08/18/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Look out Kyle Busch. Here comes Carl Edwards, who turned his championship quest up a notch with a victory in Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Edwards held off Busch, the current points leader, in a two-lap shootout to the finish to claim his fifth Sprint Cup victory of the season. He performed his signature back-flip off his car not once, but twice, in Michigan this past weekend as he also won Saturday's Nationwide Series race.
Edwards became just the second driver to score a weekend sweep at Michigan. Mark Martin won the Cup and Nationwide race there in August 1993. Edwards also joined Busch as the only drivers to record weekend sweeps at a track this season. Busch won both NASCAR races at Chicagoland last month.
While Busch has clinched the top seed in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup," which begins September 14th at New Hampshire, Edwards is expected to secure the second position in the "Chase" standings this Saturday at Bristol, where he is the defending winner of the night race. Busch leads the standings with 80 bonus points for his eight wins. Despite five victories, Edwards has 40 bonus points since he was deducted 10 points for a rules infraction after winning at Las Vegas earlier this year.
Edwards has hit a peak, winning two of the last three Sprint Cup races, and it couldn't have come at better time as three races remain before the "Chase" starts. Two weeks ago, he capitalized on a late-race pit strategy to win at Pocono. Edwards had just enough fuel remaining to beat Tony Stewart to the finish line.
He has also gained momentum in the Nationwide Series after his victory in the Carfax 250 at Michigan. The defending series champion moved to within 113 points of leader Clint Bowyer, and has plenty of time to catch Bowyer for the Nationwide points lead as 10 races remain in the season.
No driver has ever won both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide titles in the same year, and Edwards would love to become the first to accomplish the feat.
Last year, Edwards scored four victories and 21 top-10 finishes en route to his first Nationwide championship, which he captured the title by an impressive 618-point margin of victory. If he wins his second-straight series title, he would join Sam Ard (1983-84), Larry Pearson (1986-87), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (1998-99) and Martin Truex, Jr. (2004-05) as the only drivers to do so.
Edwards made his Cup debut on August 22nd, 2004 at Michigan. In his first full-year of competition in 2005, he qualified for the "Chase" and ended the season third in the standings, just 35 points behind champion Stewart.
He also made the "Chase" in 2007, but finished the year ninth in points.
Clearly, Busch and Edwards will head into this year's "Chase" as the two front-runners for the title.
However, don't count out two-time defending Cup champion and current third- place occupant Jimmie Johnson, who has two wins so far this year. Johnson, who is attempting to match Cale Yarborough's record three titles in a row from 1976-78, could end up the third seed.
Judging from his winning performance at Michigan, it's likely we'll see more backward somersaults from Edwards before the 2008 season concludes. How many more back-flips this year will tell the tale whether Edwards has won one or both championships.
<< Isner reaches second round in New Haven
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Towering American John Isner was among the
Day-2 first-round winners at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S.
Open tune-up.
The 6-foot-9 Isner got past Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-4 on the hard
<< Wigginton and Santana named NL co-players of the week
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros third baseman Ty Wigginton and
New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana were named National League Co-Players of
the Week for the period ending August 17.
Wigginton led the National League with
<< Schnyder wins Pilot Pen opener
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder posted an
opening-round win Monday at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S.
Open tune-up.
The fifth-seeded Schnyder snuck past American wild card Jill Craybas 6-4, 7
<< Pirate rally halts Mets' six-game winning streak
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Pearce and Jack Wilson got to the
Mets' bullpen in the eighth, combining to knock in three runs in the inning to
lift the Pirates to a 5-2 win over New York in the finale of a four-game set
in Pitt
This Week in Golf - August 21st through August 24th >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - THE BARCLAYS, Ridgewood Country
Club, Paramus, New Jersey - The FedEx Cup Playoffs start this week at
Ridgewood Country Club, former host of the 1935 Ryder Cup, the 1990 U.S.
Senior Open and the 20
Orton named Bears' starting quarterback >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears announced Monday that
Kyle Orton will line up under center in the team's season opener September 7
in Indianapolis.
Orton, a fourth-round draft pick in 2005 from Purdue, had been b
Texans sign RB Shipp >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans announced Monday that they
have signed running back Marcel Shipp.
Shipp, an eight-year veteran, was released by Arizona earlier this month.
Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent b
Pirates place Mientkiewicz on bereavement list >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates placed first
baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on the bereavement list following Monday's win
against the New York Mets.
Mientkiewicz left the team to be with his wife, who unde
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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