound against struggling Bruins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins had their hot streak doused Wednesday in Toronto and will try to get back in the win column when they visit the struggling Boston Bruins in today's game at TD Garden. The Penguins had posted their s

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.