What’s on today
Apologies for the disruption to service yesterday,
which was due to the combined meltdown of wireless service then a power
blackout; as the heatwave continues today, sympathies with players facing
another brutal session at Melbourne Park where the Australian Open tennis
enters day 3; similarly, it’s going to be a bloody hot day for the midweek
metro races; it’s a different story for our friends in North America, where
there are four NBA and 11 NHL games booked for the day; stay cool/warm & GL
punters!
Racing for January 15
Horse racing: Caulfield (Vic), Canterbury (NSW), Eagle
Farm (Qld), Pinjarra (WA), Launceston (Tas). Harness racing: Charlton (Vic), Kilmore
(Vic), Redcliffe (Qld), Tamworth (NSW). Greyhound racing: Albion Park (Qld), Ballarat
(Vic), Bendigo (Vic), Bulli (NSW), Cannington (WA), Cranbourne (Vic), Richmond
(NSW), Rockhampton (Qld), The Meadows (Vic).
A revised weather forecast has forced Racing Victoria
to adjust the starting times for Wednesday’s Caulfield meeting. After the
Bureau Of Meteorology has adjusted its prediction to a top temperature of 41
degrees today, Racing Victoria decided to bring forward the first race to 11am.
The last race will be run at 2.45pm to avoid the hottest part of the day. All
other meetings look set to proceed as planned despite the heatwave sweeping
across the nation.
Confirmed bets
Caulfield R3 #12 Waldorf (E/W 1x3) 2nd ($1.70)
Caulfield R5 #2 Text’n Hurley (win) LOSE (3rd)
Caulfield R7 #9 Lord Of The Sky (win) 1st ($1.40)
Canterbury R1 #4 Pera Pera (win) LOSE (2nd)
Canterbury R3 #1 Fortunefivehundred (E/W) LOSE (U/P)
Leans
Caulfield R2 #8 Vintage Cognac (E/W) SCRATCHED
Caulfield R4 #7 Red Fella (E/W 1x3) 1st ($4.30/$1.80)
Caulfield R6 #15 Tycoon Express (E/W) LOSE (U/P)
Canterbury R4 #4 Fantastic Ballad (E/W) LOSE (U/P)
Canterbury R6 #11 More Than Brave (E/W 1x3) 1st ($2.70/$1.40)
Pinjarra R5 #10 Vengabus (win) SCRATCHED
Launceston R7 #4 Mensa Magic (E/W 1x3)
Tennis (Australian Open) for January 15
2014 Australian Open day 3, the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific,
Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 15
Hot, damn hot, again – that will be the theme of day three
at Melbourne Park as a four-day heatwave sweeps across south-eastern Australia.
For the future markets, players who can spend as little time as possible on
court are going to be at a massive advantage heading into week two. As was the
case yesterday, it’s going to be players who can win the first set who’ll be
well fancied to take out their respective matches – it’s a long way back from a
set down when the on-court temperatures soars beyond the 50°C. The best
description of the conditions came from Canadian Frank Dancevic (pictured) who collapsed
during the second set of his match against Benoit Paire, lying unconscious on
the court for a full minute. Dancevic said he was hallucinating before he
fainted, and thought he saw a certain cartoon Beagle: “I was dizzy from the
middle of the first set and then I saw Snoopy and I thought, ‘Wow Snoopy, that’s
weird.’”
Another side-effect of the heat is the approach used
by different players, with Aussie Matt Ebden admitting to tanking a set in his
first round five-set win over Nicolas Mahut! The 67th-ranked Australian did
well do erase past demons from the Melbourne major. He failed to qualify in
2007, 2008, and 2009, lost to Gael Monfils in the 2010 first round and Michael
Russell in the 2011 first round, and he squandered two-set leads against both
Kei Nishikori and Youzhny in 2012 and 2013, respectively. His second round
opponent Vaske Pospisil went into this event with some serious question marks.
The 30th-ranked Canadian did well to reach the Chennai semi-finals, but he
eventually retired against Stanislas Wawrinka due to a back injury. He then
withdrew from Sydney but looked much improved in a comprehensive straight-set
beatdown of Sam Groth in the first round. Ebden will have the fans, but
Pospisil’s one-two, serve-forehand punch should be the difference.
Confirmed bets
Vasek Pospisil -4 v Matt Ebden (one unit @ $1.87)
Tomas Berdych v Kenny De Schepper -30.5 (one unit @ $1.85) WIN (26)
Dmitry Tursunov WIN v Denis Istomin (one unit @ $1.70) LOSE
Serena Williams v Vesna Dolonc -15.5 (one unit @ $1.87) WIN (15)
Yanina Wickmayer v Alison Riske 2-0 (one unit @ $1.85) WIN
Leans
Pablo Andujar v Jerzy Janowicz +36 $1.85 WIN (42)
Sam Querrey v Ernests Gulbis +40.5 $1.87 LOSE (27)
Fabio Fognini v Jarkko Nieminen WIN $2.10 LOSE
Jie Zheng v Madison Keys WIN 2-0 $1.85 LOSE
Samantha Stosur v Tsvetana Prionkova WIN $2.30 LOSE
Casey Dellacqua v Kirsten Flipkens WIN $1.52 LOSE
NHL for January 15
Calgary Flames (16-24-6, 38 points) @ Nashville
Predators (19-21-7, 45 points), Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, Wednesday, January
15, 12.10pm
The best way to approach a ‘bad team v bad team’
situation is to back a bad team to do something bad! Like, not score too many
goals. Little has gone right for the Nashville Predators over the last month
but the Calgary Flames are the one team that’s had it worse. The Predators look
to avoid a seventh loss in eight games Tuesday night as they wrap up a
five-game homestand against the punchless Flames, who have lost on their past
four visits to Nashville. The Predators (19-21-7) are in the midst of their
third skid of at least three games since December 17, a 3-7-4 stretch in which
they’ve allowed 3.36 goals per game. Nashville fell to 1-2-1 on a homestand it
hoped would allow it to start climbing back into playoff position with Sunday’s
4-0 loss to Minnesota. The Flames have allowed a total of 16 goals in losing
their last four at Bridgestone Arena, and they’re just 1 for 16 on the power
play in their last seven trips to the Music City.
