10/25/2008 - Surfers Paradise, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Will Power overcame a rain-soaked course during qualifications to capture the pole position for Sunday's Nikon Indy 300 IndyCar Series demonstration event at the Surfers Paradise street circuit.
Power rounded the 2.795-mile course in 1 minute, 34.9451 seconds (105.977 m.p.h.) on the final lap of the "Firestone Fast Six" shootout. It was the third-straight pole for the Aussie at his home course.
"It's only Saturday, and (I've) got to win it on Sunday," said Wilson. "That was a very good lap, and I'm really happy. That was a great car."
Power, the driver of the No.8 Team Australia car for KV Racing, also started on the pole at Surfers Paradise the last two years when Champ Car sanctioned the event. Earlier this year, the merger of Champ Car and IndyCar earlier in made way for the inaugural IRL race.
Starting alongside Power will be reigning series champion Scott Dixon, who secured the outside pole with a time of 1:35.7672.
"I think I was getting a bit erratic towards the end," Dixon said. "I missed a downshift going into turn two and then hit the wall, maybe twice...I just couldn't put a good lap together."
Ryan Briscoe (1:35.8007) and Dario Franchitti (1:35.9336) will start in row two. Franchitti makes his return to IndyCar after spending the last year in Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves will make up row three.
Other notable drivers and starting positions in the 24-car field include: Tony Kanaan (eighth), Justin Wilson (ninth), Graham Rahal (13th), Marco Andretti (14th), Dan Wheldon (18th) and Danica Patrick (23rd).
Rain fell on the track just before the first knockout rounds in qualifying. Teams used rain tires in the initial 20-minute sessions but switched over to normal treads as weather conditions improved and the track began to dry.
The green flag is scheduled to drop on Saturday around 10:30 PM (et).
<< Around the CFL: Smart looking to break record vs. Argos
Vancouver, British Columbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Smart will have a chance to
break a CFL record Saturday night when the B.C. Lions host the Toronto
Argonauts.
The Lions special-teams star is closing in on Eric Blounts mark for
<< Bulls' Rose leaves preseason tuneup with hip injury
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose left a 112-104
overtime preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Friday with what is being
called a strained right hip flexor.
Rose, the first overall pick in last month'
<< LaBarbera, Kings blank Blues
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason LaBarbera made 15 saves to record his
third career shutout, as the Los Angeles Kings blanked the St. Louis Blues,
4-0, at the Scottrade Center.
Dustin Brown registered a goal and assist for the
<< Stampeders clinch first in West with win over Hamilton
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joffrey Reynolds ran for 128 yards while
scoring two touchdowns, and the Calgary Stampeders clinched first place in the
West Division with a 28-17 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
With the win, Cal
Garza goes for Rays, as Fall Classic shifts to Philly for Game 3 >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa's Matt Garza tries to follow up a sensational
American League Championship Series this evening, as the World Series shifts
to Citizens Bank Park for Game 3 between the Rays and Philadelphia Phillies.
Although the for
Flyers, Devils get early start in Philadelphia >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 24 hours after their first meeting of the season,
the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils get right back to business this
afternoon with the second part of a home-and-home series at Philadelphia's
Wachovia Cen
Bruins, Bergeron host Thrashers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It had been a long time since Patrice Bergeron last found
the back of the net. Fresh off his first goal in over a year, the center will
try to light the lamp again tonight, when his Boston Bruins host the Atlanta
Thrashers at
Leafs shoot for back-to-back wins in test against Sens >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to post consecutive
victories for the first time this season, as they host the Northeast Division-
rival Ottawa Senators tonight at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs opened the season with
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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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