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04/10/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Newman captured the pole for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway. The No.12 Alltel Dodge circled the flat one-mile oval in 26.975 seconds (133.457 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Newman's first of the season, record fourth at PIR and 43rd of his Sprint Cup career. It's been an eventful week for the Penske driver who received a 25-point penalty earlier in the week after failing post- race inspection in Texas.
"It wasn't a perfect lap, but it was a very good lap," said Newman, the track qualifying record holder (26.499 seconds in 2004). "I want to thank everybody at Penske Racing."
Starting alongside Newman will be Elliott Sadler who posted a time of 26.984 seconds.
Row two will consist of Carl Edwards (26.991), who won last week's race and Mark Martin (26.993). They were the only drivers to break the 27-second barrier.
"I think we are going to be pretty competitive on Saturday night," said Edwards, who leaders the series with three wins.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Kasey Kahne (fifth), Kyle Busch (sixth), two-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Martin Truex Jr. (ninth), Jeff Gordon (11th), Tony Stewart (12th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (13th), Kevin Harvick (17th) and Matt Kenseth (27th).
Kyle Petty and John Andretti failed to qualify for the race.
If the Chase for the Sprint Cup started today, there would be some very big names left without a "ticket to the dance." NASCAR invites just 12 drivers to compete in the "Chase." Currently outside the top-12 are: Kenseth, Gordon and Kurt Busch - all former series champions. Others who would be left off the list include: Truex Jr., who made last year's Chase, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears.
Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup Champion, is the closest to qualifying for the "Chase," just 54 points behind both Kahne and Clint Bowyer.
Gordon, part of the Hendrick Motorsports team of drivers which dominated in 2007 winning 18 of 36 events, has been frustrated for much of the season trying to find the right setup.
"I can't remember the last time we struggled this bad," said the four-time series champion.
In 2008 a Kurt Busch sighting in the top-10 has been a rare event. After pushing Penske teammate Ryan Newman to the victory at Daytona in February, Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup Champion, has failed to earn a top-10.
But the good news for these guys and the rest of the drivers outside the top-12 is that there is plenty of time left to get it together and make the "Chase." There are still 19 races remaining before the Sprint Cup "regular" season ends in Richmond on September 6th.
Gordon is the defending champion both at PIR and the next race in Talladega.
The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (et).
<< Inter Milan's Crespo not headed to Roma
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hernan Crespo's agent insists the Argentina
striker will not be moving from Inter Milan to Roma this summer.
The 32-year-old former Chelsea star has been linked with a move to the capital
after growing disi
<< San Jose set for home opener against Chicago
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose coach Frank Yallop and his players
sounded like a broken record after the club's loss in its first match in Major
League Soccer since 2005.
"We still have a ways to go," Yallop said.
"It's a lea
<< AC Milan wants Ronaldinho and Shevchenko
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has
hinted that both Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko will be snapped up the
Rossoneri in the summer.
Shevchenko has endured a difficult two seasons at Chel
<< Phillies' Rollins sits again
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies were minus the
services of shortstop Jimmy Rollins for a second straight night Thursday while
wrapping up a three-game series with the rival New York Mets.
Rollins left Tuesday
Rose and Immelman lead Masters; Woods four back >>
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose and Trevor Immelman both posted
rounds of four-under-par 68 on Thursday to share the opening-round lead of The
Masters at Augusta National.
Tiger Woods, who proclaimed that the single-season
Ochoa shares lead in her native Mexico >>
Morelia, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off her second major championship,
Lorena Ochoa fired a seven-under 66 on Thursday to take a share of the first-
round lead at the Corona Championship.
The Mexican star opened with two eagles,
Boston College moves into final >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Gerbe recorded a hat trick and added an
assist, as Boston College reached the championship game by defeating
North Dakota, 6-1, in the Frozen Four.
Ben Smith and Dan Bertram each posted a
Masters First Round News & Notes >>
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Poulter aced the par-three 16th hole,
which, at the time, tied him for the lead at three-under par. He bogeyed the
17th hole to fall back to two-under par.
"You've got a few thousand people on th
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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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