The Flames (16-24-6) are the only team that’s
recorded fewer points since December 17 than Nashville (a 3-9-1 stretch) but
they picked up two Monday. Coming into Carolina having scored just six times
while losing seven of eight, Calgary got goals from Mikael Backlund and Sean
Monahan while Karri Ramo made 23 saves to record his first career shutout in a
2-0 victory. The Flames hadn’t recorded a shut-out since February 18, 2012,
allowing at least one goal in 116 consecutive games. Backlund’s second-period
goal came with the man advantage -- a rarity for the Flames, who had gone 2 for
27 (7.4 per cent) on the power play in their previous eight games. Calgary’s recent
history in Nashville hasn't been very good. If either team finds itself
trailing after two periods, don't count on a comeback. Calgary is 1-20-2 when
down after 40 minutes, while Nashville is 0-20-2 – the only team in the league
without a come-from-behind victory after the second intermission.
Confirmed bets
Phoenix Coyotes @ St Louis Blues -5.5 (one unit @ $2.08) WIN (1-2)
Colorado Avalanche @ Chicago Blackhawks +5.5 (one
unit @ $1.91) LOSE (3-2)
Calgary Flames TT -2.5 @ Nashville Predators (one
unit @ $1.68) WIN (2-4)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins WIN NT (one unit
@ $1.72) LOSE (4-1)
Leans
San Jose Sharks TT +2.5 $1.67 @ Washington Capitals LOSE (2-1)
Ottawa Senators @ Minnesota Wild -5.5 $1.70 WIN (3-0)
Tampa Bay Lightning @ New York Rangers WIN $1.60 LOSE (2-1)
Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars WIN $1.70 WIN (3-5)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Buffalo Sabres -5 $2.00 LOSE (4-3)
New York Islanders @ Florida Panthers WIN $1.91 WIN (2-4)
New Jersey Devils @ Montreal Canadiens WIN $1.60 LOSE (4-1)
NBA for January 15
Sacramento Kings (13-22, 4-9 away) @ Indiana Pacers (29-7,
18-1 home), Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN, Wednesday, January 15, 11.10am
The defensive-minded Indiana Pacers have given
opponents fits all season, and they proved especially stingy last time out. The
last-place Sacramento Kings are on the verge of their longest winning streaks
in three seasons thanks to an impressive display on both ends of the floor. Looking
to continue their home dominance, the Pacers will aim to slow down the Kings here.
NBA-leading Indiana (29-7) has limited teams to 40.9 per cent shooting and 87.9
points per game to rank first in the league in both categories. The Pacers were
at their best in Friday’s 93-66 rout of Washington, giving up their fewest
points since 2005 in improving to 18-1 at home. Indiana limited the Wizards to
a season-low 32.1 per cent shooting, out-rebounded them 61-41 and held a 38-18
edge in the paint. Frank Vogel’s team have won seven straight at home by an
average of 20.0 points. They have also won all four home games against the West this season by an average of 20.0 points. The Pacers have
taken six of nine from Sacramento after winning both match-ups in 2012-13.
The Pacers now turn their attention to the Kings
(13-22), who have averaged 116.7 points during a season-high three-game winning
streak. Sacramento has also limited foes to an average of 94.0 points and 38.7
per cent shooting during its run, much lower than its season marks of 103.6 and
46.7. The Kings haven’t won four in a row since March 23-29, 2011. The Kings,
set to hit the road for six straight in opposing arenas, are hoping to see
their momentum carry over after blowing out Cleveland 124-80 on Sunday. Isaiah
Thomas (pictured) had 26 points and Rudy Gay, averaging 24.7 while shooting 63.4 per cent
during the winning streak, scored 20. DeMarcus Cousins added 16 and 11 rebounds
in 30 minutes before receiving some well-deserved rest. Cousins, who has
recorded a career-best 10 consecutive double-doubles, is averaging 18.2 points
and 14.0 rebounds in five meetings against the Pacers. He’s been limited to
32.8 per cent shooting in the last three, though. There’s certainly value on
the Kings at the line here, but I prefer to stick with the ‘under’ on a surprisingly
high posted total.
Confirmed bet
Sacramento Kings @ Indiana Pacers -196 (one unit @
$1.91) LOSE (92-116)
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Memphis Grizzlies WIN $1.95 WIN (87-90)
Leans
New York Knicks @ Charlotte Bobcats -187.5 $1.91 LOSE (98-108)
Sacramento Kings +10.5 $1.91 @ Indiana Pacers LOSE (92-116)
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Los Angeles Lakers +204 $1.91 WIN (120-118)
• Selections are listed in three categories – 1)
Suggested (likely bet but yet to be finalised); 2) Confirmed (locked in at the
price listed); and 3) Leans (tips, but not recommended bets); all times quoted
are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT); prices with thanks to Centrebet
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