UNC Wilmington names Cooper-Dyke women's coach

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

05/10/2010 - Wilmington, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina-Wilmington has named Hall of Fame electee Cynthia Cooper-Dyke its new women's head basketball coach.

Cooper-Dyke won a pair of NCAA women's titles at Southern California and captured four WNBA crowns with the Houston Comets, earning the Finals MVP honor each time. She was twice the league's MVP and won an Olympic gold medal in 1988.

She joins the Seahawk program following a successful five-year stint at Prairie View A&M in central Texas.

Cooper-Dyke will replace Ann Hancock, whose contract was not renewed for the 2010-11 season. Hancock took over the program in 2000-01 and completed her 10th season at UNCW and coached the Seahawks to a 12-19 record.

The 47-year-old Cooper-Dyke moved into the coaching ranks in 2001 as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury.

Ebettingofftrack NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Dodgers place P Haeger on DL
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed knuckleball pitcher Charlie Haeger on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis. The 26-year-old is 0-4 with a 8.49 earned run average in seven games -- five starts -

<< Flyers' Boucher leaves game
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher left Game 5 of his club's Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston with an apparent lower-body injury. Boucher was hurt at the 4:35 mark of t

<< Flyers G Boucher hurt in 2nd period vs. Bruins
BOSTON (AP) -Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Boucher (BOO-shay) is out of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston because of an apparent knee injury.Boucher skated off the ice favoring his left knee with 15:25 left in the s

<< Ex-Dallas Mavericks owner's company sues club
DALLAS (AP) -A company run by former Dallas Mavericks owner Ross Perot Jr. is suing the club, alleging that it's insolvent or verging on insolvency.''According to The Dallas Morning News, Hillwood Investment Properties III Ltd. sued Dallas Basketbal

<< Canucks hope to wreck Blackhawks' travel plans
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -The Chicago Blackhawks packed for a long road trip, but the Vancouver Canucks would like to send them home early for an unwanted Game 7.The Canucks stayed alive in the Western Conference semifinal series with a 4-1

Saints' WR Meachem out until training camp >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem will likely be out until the start of training camp after undergoing toe surgery on Monday. The procedure was to fix torn cartilage in the second to

Clutch Canadiens force Game 7 with Pens >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-seeded Canadiens continued to defy the odds by forcing a decisive Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh before a raucous crowd at Bell Centre. Michae

Flyers overcome Boucher injury to take Game 5 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne scored a pair of goals while Michael Leighton returned from a long layoff and filled in for the injured Brian Boucher, helping the Philadelphia Flyers dominate the Boston Bruins, 4-0, in Game 5

Reds hold on for win in Pittsburgh >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Laynce Nix and Scott Rolen each had a run- scoring double and Bronson Arroyo pitch seven-plus quality innings, as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener

Red Sox hold off Blue Jays >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox held on for a 7-6 win over Toronto in the opener of a three- game series. Dustin Pedroia added two RBI for the Red Sox, who swept a three-gam

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.