Jeff Haney

Story Archive

Enough action for several cards: Stacked event displays several of the sport's best fighters; Friday, Dec. 26, 2008; Mixed martial arts fans surely would be satisfied with any of the three headlining fights on the card as a main event, so to have them all on the same show is an extra treat.
A lively mix of players on poker show, all big bettors: Internet, tourney and Hollywood types play for high stakes again on cable program; Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008; When the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker” begins on cable channel GSN, a debut tentatively scheduled for March 1, poker fans will again see all of the signature fixtures that have made the show so popular.
Being picky best when betting bowl games: Handicapper D’Amico has some suggestions on some of the early matchups; Monday, Dec. 22, 2008; The list of college football bowl games, which contains a record 34 of them this season, could appear daunting to a traditional sports fan.
Where gamblers go for guidance: Friday, Dec. 19, 2008; To paraphrase Jacques Martin Barzun, whoever wants to know the heart and mind of the Las Vegas gambler had better learn to visit the Gambler’s Book Shop.
Another Vegas gaming myth: Bizarre play cost casinos much less than outside media said, but estimate is telling; Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008; I literally was right around Barstow on the edge of the desert, so my first thought was some sort of Hunter Thompson-style alternate reality had set in.
Young bucks make jump to ‘major leagues’: WSOP’s top two this year accept traditionalists’ cash game challenge; Monday, Dec. 15, 2008; In the olden days of poker, when dinosaurs and Titanic Thompson roamed the earth, tournaments were viewed as sideshows, mere supporting acts for the nearby high-stakes cash games that served as the main event of any respectable poker gathering.
‘Ultimate Fighter’ takes 8th bow: Friday, Dec. 12, 2008; The finale of “The Ultimate Fighter,” scheduled for Saturday at the Pearl at the Palms, caps the eighth season of the popular mixed martial arts reality-competition show.
Oddsmakers back up BCS on title pairing: But for betting purposes, Florida is favored to defeat Oklahoma in a high-scoring contest; Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008; Oddsmakers and BCS officials are in agreement in their assessment of the top two college football teams in the nation, with Oklahoma and Florida scheduled to meet in the Jan. 8 championship game.
After great career, De La Hoya sent packing: Monday, Dec. 8, 2008; From the moment the two men agreed to fight, Manny Pacquiao’s handlers had been trying to psyche Oscar De La Hoya out of his game.
Pound-for-pound champ proves it: Weight wasn't an issue as Pacquiao easily defeats De La Hoya; Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008; This was no dream. Manny Pacquiao, boxing's pound-for-pound champ, proved it once again as he did everything but put the sport's "Golden Boy" to sleep in front of 15,001 adrenaline-filled fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008; Much has been made of Manny Pacquiao’s decision to jump to the welterweight division after winning a world championship in his lone fight at lightweight (135 pounds) to go with his earlier titles at 112, 122 and 130 pounds.
A recession-proof fight? Promoter thinks so: Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008; Those who track such arcane segments of the business are reporting that preliminary sales of the pay-per-view broadcast of Saturday night’s Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight have been encouraging. The figures are so strong, in fact, they’re outpacing the numbers put up by De La Hoya’s bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2007.
Historic feat provides target for Pacquiao: He can come close to Henry Armstrong by winning in a third weight class this year; Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008; Boxing historians refer to it as the sport’s most extraordinary achievement.
Can you hang with pros?: Show at Venetian gives everyday players the chance to compete against poker icons; Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008; In Texas hold ’em lingo, a starting hand consisting of a pair of aces is referred to as “pocket rockets,” or “bullets,” or “American Airlines.”
Trainer aims jabs at new, if familiar, foe: De La Hoya too slow to stop Pacquiao, says man who once worked in opposite corner; Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008; In the gym last week at his Wild Card Boxing Club, where he is training Manny Pacquiao for his Dec. 6 welterweight fight against Oscar De La Hoya, Freddie Roach laid out his analysis of the match.
