An Italian job well done

The delight etched on the face of Alessandro Troncon at the climax of Saturday's deserved victory for the Italians at Murrayfield was as much tinged with relief as elation.When Troncon was growing up in the early 1980s, and watching his father and uncle involved in rugby in Treviso, north-east of Venice, the youngster had to accept that the vast majority of his compatriots cared solely for the likes of Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli and Dino Zoff, and that the "weird game with the funny-shaped ball" hardly registered on the scale.

Scanning the pages of Gazzetta Dello Sport even a decade ago, there was ample coverage of basketball, and cycling, and Formula One, but as Troncon related at the week-end, his path to the dolce vita has been shrouded in anonymity, which might now begin to vanish as the Azzurri gradually climb the global rankings.

In advance of Italy's historic triumph in Edinburgh, much had been made of the fact that Scott Murray was equalling the 82-cap Scottish record, which had been established by Gregor Townsend. Hardly anybody noticed that Troncon was participating in his 93rd international, and akin to fine wine, this redoubtable fellow seems to grow better with age.

irst selected as a 20 year-old against Spain in 1994, his early promise was in danger of being sapped by a constant diet of second-rate tussles, watched by a tiny sprinkling of aficionados, but he is a resilient, unquenchable ambassador for the pursuit in which he excels.

"We had to fight to earn any respect at all and before we were admitted to the new Six Nations Championship in 2000, the public couldn't have told you the names of any of our players, because there was nothing in the papers, nothing on the TV channels and Serie A commanded huge amounts of attention, so somebody such as myself quickly realised there was no point in moaning that we were being ignored: the best statement we could make was in recording victories and gaining credibi-lity. Of course, it didn't happen overnight but when I think of how rugby was perceived throughout Italy when I began my career, we have taken serious strides forward."

A fortnight ago, Troncon, as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel, and as unyielding as the Incredible Hulk, stole the man-of-the-match award from under Jonny Wilkinson's nose, following his confreres' defiant performance in slipping to a narrow 20-7 defeat at Twicken-ham, and the maestro duly collected the same prize for his part in the humiliation of a Scottish collective, who appeared under the misapprehension they were competing in a sevens tournament for the opening few moments.

Amid the madness, with normally reliable characters such as Chris Cusiter, indulging in wild flings at which even Casanova might have balked, Troncon oozed purpose, penetration and pragmatism, three of the qualities which explain why he is held in lofty regard at Clermont Auvergne.

Troncon was was one of nine non-Italian-based personnel in the starting XV, which begs the question as to why there are so many doom-laden headlines surrounding the imminent exodus of Cale-donian talent to England, Ireland and France.

Oblivious to the Murrayfield hosts striving desperately to claw back a 21-point deficit, Troncon was urging, cajoling and instructing his pack to master the basics and remember that they are the equal of most rivals.

It worked. "We knew that, despite scoring those three tries within six minutes, the Scots would come charging at us and we had to be streetwise and show we had the ability to prevent them achieving a recovery.

"Obviously, it took some of the pressure off us to build a big lead, but we recognised it would count for nothing if we didn't finish the job, and I've endured enough disappointments to realise that sport throws up funny things," said Troncon.

"When they narrowed the gap to 24-17, I could see the expressions on some of the younger players' faces. It was like: Oh no, here we go again.' But I talked to the boys and Marco Bortolami, the Italian captain reminded them that they had been offered an opportunity to end the losing sequence on the road and that the win would be ours if we stuck to our guns and got the basics right. Fortunately, we cranked up a gear or two in the last 20 minutes and the forwards were immense, so we achieved our aim."

For a spell, at least, Italian rugby is basking in positivity, while the country's football is tarnished by corruption and crowd trouble. Indeed, yesterday's Gazzetta Dello Sport featured the rout of Frank Hadden's men on the front page.

As unwelcome as it may be for Scots to keep setting new records, of the unwanted variety, nobody could possibly begrudge Troncon his long-awaited starring role.

Kentucky Derby Futures Offer Sports Betting Risks And Rewards

The Kentucky Derby always poses sports betting risks, especially now, months before the running of America's most esteemed horse race. But there's also the chance for a robust reward if you can place a future book bet on the thoroughbred that will be draped in a garland of red roses in the Churchill Downs winners circle on the first Saturday in May.

Once called the "winter book," Kentucky Derby futures have been around for decades, offering prospective bettors huge odds at enormous danger. The concern is that your horse never makes it into the starting gate. If that happens, there's no refund; you lose. But if you can identify a good horse early in the process, say in January, February or March, you still might be able to get 100/1 or more on a 3-year-old that returns considerably less than that on Derby day.

That certainly was the case in 1988 when Winning Colors, who, largely because of her gender, was dismissed at future book odds of 100/1. She won the Run for the Roses, returning a mere $8.80 on Derby day.

Ill-fated Barbaro, who was denied the chance to demonstrate the full scope of his championship potential, wound up paying $14.20 on the day of the 2006 Derby, an attractive price given the ease (a 6 1/2-length triumph), of his victory, but a distant whinny from the 30/1 or so odds being offered in many Nevada racebooks and at sports betting sites around the globe at this time a year ago.

