Oilers getting out of free agent market

Hockey Betting Lines

05/19/2010 -

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Kevin Lowe has a new master plan for taking the Edmonton Oilers back to the proud days of the franchise's past.

It starts with the No. 1 pick in next month's draft, earned by having the NHL's worst record this season, and also includes an increased emphasis on developing players through the minor leagues while spending less on free agents.

Lowe, the Oilers' president of hockey operations, laid out the plan Wednesday as he visited Oklahoma City to unveil the new identity of the franchise's American Hockey League affiliate. The team, which will replace an affiliate in Massachusetts, will be known as the Barons.

``We've got to get back to what we did for a lot of years,'' said Lowe, who was promoted in 2008 after eight seasons as general manager. ``We've got to get back to our basic principles of drafting and development, get out of the free agent business.''

Edmonton made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006 as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but has missed the playoffs each year since - bottoming out by going 27-47-8 this season.

``It's a best-case scenario in a difficult time, and that's the way the system of sports is designed, right? When you have that kind of year, at the end of the day you get rewarded with the best player,'' said Lowe, who won five Stanley Cups as an Oilers player from 1984-90.

``We've found over the last decade that, except for the last couple years, we've been a competitive team but there wasn't really a year where we were considered a contender at the start of the year.''

Going through the worst of seasons made Lowe and the Oilers realize how much they needed to change. A string of injuries, including to goalie Nikolai Khabibulin - the team's big free-agent acquisition last offseason - and to right wing Ales Hemsky, forced the issue after what Lowe called ``a couple of troubling years.''

``It just seems to be in recent NHL history that the only way you become a contender is you have to go to the back of the bus for a while and regroup,'' Lowe said. ``We had a pile of injuries this year to key players and in some respects - having been at this for 10 years now - it's a blessing in disguise.

``It's almost like something hit us in the side of the head and said, 'OK, if you guys can't figure this out yourself, then we're going to do it for you.'''

Lowe said the Oilers had a new plan for success, to a certain degree modeled after the Chicago Blackhawks' ability to build around draft picks Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He also plans to hire a general manager based out of Oklahoma City - the franchise's top minor-league affiliate - who would be in charge of scouting out players other franchises might have missed.

``We've got to draft and develop here, more focus on resources spent toward development that will ultimately filter up to our team in Edmonton,'' Lowe said. ``To me, that's the formula of success. So, that bodes well for Oklahoma City here. We're definitely going to focus on spending more money on the development side of things.''

The Barons will begin playing at an upgraded Cox Convention Center in October after a full year without minor-league hockey in Oklahoma City. The Blazers of the Central Hockey League folded last year.

``I think they're going to see a lot of that fast-paced play,'' said Bob Funk Jr., the owner of Prodigal LLC, which operates the Barons. ``It's not the brawling type of teams that you had in the past. They're hockey professionals. These are guys that want to get to the NHL.''

Lowe said the placement of the AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City ``couldn't have come at a better time,'' as Edmonton goes through a rebuilding mode energized by the first selection in the June 25 draft.

``Getting the first overall pick is not the end all, be all. But we also have some good recent selections, guys that standing on their own merits are going to be good hockey players,'' Lowe said.

``If we were just relying on the first overall pick to sort of drag us out of the ashes, that's not going to happen.''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.

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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.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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