Hatton, trainer have eyes on Pacquiao-De La Hoya: Monday, Nov. 24, 2008; After his dominating 11th-round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday at the MGM Grand, Ricky Hatton said he should fight the winner of the Dec. 6 megabout between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.
Hatton wins by TKO in 11th: British boxer keeps titles in dominating victory over Malignaggi; Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008; The pro-British crowd was clearly on his side and Ricky Hatton didn't disappoint Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, dominating New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi on his way to a TKO victory in the 11th round.
Big fight for small potatoes: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008; Although only a minor championship belt and Ring Magazine’s title are stake, tonight’s fight matches the two men widely acknowledged as the best 140-pounders in boxing.
All-defeated or undefeated? Unlikely: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008; It’s the most reliable indicator that a professional football team has developed a reputation for ineptitude: Oddsmakers start posting betting lines on whether it will stumble to the finish line of the season without a victory.
Buildup aside, this one feels big: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008; A hall of fame trainer who has worked with Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard, Angelo Dundee surveyed the scene at Oscar De La Hoya’s training camp last week, and he liked what he saw.
Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008; A three-time UFC heavyweight champ and former light heavyweight champion, 45-year-old Randy Couture reigns as one of the most popular figures ever to compete in mixed martial arts. Couture insists he’s in top form after a 10-week training camp. “I’ve put together some new skills in the 15 months I’ve been off and I think you’re going to see some of that,” he said. “I don’t think the layoff is going to be an issue.”
Players give mixed reviews of delayed final: November Nine’s opinions on the 117 days of time off vary from ‘it makes it a lot more stressful’ to it ‘was needed’; Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008; Larger-than-life photos of past World Series of Poker champions adorned the walls of the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio during the final table of the 2008 main event this week.
Meet the new face of poker: He’s an instinctual player, a gambler, a Dane, focused — and at 22, the youngest World Series main event champion ever; Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008; Even when the momentum shifted in his direction toward the end of the World Series of Poker final table, Peter Eastgate never acted as if he had the tournament title locked up.
High ratings hopes for World Series final table on ESPN: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
Eastgate wins WSOP title: 22-year-old becomes youngest champ; pockets $9.15 million; Monday, Nov. 10, 2008; Denmark's Peter Eastgate, 22, became the youngest champion in World Series of Poker history early Tuesday morning, defeating Russian Ivan Demidov on an ace-to-five straight to win the main event's first-place prize of $9.15 million. Eastgate broke Phil Hellmuth's record as youngest champion of the 39-year-old tournament. Hellmuth was 24 when he won in 1989.
WSOP final table a big hit with fans: Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008
Down to the final two: Demidov, Eastgate play heads up Monday for more than $9 million; Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008; Ivan Demidov, a 27-year-old Russian, and Peter Eastgate, a 22-year-old from Denmark, will play heads-up for the 2008 World Series of Poker main event championship Monday night at the Rio. They were the last two standing from the 6,844 players who started the tournament when it began in July, and from the nine who reconvened Sunday for the final table after a 117-day break.
Of slackers and slacks: Friday, Nov. 7, 2008; As a sports handicapper who strives to interpret intangibles, or factors that don’t fit neatly into the creation of a betting line, it figures Joe D’Amico would have a provocative take on the strange halftime show put on by Mike Singletary in his debut as 49ers head coach.
Planned delay took steam out of WSOP: Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008; It seemed like a good idea at the time. World Series of Poker officials announced May 1 that the tournament’s final table would take place after a hiatus of nearly four months, a first in the event’s 39-year history.
His own man, Chavez Jr. takes aim at title fight: Monday, Nov. 3, 2008; No one likes a drive-by psychoanalyst, so it figures Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would scoff at Matt Vanda’s dime-store diagnosis after their fight Saturday at Mandalay Bay.
Chavez gets best of Vanda in rematch: Mexican fighter hoped for a convincing win after controversial first fight; Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008; Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. delivered on his promise to erase any doubts lingering from his first fight with Matt Vanda.
