Manning wins another Super Bowl MVP

Football Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Is Eli Manning elite? That's likely no longer a concern for the New York Giants quarterback.

Manning won his second Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award Sunday after leading the Giants on another game-winning drive against the Patriots.

He orchestrated an 88-yard march that ended in Ahmad Bradshaw's go-ahead six- yard touchdown with 57 seconds remaining that lifted New York to a 21-17 win.

Of course, Manning also led an 83-yard drive to capture the 2008 Super Bowl over the Patriots, which ended New England's hopes of a perfect season and ended with Manning winning MVP.

Just as New York's winning drive four years ago had an instant-classic play, this one got its goosebumps moment with 3:39 remaining.

It was Mario Manningham's 38-yard catch near the left sideline on the first play of the drive, which took the Giants to midfield. Manningham got behind cornerback Sterling Moore, and took a hit from safety Patrick Chung, but kept his feet in bounds for the catch.

The play was upheld upon review, with Manningham scraping his back foot on the turf before he tumbled head-first out of bounds.

"A remarkable thing," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

Manning was 5-of-6 for 74 yards on the drive and passed big brother Peyton by winning his second Super Bowl ring.

He finished the game 30-of-40 for 296 yards and a touchdown pass to Victor Cruz in the first quarter, capping an improbable run that began when the Giants made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season.

"I'm proud of these guys, proud of the way we fought all year," said Manning. "We never got discouraged."

Wwwmlsnet Football Betting News

<< Gronkowski: 'Almost isn't enough' on Hail Mary pass
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took Rob Gronkowski nearly an entire half to make his first catch in the Super Bowl. Later, the injured Patriots tight end was several tortured inches away from snaring a Hail Mary pass that would

<< Giants defensive line key to another run
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At one point in his life, Jason Pierre-Paul didn't want to be a football player. But after a broken leg ended his basketball career in high school, Pierre-Paul made a decision that sent him on a path to winning a Super B

<< Gronkowski's 1st catch comes on record-tying drive
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took Rob Gronkowski nearly an entire half to make his first catch in the Super Bowl. The injured Patriot, who set the tight end record for receiving yards and touchdowns during the regular sea

<< Released Underwood reacts to Patriots' loss
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former New England Patriots wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, released a day before the Super Bowl, sent dozens of tweets during the game Sunday but didn't have much to say immediately after it was over.

<< Again! Giants top Patriots to win Super Bowl
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning and the New York Giants did it again, beating the New England Patriots with another game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds remai

FCS Giants bask in Super Bowl triumph >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They're Super beyond the FCS level. A contingent of former FCS players are reveling in the New York Giants' 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI Sunday night. The Giants' roster inc

I'll Have Another - The Overlay of the Century >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - How many times does a gambler like a horse and wish the odds could have been much higher than they were? It does not happen that often but when the unforeseen takes place, it's best to take the money and ask questio

Farrington expected to become VMI's defensive coordinator >>
Lexington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - VMI is expected to name Jeff Farrington as the new defensive coordinator of its football program later this month. Farrington became Mercer University's defensive coordinator last July as it builds a program

Cirstea advances in Thailand >>
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Romanian Sorana Cirstea was an easy first-round winner Monday at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis tournament. The seventh-seeded Cirstea blew past Japanese Erika Sema 6-2, 6-2 on the hardcourt

Marquette and DePaul meet in Big East action >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a humbling loss, the Marquette Golden Eagles will try to bounce back tonight against the DePaul Blue Demons in a Big East Conference battle at Allstate Arena. This will be the 111th meeting in the a

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.