Stern advice for James, Gilbert and Jesse

Basketball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took the death of a true sports legend, Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, to finally knock LeBron James and the NBA from the top of every sportscast across the country.

Conventional wisdom says David Stern was thrilled the LeBron sweepstakes kept people talking about his league during the first two weeks of July, but the commish made it clear Monday that he wasn't on board with the way his biggest star dissed the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Stern had no problem with James' change of address to Miami but wasn't thrilled with the two-time MVP's public announcement during the made-for- television special called "The Decision."

"The advice that he received on this was poor," Stern said after NBA owners meeting in Las Vegas. "The performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity, I think, shined through. But this decision was ill-conceived."

Stern was much harder on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, fining him $100,000 for a tirade that the commissioner called "a little bit extreme."

After being spurned on national television, Gilbert released a visceral statement calling James' behavior during the special "narcissistic" and "cowardly." He followed that by telling The Associated Press in a phone interview that James quit on the Cavs during the playoffs.

It's hard to argue with narcissistic but Gilbert certainly went over the line when he called James' behavior cowardly and his decision to leave Cleveland as disloyal, charges that didn't go unnoticed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Jackson, perhaps the country's leading civil rights activist, responded to Gilbert's ill-advised remarks by upping the ante with even more explosive and ill-conceived rhetoric.

Jackson said the Cavs owner sees James as a "runaway slave" and spoke as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, perhaps the silliest comment of all-time since I don't know many slave owners that paid their property over $62 million dollars.

"However well-meaning Jesse may be in the premise on this one, he is, as he rarely is, mistaken," Stern said. "And I would have told him so had he called me before he issued his statement. But he is a good friend of the NBA and our players. Has worked arduously on many good causes and we work together in many matters."

The James-Gilbert-Jackson fiasco may have been the front page fodder but when it comes to basketball the real story coming from all of this was possible collusion -- not from the owners but the players.

When James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all decided to play together in South Beach after communicating with each other during the free-agent process. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban cried foul and wanted the league to examine the process.

Most feel the plan by the three to join forces on a so-called "Super Team" had dated all the way back to 2006 when the trio each signed shorter-than- available contracts with an eye on free agency in 2010.

"The three players are totally, as our system has evolved, within their rights to talk to each other," Stern said. "That is not tampering or collusion that is prohibited. That's our rule, right now."

According to Stern, Cuban was a lone voice and no formal complaints were levied at the Board of Governors meeting on Monday.

"Our players, having negotiated for the right to be free agents at some point in their career, are totally within their rights to seek employment with any other team," Stern said. "That's something we agreed to. That's something we embrace. That's our system."

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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.