Injuries, inconsistency plague Browns once again

Football Betting Lines

12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns lost another game this past Sunday. That should have come as no surprise, considering they were facing a very good Baltimore Ravens squad on the road.

Romeo Crennel's troops displayed grit, fighting back from an early 14-point deficit to even the score with a pair of Derek Anderson touchdown passes, and executed reasonably well in a number of phases. In the end, however, Baltimore's talent and ability to take advantage of Cleveland's injury-riddled defense propelled the playoff-bound Ravens to a hard-fought 27-17 victory.

The Browns played with four regulars - end Orpheus Roye, linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, cornerback Gary Baxter and free safety Brian Russell - out for the season on the defensive side of the ball. And while the playing field was leveled somewhat when Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was forced to leave early on with an injured hand, Cleveland's shorthanded state of a unit that wasn't deep to begin with helped make Kyle Boller, the much-maligned former No. 1 pick, temporarily look like the star somebody in the Baltimore organization wrongfully envisioned.

For a brief moment, the Browns actually looked like the team steamrolling its way into the playoffs instead of the Ravens. Anderson, the relatively unknown backup pressed into service three weeks ago, brilliantly orchestrated an eight-play, 84-yard drive against one of the NFL's most feared defenses midway through the third quarter. And when he delivered a 14-yard scoring strike to Braylon Edwards to cap the series, Cleveland suddenly was dead even with the AFC North champs.

Unfortunately, the Browns played like a 4-10 team headed nowhere the rest of the way. Less than a minute after Edwards' score, Ravens' rookie receiver Demetrius Williams blew past two defenders and hauled in Boller's deep pass for a 77-yard touchdown. Three plays later, Anderson was intercepted by Chris McAllister, and failed to move the offense over the remainder of the day.

"There are usually a couple of key plays in a game that determine whether you win or lose," said Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. "When those plays came up, they made the plays and we couldn't get it done."

Wimbley's remarks were referring to Sunday's game, but they could just as easily be attributed to a host of others over the course of this season. The Browns also failed to seal the deal against the Ravens back in September, blowing an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and losing 15-14 on a last-second Matt Stover field goal. Cleveland also failed to maintain a sizeable late margin during a four-point defeat to hated Pittsburgh last month.

If the Browns manage to win those games, we'd be discussing a .500 team apparently headed in the right direction instead of a franchise seemingly stuck in neutral.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

Anderson was selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2005, and began last season as the Ravens' No. 3 quarterback before being cut loose by the organization in September. The 23-year-old certainly did some good things in his second career start, accumulating 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23-of-32 passing and completing 13 straight throws at one point. He also threw two costly interceptions, however, one of which was turned into a short Jamal Lewis touchdown run in the first quarter.

"He played decent, but in his effort to try to make some plays there are some things he could do better," said Crennel. "But I thought he was calm. He wasn't overly excited about the possibility of going back and playing his old team."

Anderson's play has begun to stir talk of a quarterback controversy in Cleveland, where injured starter Charlie Frye has been underwhelming at times but is still regarded by the organization as its long-term answer. Anderson has produced a solid quarterback rating of 85.0 in his three appearances, compared to a 72.0 for Frye, who has also thrown 16 interceptions in his 12 starts this year.

It looks like Anderson may get another opportunity to state his case, as Frye is still hampered by an injured right wrist and may not be available again for this Sunday's game with Tampa Bay.

JACKSON LATEST CASUALTY

Jackson is the most recent Cleveland defensive starter to be placed on injured reserve, as the rookie linebacker decided to undergo toe surgery after hurting himself in the team's Week 14 loss at Pittsburgh. The second-round draft choice had started each of the Browns' first 13 games and ranks second on the team with 93 tackles.

Leon Williams, who was picked two rounds behind Jackson in last April's draft, made his first career start on Sunday. The former Miami star was in on 11 stops and also forced a fumble.

"I thought he came in and a nice job," said Crennel of Williams. "He made plays and made tackles. He didn't have mental errors."

SHUT OUT

Cleveland failed to win any of its games against fellow AFC North foes this season, marking the first time since the Browns entered the NFL in 1950 that the franchise has not won an intradivisional matchup. Cleveland didn't fare much better against its rivals during last year's 6-10 campaign, going 1-5 in division play. The lone victory came against the Ravens.

BAY OF PIGS

The Browns play their final home game of the season this Sunday against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that hasn't won on the road yet in 2006. The Bucs came close last Sunday, however, taking NFC power Chicago into overtime before suffering a gut-wrenching 34-31 loss.

Cleveland has been quite successful in its limited meetings with Tampa Bay, having won five of the six previous encounters. The Browns have also taken both games with the Buccaneers as the host team.

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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.

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.