Giants celebrate another Super Bowl title
Football Betting Lines
02/07/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants celebrated another Super Bowl title Tuesday with a parade up the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan and a ceremony at City Hall Plaza.
Thousands of fans lined the streets as players, coaches and team personnel rode floats from the southern tip of Manhattan through the financial district as confetti fluttered down from the high-rise buildings.
Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and defensive lineman Justin Tuck headlined the main float with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which the Giants captured for a fourth time with a 21-17 victory over New England on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Head coach Tom Coughlin, general manager Jerry Reese and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch were also part of the main float that included New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
The parade ended at City Hall Plaza, where Bloomberg, after declaring the city the "Big Blue Apple," presented the Giants with keys to the city.
Former Giants star Michael Strahan, part of the team's last parade four years ago following another Super Bowl win over the Patriots, helped Bloomberg fire up the crowd.
"Let's hear it for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants," Strahan bellowed.
Before the keys were presented, Coughlin addressed the crowd.
"Only, only could this happen in New York," the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach said. "This is the greatest city in the world and it's wonderful we've returned the Lombardi Trophy to where it belongs, right here in New York."
Some of the biggest cheers during the key presentations went for receivers Mario Manningham, whose 38-yard catch along the sideline ignited the winning drive in the fourth quarter, and Victor Cruz, who caught the first TD pass in the contest. Cruz, before he picked up his key, did a quick salsa dance with Strahan.
Tuck, who had two sacks in the Super Bowl, made a few quick remarks and credited his teammates for their hard work.
"We made it here by believing in each other -- offense, defense, special teams," he said. "I'm so blessed to have teammates that go to work every day. It didn't matter where the credit went. We didn't care. We cared about one thing -- those trophies."
Tuck also brought up running back Andre Brown, who led a few teammates in a song and dance. Brown sang "I got a ring" and his teammates would answer "We got a ring."
After the brief rendition, Tuck concluded by saying, "And I got two."
Manning was the last to be presented with a key and walked to the podium to chants of "MVP, MVP." He was also the last to speak to the crowd and echoed Coughlin's message throughout the season of "finish."
"Finish games, finish the fourth quarter and finish the season strong," Manning said. "A team that won six straight games to finish the season and finish the final game to win the Super Bowl trophy.
"Thanks to all who supported us and who never lost faith in us. We never lost faith in ourselves and congratulations to all of you."
After the New York City celebration, the Giants traveled across the Hudson River to their home in East Rutherford for another rally at MetLife Stadium.
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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.