Giants top 49ers on FG in OT, win NFC title

Football Betting Lines

01/22/2012 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in five seasons, New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes got a chance to win the NFC Championship in overtime.

He's 2-for-2.

The extra minutes at Candlestick Park provided a crueler dose of deja vu for the San Francisco 49ers.

Tynes kicked a 31-yard field goal after the 49ers fumbled a punt in overtime, lifting the Giants to a 20-17 victory on Sunday and sending them to Super Bowl XLVI to face the New England Patriots.

In 2008, Tynes kicked a 47-yarder in overtime to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game and the Giants went on to down the Patriots in a memorable Super Bowl, ending New England's perfect season.

This time, the Giants were gifted a chance to kick the game-winner after 49ers return man Kyle Williams fumbled a punt deep in San Francisco territory when he was stripped by Jacquian Williams.

The ball was recovered by New York's Devin Thomas, his second such heads-up play of the game. In the fourth quarter, Thomas jumped on a ball that hit off Williams' knee in a muffed punt that led to a Giants touchdown.

Eli Manning, who has played years his older brother's shadow, passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns and will get a chance to beat Tom Brady's Patriots yet again on February 5 in Indianapolis.

"It feels great. That was a tough game. We had to fight for every yard we got," said Manning. "They're a good team. Their defense is stout."

Alex Smith threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers, but the NFC West champions couldn't overcome two crippling special teams mistakes in their bid to make the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994.

Both of Smith's touchdown passes Sunday went to last week's hero Vernon Davis, including a 73-yarder down the right sideline in the first quarter that had second-seeded San Francisco on top in front of its home crowd.

Williams' muffed punt in the fourth quarter led to Mario Manningham's 17-yard touchdown catch for a 17-14 Giants lead. Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards and the 49ers tied the game on David Akers' 25-yard field goal.

Both teams punted on their first overtime possessions, giving the Giants a chance to win in sudden-death.

Tynes' game-winning kick -- on a low snap handled by punter Steve Weatherford -- moved the NFC East-champion Giants to 5-0 all-time in the NFC title game.

New York returned to the playoffs after a two-year absence and is 3-1 in the Super Bowl, their last championship coming over New England on a game-winning drive orchestrated by Manning.

Earlier Sunday, the Patriots held on to beat Baltimore, 23-20, for the AFC title after Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff shanked a 32-yard field goal that could have tied the game.

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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.