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08/17/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, August 22. Race: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Site: Infineon Raceway. Track: 2.303-mile, 12-turn road course. Start Time: 5:45 p.m. (et). Laps: 75. Miles: 172.7. 2009 winner: Dario Franchitti. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
The IZOD IndyCar Series will run its ninth and final road/street course race of the season this weekend at Infineon Raceway.
Last week at Mid-Ohio, Will Power's second-place finish allowed him to claim the Mario Andretti Trophy for clinching the series' first-ever road/street course championship. Power has won four course events so far this season -- Sao Paulo, Brazil; St. Petersburg, FL; Watkins, NY and Toronto.
The Team Penske driver currently holds a 41-point lead over defending series champion Dario Franchitti and an 82-point advantage over Franchitti's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.
One year ago, Power's season came to an abrupt end at Sonoma, where he sustained multiple injuries during a practice crash. Power suffered two broken vertebrae and a concussion when his car hit the stalled car of Nelson Philippe, who spun exiting the blind, downhill corner. Philippe also suffered a concussion, along with an open fracture to his left foot.
Indy Racing League and track officials recently have made several safety improvements to help prevent serious crashes, like the one of Power and Philippe's, at the 2.303-mile, 12-turn course in Northern California.
Thirteen IndyCar drivers, including Power, participated in a test session at Sonoma last week. Power topped the overall speed charts with a lap of one minute, 17.46 seconds.
"It's nice to be back, actually," Power said. "I was a little nervous heading up over that hill (at Turn 3A) a couple of times, for sure. But the track has done a fantastic job of making sure that everyone is aware if someone does spin. If there is a car sitting up and over the top, there's a lot of lights and plenty of warning before you get there now.
"I enjoy this track. It's very technical and one of the better road courses we come to, so I'd like to come back here and I'd love to win."
There have been five different winners in as many races at Sonoma. Franchitti is the defending race winner. Helio Castroneves (2008), Dixon (2007), Marco Andretti (2006) and Tony Kanaan (2005) also have won here.
After Sonoma, the series will run its final four races on ovals.
The October 2 season-finale at Homestead will determine the oval titleholder and the overall IndyCar champion.
<< Trucks kick off NASCAR's week at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date:
Wednesday, August 18. Race: O'Reilly 200. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track:
.533-mile oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 106.6. 2009
winner: Kyle Busch
<< Keselowski looking for bigger points lead at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, August
20. Race: Food City 250. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track: .533-mile oval.
Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 250. Miles: 133.25. 2009 winner: David
Ragan. Televis
<< Ole Miss basketball coach Kennedy settles lawsuit
Jackson, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ole Miss men's basketball head coach Andy
Kennedy has agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from a December 2008 run-in
with a cab driver in Cincinnati.
The Clarion-Ledger on Tuesday reported that Ken
<< Chase battle moves on to Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday,
August 21. Race: IRWIN Tools Night Race. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track:
.533-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 500. Miles: 266.5. 2009
winner: Kyle Busch
Rockies recall Chacin, place Buchholz on DL >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday placed
right-handed pitcher Taylor Buchholz on the 15-day disabled list and recalled
righty Jhoulys Chacin from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Buchholz had previously been
Oklahoma's Hand out five months >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma guard Whitney Hand will miss five
months after undergoing microfracture surgery Tuesday to repair cartilage
damage in her right knee.
Hand, the 2009 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, missed the ma
Mets withhold K-Rod's salary, put him on DQ list >>
HOUSTON (AP) -The New York Mets are withholding injured closer Francisco Rodriguez's salary while he's sidelined, and the team wants to convert his contract to a non-guaranteed deal.The moves could be a prelude to the Mets releasing the star closer
Lakers owner still enjoying Hall of Fame induction >>
BELL GARDENS, Calif. (AP) -Relishing the afterglow of being inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was candid, funny and reflective when sharing his thoughts on his life, his team and the Miami Heat.Buss, a pok
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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