Long a staple of race books, the Kentucky Derby future book expanded nine years ago when the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW), a pari-mutuel pool run out of Churchill Downs but offered elsewhere as well, joined the betting fray.

The most recent KDFW pool concluded after four days of betting on Feb. 11. Pool No. 2 will be conducted March 8-11 and the final pool will be run April 12-15. Only 23 individual horses were listed (as opposed to hundreds at most racebooks and sportsbook outlets) in the first pool so it's not surprising that the mutuel field (all 3-year-olds not among the 23 named thoroughbreds) closed as the favorite at odds of 5/2.

Nobiz Like Shobiz, winner of the Holy Bull Stakes in early February at Gulfstream Park, closed as the individual 8/1 second choice in a pool that drew about $500,000 in wagers. Street Sense, the winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and Hard Spun, who was bet down from a 20/1 morning line, each closed at 10/1. Ravel, who won the Sham Stakes, was next in line at 11/1.

What most separates the Kentucky Derby Future Wager from those posted in racebooks and at sportsbook outlets is the option of the field wager. Interestingly, in eight years of Pool 1 wagering, 184 individuals have been named but only 71 of those reached the Kentucky Derby starting gate and only five of them won. Three others, Charismatic, War Emblem and Funny Cide, were members of the Pool 1 mutual field and thus paid way less than they did on Derby Day, let alone their early hefty prices in casino (standard and virtual) future books.

So, given the smaller prices, should a bettor avoid the KDFW and stick with a casino based future book that lists more horses at larger odds?

Not necessarily.

Because the KDFW starts anew with its second and third pools, horses left out of the first pool and lumped into the mutual field sometimes emerge as separate entities in Pool 2 or Pool 3. That was the case with both Giacomo and Funny Cide, who each were offered at more than 50/1 in Pool 3 just three weeks before their successful Kentucky Derby runs.

The above Pool 3 example is in contradiction to the widely held (and mostly correct) view that the longer you dither, the shorter the price you'll get, especially on a horse that demonstrates potential, as was the case with both Giacomo and Funny Cide.

Thus the shrewd player will view the KDFW not as an alternative to more conventional future book wagers but as another opportunity. Rather than an "either-or" situation, the savvy bettor will study both options, looking for the best way to bet on the Kentucky Derby.

Sports Soundoff

This is Sports Sound Off, where you can speak your mind on anything you wish. Because of the large number of calls received, not all can be published.

Jaguars need to hire Arrow -- Joe Gottfried, please hire Ronnie Arrow. Arrow is just exactly what this school needs right now. If you want to get people in the seats, he is the guy for the job. I will be first in line for season tickets if you hire him.

Sounds like the same old Tide -- I was reading about the scrimmage for Alabama yesterday and noticed the offense had turnovers, penalties and unfulfilled chances. Take away the penalties, and it sounds like last year's offense. What do you think?

Saban puts media in their place -- I love seeing all the sports media squirming because Saban won't give them the time of day. It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of individuals. They are the first ones to jump on anyone when they are down, and now they are whining when they can't get interviews. I think it is great. Way to go, coach Saban.

Montoya a lot like Cruise in movie -- I watched the Busch Series race and read a lot of articles about Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan Pablo reminds me of Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder." He hit everything on the race track except the pace car.

Only one qualified to judge -- Must be a lot of people calling in judging Aaron, Pelphrey and Bonds and Tuberville and Saban, people that most of us have never even met and don't even know. How many of you would gladly spend $100 for a football game on a Saturday? Now, how many of you would turn around and go to church the next day? Now if you need to judge, judge that. However, only Jesus is qualified to judge.

Spurrier should stick to coaching -- It is funny how Steve Spurrier can come back to South Carolina and he can tell you what he can fly on the capitol building. My question is, how come he couldn't handle those NFL players? Were they too big and they told him what to do and he couldn't handle that? He can take charge of college players.

Finebaum uses same type of language -- Of all people, Paul Finebaum is complaining about what Imus said? Sure, what Imus said was offensive and deplorable, but the same thing happens on Finebaum's radio show every day. They disparage anybody who wasn't white or from the South, and he makes fun of female athletes, accusing most of them of being gay.

Finebaum should just criticize Tide -- Mr. Finebaum, if you really want Mr. Imus' job, why don't you go to New York and put in an application to get it? Being an outlet for his racist remarks in south Alabama just doesn't suit you. Stick with the University of Alabama.

Finebaum should follow Imus -- Now that we got rid of Don Imus, can we please get rid of Paul Finebaum?

Good time to lose gill nets -- This is a very good time to dispose of the gill nets. With spawning at this time of the year, immeasurable fish would be saved if these gill netters could be compensated and removed.

Coverage not like it used to be -- David Rainer did an excellent job. Your coverage is nothing like it used to be. You need to get another person who can fill the void. It is just pitiful now.