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Steinbrenner's death casts pall over All-Star festivitiesBaseball Betting Lines07/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there was ever a baseball story that could steal the spotlight from the All-Star Game, this was it. George Steinbrenner passed away early Tuesday morning following a massive heart attack in his Tampa home. The longtime Yankees owner had reportedly been in failing health for years, and was rarely seen in public of late. Whatever you may think of Steinbrenner, this much I know: there will never be another owner like him. The Daniel Snyders, Mark Cubans and Dan Gilberts of the world can try, but they are not and never will be George Steinbrenner. The quote from his initial press conference in 1973, when he took over the franchise in 1973, still resonates, albeit ironically. Steinbrenner said he would not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the team, a statement that was almost as off-the-mark as his insistence that he was dead-set against free agency, that it would ruin the game. Known as "The Boss," Steinbrenner helped change baseball. He was at the forefront in the infancy of free agency, luring Jim "Catfish" Hunter to the Bronx prior to the 1975 season and Reggie Jackson two years later. Other early big signings were Goose Gossage in 1978 and Dave Winfield before the 1981 campaign. With Steinbrenner at the helm, the Yankees won seven World Series titles and 11 American League pennants. The club went to the World Series in 1976, just his fourth season of ownership, and captured the first of two straight titles the following year. Steinbrenner was the owner that you loved to hate, unless he owned your team, of course. He transcended the sport. How many owners of professional sports teams have hosted Saturday Night Live, or had their likenesses portrayed on Seinfeld? What made him so great was that he seemed to have the ability to laugh at himself. He knew he was a character, and played it up to the fullest. Steinbrenner had his faults. Was he short-tempered at times? Yes. Ask Dave Winfield, or "Mr. May," as he was once referred to by Steinbrenner. Or the numerous managers he fired How about the time he called Hideki Irabu a fat toad? Or his fistfight with a Dodgers fan in the elevator during the 1981 World Series? His outbursts were legendary. The whole Billy Martin saga should be a broadway play. There wasn't anyone who at one time or another did not have a run-in with the Boss. Martin, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Torre and even Derek Jeter have all at one time drawn the ire of Big Stein. He hired and fired 12 managers, including Billy Martin five times, from 1974 until Torre's reign began in 1996. But through it all, the thing he cared about the most was winning. One of his most famous quotes was, "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next." A lot of Steinbrenner's charitable work was overshadowed by his larger-than- life persona. Among his many philanthropic contributions was the Silver Shield Foundation, established to provide scholarships and other educational support to the children and spouses of police officers, firefighters and state troopers killed in the line of duty. As the son of a New York City cop, I can't begin to tell you how important and meaningful something like that is. It is funny, through a lot of my childhood George Steinbrenner was hated by Yankee fans. Yankee Stadium actually erupted in cheers when he banned from baseball for the second time in July of 1990. Things changed once he came back nearly three years later. He softened as he got older, and defied the odds to become beloved. One of my favorite Yankee Stadium memories was Opening Day in 2004 when he was being interviewed on the field, the fans serenaded him with chants of "Thank you, George" and "We love you, George." The accolades brought The Boss to tears. Such adulation for an owner is unlikely to happen again in the Bronx. There will never be another George Steinbrenner.
<< Taylor pleads not guilty to rape charges
New City, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor has pleaded not guilty to rape charges that were brought against him this past May. He pleaded not guilty at a Rockland County courthouse on Tuesday as he was
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<< AL puts All-Star unbeaten streak on the line at Angel Stadium
<< Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner dies
<< Report: Steinbrenner suffers heart attack
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - We know this much is true about the Texas Rangers: on paper, they are a better ballclub than they were before Friday. When the Rangers traded for Seattle Mariners' ace Cliff Lee, they effectively complemented their potent
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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. |
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