Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
LIVE VIDEO: NBCSports.com shows Washington-New York, with alternate camera angles, HD views and more.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
A discerning player might break even on a particular day or perhaps even lose a few dollars. But if he consistently put himself in a position to win big, and made the right plays, he’ll not lose confidence, his betting equilibrium. By putting the odds in his favor consistently, he knows it’s a matter of time before his bankroll grows significantly. He knows this doesn’t happen overnight.
Value is misunderstood term
If a horseplayer wants to number himself among the 2 percent that win consistently, he must have the conviction to make the right wager, not necessarily bet on the horse he deems the most likely winner. There are myriad ways to lose but generally one way to win. Winning horseplayers know the game is about price, not about horse.
Value is perhaps the most overused and least understood term in the modern player’s lexicon. Every handicapping hack that hangs out a shingle thinks that if a 3-1 shot goes off at 5-1 that a bet on that horse represents value. It is only value if you assess that horse would win 25 of every 100 times that particular race is run.
If the above example were valid, then a tad less than 4-1 odds would represent value. True value players should demand 20 percent more than what he believes are a horse’s true win odds. This type of overlay at least compensates for a nationally blended pari-mutuel takeout of about 20 percent. Takeout is immutable, a silent killer of bankrolls. Play any game where the pot is cut every time and it’s only a matter of time before your bankroll is eliminated.
Winning consistently at the races is an activity requiring basic handicapping skills, a dedicated work ethic, common sense, and an appreciation of the odds. Indeed, there may be more to successful betting than simply picking winners, but rocket science it is not.
Before attacking any raceday seriously, especially at Saratoga, I utilize a five-step process involving data from Daily Racing Form, Brisnet information services, Thoro-Graph performance ratings, and Equiform’s XTRAs. Because of its incorporation of pace figures, the XTRAs have taken performance ratings to the next level.
The fifth step and most significant step is the use of a proprietary price line developed by Cary Fotias and the egg-heads of Equiform. Fotias is among the professional bettors featured in the recently well-reviewed handicapping tome, “Six Secrets of Successful Bettors.”
The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.
It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.
THEY ARE AT THE POST |
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 | INTERACTIVE |
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 | Slideshow |
 | Derby celebs Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby. more photos |
| INTERACTIVE |
 | Triple Crown winners The horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year. |
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.