K-State signs Martin to contract extension

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas State signed head men's basketball coach Frank Martin to a three-year extension on Sunday.

Martin, who had two years remaining on his original deal, is signed through the 2014-15 season.

"Coach Martin is a tremendous fit for Kansas State," said school athletic director John Currie. "With this contract in place, Coach Martin has made a long-term commitment to K-State and K-State has made a long-term commitment to him. We are confident that under his leadership K-State basketball will continue to elevate its national presence."

Martin's new deal will pay a base salary of $1.2 million for 2010-11, and will increase yearly to $1.6 million in 2014-15.

The 43-year-old Martin was named the Big 12 coach of the year after guiding the Wildcats to a 24-6 record this season, including an 11-5 mark in conference play. K-State also clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament.

"I told John (Currie) from day one that I want to be the guy that grows old with you here," Martin said. "I told him that I did not want him to offer me a contract because it is in vogue. I want to do it because you believe in me."

Martin was named head coach at K-State in the summer of 2007, when Bob Huggins left after just one season in Manhattan to take over at West Virginia.

He has posted a 67-30 record in his three years at the helm.

Wwwbettingexpress NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Northern Iowa claims second straight MVC crown
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kwadzo Ahelegbe poured in a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, as the top-seeded Northern Iowa Panthers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament by taking down the second-

<< Leuer and Taylor lead Wisconsin over Illinois
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor each scored 20 points to lead 15th-ranked Wisconsin to a 72-57 victory over Illinois at Assembly Hall. Trevon Hughes posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 reboun

<< Duke downs N.C. State for ACC title
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jasmine Thomas scored a team-high 18 points and added six rebounds and six assists as ninth-ranked Duke defeated N.C. State for the ACC women's title. Karima Christmas chipped in 13 points, while J

<< Irish reach Big East semis with win over St. John's
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skylar Diggins scored 21 points to help sixth-ranked Notre Dame defeat No. 16 St. John's, 75-67, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Devereaux Peters had 13 points and Lindsay Schrader

<< Israel stays alive against Chile in Davis Cup
Coquimbo, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Israeli doubles specialists Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram posted a big victory on Sunday, as the Israelis pulled within 1-2 of the host Chileans in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup matchup

Mallorca moves level with Sevilla in La Liga >>
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julio Alvarez, Victor Casadesus and Pierre Webo scored and Mallorca topped Sporting Gijon 3-0 on Sunday at the ONO Estadi to move level with fourth-place Sevilla in Spain's La Liga. Mallorca won for the 11

Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Boudreau scored 18 points off the bench to lead the fifth-seeded Buffalo Bulls to a 72-54 victory over the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Calvin

Pate wins in Bogota >>
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Tour winner Steve Pate parred the second playoff hole Sunday to defeat Aaron Watkins and win the inaugural Bogota Open. Pate, the third-round leader, only managed an even-par 71 in the final rou

Inter held to scoreless draw by Genoa >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at San Siro by Genoa on Sunday, the third time in its last four Serie A matches is has not scored. Inter has tied four of its last five matches in Italy's top flight, with th

UConn crushes Syracuse to tie record >>
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles tied a career-high with 34 points, as top-ranked Connecticut clobbered Syracuse, 77-41, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. It's the 70th consecutive win for the

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.