Delaware State will play Cincinnati in 2012

NCAA Football Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Visits to the University of Cincinnati and the University of Delaware help highlight Delaware State's 2012 football schedule.

The Hornets are coming off a 3-8 season in Kermit Blount's first year as head coach.

They will play five home games, beginning with the season opener against VMI on Sept. 1.

Next up, the Hornets will travel upstate to Newark to take on the Delaware Blue Hens on Sept. 8. The Hornets have yet to win in three all-time meetings.

Delaware State will then play Cincinnati for the first time when it travels to the Big East school on Sept. 15.

The Hornets' final eight games will be within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Included are home games against Florida A&M (Sept. 22), South Carolina State (Oct. 13), North Carolina A&T (Oct. 20) and Hampton (Nov. 10).

The Hornets also will play road conference games at 2011 MEAC champ Norfolk State (Oct. 6), Morgan State (Oct. 27), North Carolina Central (Nov. 3) and Howard (Nov. 17).

They will not play Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State in the 11-team MEAC.

Saturday, Sept. 1, VMI, Dover, Del.

Saturday, Sept. 8, at Delaware, Newark, Del.

Saturday, Sept. 15, at Cincinnati, Cincinnati

Saturday, Sept. 22, FLORIDA A&M*, Dover, Del.

Saturday, Oct. 6, at Norfolk State*, Norfolk, Va.

Saturday, Oct. 13, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE*, Dover, Del.

Saturday, Oct. 20, NORTH CAROLINA A&T*, Dover, Del.

Saturday, Oct. 27, at Morgan State*, at Baltimore

Saturday, Nov. 3, at North Carolna Central*, Durham, N.C.

Saturday, Nov. 10, HAMPTON*, Dover, Del.

Saturday, Nov. 17, at Howard*, Washington, D.C.

* - MEAC game

Nflchancesports NCAA Football Betting News

<< Rocchi to miss three weeks with thigh injury
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio striker Tommaso Rocchi is expected to miss the next three weeks due to a thigh injury. Rocchi sustained the problem in Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Genoa and will miss Serie A games with Cesena, Palerm

<< Traore out as Senegal coach
Dakar, Senegal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Senegal's football federation confirmed on Wednesday that coach Amara Traore has been fired following a disappointing showing by the team at the African Cup of Nations. Senegal entered the competitio

<< Union signs Colombian forward Pajoy
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union announced on Wednesday that the club has signed Colombian forward Lionard Pajoy. Pajoy joins the Union from Colombian side Itagui Ditaires and he is coming off the best season of his ca

<< Memphis will join Big East in 2013-14
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ongoing game of musical chairs in college athletics has its newest player. The Big East made it official on Wednesday, welcoming Memphis in all sports for the 2013-14 season, completing the con

<< Morris reportedly to be Yale's offensive coordinator
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Massachusetts head football coach Kevin Morris will be named Yale's new offensive coordinator, according to reports Wednesday. The coaching web sites Coachingsearch.com and Footballscoop.com reported t

Providence picked to host 2013 AHL All-Star Classic >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League selected Providence, Rhode Island, as the host for the 2013 All-Star Classic on Wednesday. "The American Hockey League is excited to be returning to one of its fo

Thigh injury sidelines Inter's Samuel >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan defender Walter Samuel could miss the next two weeks after picking up a thigh injury in Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Roma. The former Argentina international was replaced at halftime of the loss an

Mutuel field favored in Kentucky Derby Future Wager >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mutuel field, undefeated Algorithms and Union Rags are listed as the three favorites for the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager for the 2012 Run for the Roses. The pool is comprised of 23 individua

BC Lions ink Banks to extension >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending champion British Columbia Lions inked defensive back Korey Banks to a contract extension on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Over the past number of years, Korey has bee

Falcao tabbed as new Bahia boss >>
Bahia, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paulo Roberto Falcao was named the new manager of Bahia on Wednesday, replacing Joel Santana, who left the club for Flamengo. Falcao spent a short time at Internacional last season before being 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.