FCS contingent hopes to impress at NFL Combine

NCAA Football Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three of the best offensive linemen from the Football Championship Subdivision were part of the first groups of prospects to open the NFL Combine on Wednesday.

Offensive tackles Tom Compton of South Dakota, Paul Cornick of North Dakota State and Dustin Waldron of Portland State hoped to impress the 32 NFL teams which began evaluating over 325 of the nation's top college players, including 22 from the FCS, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Participants were scheduled by position over four-day periods. The itinerary, should a player participate in all that is offered, includes an orientation, measurements, a medical exam, testing, interviews with teams, workouts, media training and a meeting with the NFL Players Association.

The evaluation periods for the FCS players:

Wednesday-Saturday

(place-kickers, punters, long snappers, offensive linemen and tight ends)

Offensive tackles Tom Compton of South Dakota, Paul Cornick of North Dakota State and Dustin Waldron of Portland State

Thursday-Sunday

(quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers)

Quarterbacks B.J. Coleman of Chattanooga, Aaron Corp of Richmond and Patrick Witt of Yale; running back Jewel Hampton (junior-eligible) of Southern Illinois; H-back Emil Igwenagu of Massachusetts; wide receivers Tim Benford of Tennessee Tech and Brian Quick of Appalachian State

Friday-Monday

(defensive linemen and linebackers)

Inside linebacker Caleb McSurdy of Montana

Saturday-Tuesday

(defensive backs)

Cornerbacks Asa Jackson of Cal Poly, Trumaine Johnson of Montana, Josh Norman of Coastal Carolina, Micah Pellerin of Hampton, DeAndre Presley of Appalachian State, Ryan Steed of Furman and Corey White of Samford; strong safeties Justin Bethel of Presbyterian and Jerron McMillian of Maine; free safeties Janzen Jackson (junior eligible) of McNeese State and Christian Thompson of South Carolina State

Onlinecasio NCAA Football Betting News

<< Shockers can claim MVC title with win over Redbirds
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Wichita State Shockers set their sights on the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, as they head to Redbird Arena to take on Illinois State in conference bout. This will be the second

<< Royals ink Holland, Coleman
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals on Wednesday agreed to terms on one-year contracts with relievers Greg Holland and Louis Coleman. In two seasons in Kansas City, the 26-year-old Holland has posted a 5-2 record with a

<< Azarenka pulls out of Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 star Victoria Azarenka decided to pull out of the $2 million Dubai Duty Free Championships, citing a left ankle injury. The Belarusian Azarenka suffered the injury during a

<< Owls and Explorers meet in clash of Philly rivals
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Temple Owls will try to continue their winning streak as they head across town to take on the La Salle Explorers at Tom Gola Arena in Atlantic 10 Conference action. The Owls have almost dou

<< Big East brawl pits Bulls against Orange
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The South Florida Bulls will take their four- game winning streak into the Carrier Dome tonight as they square off with the second-ranked Syracuse Orange in a Big East Conference battle. The Bulls and Syracuse

Jorgensen set for summer switch to PSV >>
Eindhoven, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSV Eindhoven has completed the signing of Danish defender Mathias Jorgensen from FC Copenhagen. Jorgensen will move to PSV on a free transfer this summer when his contract with the Danish si

Utah's Evans replacing Knicks' Shumpert in Slam Dunk contest >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans will replace New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert in Saturday's Slam Dunk contest. Shumpert withdrew from the event because of left patella tendinitis. Evans will vie for the ti

Rounding Third: Five AL storylines to watch in spring training >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no better phrase for a baseball fan than, "Pitchers and catchers report." Although the weather here in the Northeast has resembled spring for much of the winter, the fact that baseball is starting is

Fiorentina's Olivera receives three-match ban >>
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fiorentina midfielder Ruben Olivera has been banned for three games by the Italian football league for violent conduct. Olivera received a red card in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at Bologna after

Stars' Dowell placed on IR >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars place Jake Dowell on injured reserve Wednesday. The 26-year-old center is expected to miss one week with an upper-body injury. He has one goal and four assists in 43 games this season. To

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.