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07/13/2010 -
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Cole Aldrich says defense comes naturally to him - a trait made easier by the fact he's always been the biggest guy on the basketball court.
The 6-foot-11 Aldrich finished his career at Kansas as one of the school's great shot- blockers, and he hopes to continue focusing on defense now that he's reached the NBA.
``Defensively is, I think, really where I'm going to make an impact,'' Aldrich said Monday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Aldrich, the No. 11 pick in this year's draft, and veteran forward Morris Peterson from New Orleans in exchange to the draft rights to Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter. In making the trade, Oklahoma City added a player with a defense-first approach, something general manager Sam Presti said can be rare among rookies.
``Cole really shares the same mentality and approach that we try to embody with our team,'' Presti said. ``He's another hardworking, high-character player.''
Thunder coach Scott Brooks listed Aldrich's positives: ``Defense, protects the basket, rebounds, sets great screens. He's a great outlet passer.''
Notice Brooks didn't say anything about scoring. On a team that already includes the NBA's reigning scoring leader in Kevin Durant and other players capable of big offensive games, ``we're not looking for him to come in here and be a big-time scorer,'' Brooks said.
Aldrich, a native of Bloomington, Minn., grew up a Minnesota Timberwolves fan - and defense was an early love.
``I was, I wouldn't say a bully on the court, but I was bigger than everybody so I just loved to block shots and rebound,'' he said. ``If somebody comes in the lane, I don't want them to score. I take real pride in blocking the shot or altering the shot or (making opponents) pass it out. I've always liked to think that the paint is kind of my home and I don't want anybody coming in my home.''
As a sophomore at Kansas, he averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds and recorded the first official triple-double in the history of the Jayhawks' storied program with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a NCAA tournament game against Dayton.
Last season as a junior, he set a school record with 125 blocked shots and was named the Big 12 Conference's top defensive player. Favored to make the Final Four, Kansas lost a second-round game to Northern Iowa in the same Oklahoma City arena where Aldrich now will play as a pro.
Aldrich finished his Kansas career with 253 blocks, five shy of the school record held by Greg Ostertag.
The Thunder's frontcourt, thin when the franchise arrived from Seattle before the 2008-09 season, has become crowded. Nenad Krstic started last season and rookie Serge Ibaka saw his playing time dramatically increase as the season wore on.
Another Kansas product, veteran Nick Collison, provides front-line depth, and the Thunder also has been developing a 2009 first-round draft pick, Byron Mullens. At small forward, Jeff Green is entrenched as a starter.
Brooks said he prefers a nine-man rotation and everyone in that rotation is returning next season from a team that went 50-32 and pushed the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the playoffs. That means significant playing time for Aldrich is not guaranteed.
``It's going to be tough,'' Aldrich said. ``They just don't hand out anything. That's been my whole life. I've had to work for everything. I'm just excited to go against those guys and compete with them.''
Whether he's playing a lot or a little, Aldrich is guaranteed $1,772,000 in rookie salary as the No. 11 pick.
Brooks had some advice for his newest center if he wants to get on the floor quickly.
``Being a bully is not bad,'' Brooks said. ``Minutes? Who knows. I met the guy four days ago. We'll have to see how he continues to get better the rest of the summer and training camp. I know our guys are going to be ready to compete and he's going to be in there competing with them.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Chargers' Jackson suspended three games
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent
Jackson has been suspended three games by the NFL for violating the league's
substance abuse policy.
The Chargers sent out a press release posting saying Ja
<< Jazz appear ready to acquire Al Jefferson
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz are close to acquiring
forward Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to multiple
reports.
"I just approved a Jazz roster move that I'm very excited about. Planning to
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Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors appear ready to deliver the
first big deal to try and replace Chris Bosh as they close in on a trade with
the Charlotte Bobcats.
Bosh left last week for Miami via sign-and-trade, causing a b
<< Wall has 18 points, 10 assists in win over Clips
LAS VEGAS (AP) -John Wall, playing his second NBA Summer League game with the Wizards, had 18 points, 10 assists and five steals in Washington's 89-64 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's
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Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin
has reportedly received a contract extension.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday that Tomlin has agreed to a
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Line of Scrimmage: NFL GameChangers '10: Defensive Backs >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When presented with the phrase "Atlanta
Falcons cornerback" in one of those word-association tests, the first term
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NL All-Star Expanded Statistics >>
BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS ECatcherMolina, StL .223 .301 265 17 59 10 0 3 33 26 30 6 3 4First BasePujols, StL .308 .416 321 55 99 21 1 21 64 60 44
AP source: Yankees' George Steinbrenner dies at 80 >>
NEW YORK (AP) -A person close to George Steinbrenner tells The Associated Press that the New York Yankees' owner died Tuesday morning.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet made the announcement.Copyright © 2005
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
(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.
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