Chavez vs. Vanda: A boxing card with depth: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. VS. MATT VANDA II; Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008; The rematch between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Matt Vanda headlines today’s card, but promoter Bob Arum is framing the show as a sort of cavalcade of boxing stars.
Leroy's launches mid-season football contest: Friday, Oct. 31, 2008
Jackpot hit in Lucky's NFL contest: Friday, Oct. 31, 2008
Life led ﬁghter to ring: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008; Known for its Stalin-era convict-labor camps, Matt Korobov’s hometown of Orotukan lies in the forbidding Magadan Oblast region of Russia, one of the sprawling nation’s most remote areas.
At season’s start, oddsmakers pick the Lakers to top the league: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008; The Boston Celtics, the NBA's defending champions, look strong. But oddsmakers at the Las Vegas Hilton have the highest win total projected for the Lakers as the season begins today.
The chase for Yarborough: A Jimmie Johnson title win would tie legendary driver’s three-peat; Friday, Oct. 24, 2008; The NASCAR Chase for the Championship has not been officially decided, but the betting odds strongly favor Jimmie Johnson in his quest to win a third consecutive Sprint Cup title.
Former FBI expert on body language will teach poker seminar on how to gain an edge at the tables: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008; Joe Navarro, a former FBI employee, has turned his attention in recent years to working with poker players, from relative novices to established tournament professionals, in deciphering nonverbal clues -- commonly called “tells” by poker players -- at the table.
Why Lennox Lewis tops the ballot for the Boxing Hall of Fame: Monday, Oct. 20, 2008; The ballot for the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s class of 2009 contains 45 candidates from the sport’s modern era, defined as fighters whose last bout took place no earlier than 1943.
Tigerless tourney up for grabs: Even the favorite at TPC Summerlin event has long odds to win; Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008; Without a Tiger type in the field to skew the betting odds as a heavy favorite, this week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open shapes up as an attractive golf tournament for gamblers.
Domineering win unleashes Dawson’s ambitions: Monday, Oct. 13, 2008; This weekend was the first time Chad Dawson’s name was cited, at least in public, along with Manny Pacquiao’s, in a discussion of the best boxers in the world in any weight class.
Aged underdog leads in word war: Full of bravado, champ faces skilled, youthful challenger in title bout; Friday, Oct. 10, 2008; The story line of the fight frames it as a clash between an unbeaten up-and-comer in Dawson and an established yet aging world champ in Tarver.
Flawless records cancel out: Spread in matchup holds steady as teams overachieve; Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008; What happens when two teams -- Big 12 South rivals Oklahoma and Texas -- are exceeding expectations: The early-bird point spread stays firmly in place as the season progresses.
Analyst cites ‘damning statistics’ against ref: When point spreads shifted by certain amounts in games he officiated, bettors on the side of the move always won; Monday, Oct. 6, 2008; Throughout the saga of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, Las Vegas sports betting analyst R.J. Bell has done a thorough job of examining the scandal from a point-spread perspective.
Prefight, rhetorical punches fly: As veteran Tarver sneers, undefeated Dawson promises victory in title bout; Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008; As the man who embodies the future of boxing’s light heavyweight division, Chad Dawson vowed to demonstrate, once and for all, that Antonio Tarver’s best days are in the past.
Prize pool grows in Lucky's sports books NFL contest: Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
Erin Rynning featured in football handicapping contest: Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
Time for something drastic?: If sports books insist on unethical behavior, maybe they should be forced to close shop; Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008; After yet another appalling episode at a Las Vegas sports book, this one a Boyd Gaming joint, I’m ready to think the unthinkable.
State or federal lawmakers should consider doing away with legal sports betting in Nevada.
This season’s overachievers on betting odds: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008; With updated betting odds on baseball’s postseason to be released in the next day or so, the conclusion of the major league regular season brought to light one team and one individual who clearly surpassed the preseason expectations of oddsmakers and the betting public.
The price of success: Odds change on the two NFL teams that have beat the spread three times; Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008; Of the NFL teams that have played three games this season heading into Week 4, only two have a perfect record against the point spread.