Acclamation's trainer disappointed with Eclipse Award

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/19/2012 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may seem funny, but trainer Don Warren doesn't appear all that enthused with winning a 2011 Eclipse Award. His charge, Acclamation, was voted 2011 champion Older Male thoroughbred.

What's not to like?

"I thought Acclamation had the best chance of winning the Older Male, but I would rather have seen him win the Turf," Warren said. "Older Male's kind of a funny category, because actually the Older Male should be the Horse of the Year. It seems like they go together, but I guess in that case you wouldn't be able to vote for a filly for Horse of the Year, so I guess it's all right."

Havre de Grace was rewarded for her four-year-old season in 2011 with Horse of the Year and Older Female. She became the third straight female to be voted Horse of the Year succeeding Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

Owned by Bud Johnston, Acclamation was being considered for last year's Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs in either the Classic or the Turf. His last start of the year was a victory in the Clement L Hirsch Turf Championship at Santa Anita on October 2.

The award-winning horse was turned out at the owner's farm near Fresno, to get ready for a 2012 campaign leading to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita.

"This is by far the best achievement and the best year we've had," Warren continued, "and especially since Acclamation is a Cal-bred. Acclamation is with me at Santa Anita and he's going to the track every morning, just jogging though. It will be a long, slow process (until he resumes racing). I don't think you'll see him at Santa Anita this meet."

Acclamation won the Pacific Classic along with the Hirsch Turf Championship last year. He also won the Jim Murray, Charlie Whittingham and Eddie Read on the turf. The versatile runner has earned better than $1.6 million in 28 career starts with nine victories.

Foxsorts Horseracing Betting News

<< Busch brothers sharing Nationwide driving duties at KBM
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Thursday that brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will share driving duties in the No.54 Toyota during the 2012 Nationwide Series season. KBM is entering its first f

<< Indians P Carmona arrested for double identity
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested Thursday in his native Dominican Republic on charges of double identity. Maximo Baez Aybar, a spokesman for the Dominican National Police, said through

<< Jacksonville State to play Arkansas, Florida
Jacksonville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe still keeps his ties to the SEC. The dean of Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches will lead his Gamecocks program into not one, but two games against SEC opponents i

<< Valencia signs Argentine Banega to extension
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia has signed Argentine midfielder Ever Banega to a contract extension through June 2015. Banega, 23, joined Valencia in 2008 from Boca Juniors and has played 87 games with the Spanish side. Bane

<< Inter's Forlan picks up new injury
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan forward Diego Forlan has suffered strained right hip flexor, and will be sidelined for an unknown period. The Uruguayan international joined Inter from Atletico Madrid last summer, but the 32-year

DePaul F Freeland intends to transfer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DePaul junior forward Tony Freeland plans to transfer due to a family illness, the school announced Thursday. Freeland, who was already out for the season due to a shoulder injury, said that he is going h

Giants' Manning returns to practice >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was a full participant in practice on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's practice with a stomach illness. "I'm 100 percent. I had a full practice today,

AC Milan's Pato to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato is expected to miss three to four weeks with a thigh injury sustained Wednesday in the Coppa Italia win over Novara. Pato's extra-time goal helped Milan defeat Novara, 2-1, but

Report: Saints hire Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have decided on Steve Spagnuolo as their next defensive coordinator, according to a report by FOX's Jay Glazer. Spagnuolo spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the St

Toms, Villegas share lead in California >>
La Quinta, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Toms and Camilo Villegas carded matching rounds of nine-under 63 Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Humana Challenge. The leaders played two different courses on Thursday. Toms was

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.