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08/17/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Going out last, Jeff Gordon captured the pole for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports driver circled the high-speed, two-mile oval in 38.090 seconds (189.026 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Gordon's series-leading sixth of the season, fifth at MIS and 62nd of his Nextel Cup career.
"Welcome back Steve Letarte," said Gordon of his crew chief, who returns from a six-race suspension. "We have good chemistry and that late draw really played out for us. I knew it was a good lap, I didn't know if it was enough for the pole,"
Starting on the front row with Gordon will be Greg Biffle, who held the top spot for about 60 seconds. Biffle went out next-to-last and posted a time of 38.159 seconds.
Kasey Kahne (38.193), who held the provisional pole for most of the session will start third and Bobby Labonte (38.271) will start from fourth place.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Carl Edwards (13th), Jeff Burton (19th) and Tony Stewart (35th).
Just four races remain until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Following an eventful Sunday in upstate New York, the picture is becoming clearer as to who is a contender and who is just a pretender.
The race for the final position in the "Chase" appears to be coming down to Kurt Busch, his Penske teammate Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle.
One thing is for sure, Busch, starting 15th, is a championship contender. The No.2 Miller Lite Penske Racing Dodge driver has been on fire since the Pepsi 400 in early July. In his last five starts, Busch has one win (Pocono), three top-10s and finished no lower than 11th.
Newman, starting 34th on Sunday, has been just outside the "Chase" all season and unfortunately appears on a course to stay there. Just two top-10s in the last five races and a accident that left him 42nd at Indianapolis has left him with only a slim chance at making NASCAR's "playoffs."
Earnhardt Jr. (starting 39th) is 100 points out of the playoffs and has finished 34th or worse in three of the last five events. Not exactly the way to make a move up the charts. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd after an engine failure, his team's second in the last three events.
Biffle is 15th in the standings, but 212 points out of the "Chase." It's a tall order for Biffle to jump over three drivers and that many points. The team has been solid of late, but not extraordinary, which is what will be needed over the next month if the No.16 Roush Fenway Ford team is to make the leap into the "Chase."
Follow the race and the "race-within-the-race" when the green flag drops on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).
<< Federer sneaks into Cincy semis
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer needed all three
sets to win his quarterfinal match Friday at the $2.45 million Western &
Southern Financial Group Masters -- the seventh of nine ATP Masters Series
events this seaso
<< Klose goes for milestone against former club
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All eyes will be on Miroslav Klose on
Saturday as the former Werder Bremen striker returns home as a member of
Bayern Munich in search of his 100th Bundesliga goal.
Klose joined Bayern from W
<< RSL tries to start winning streak against Chicago
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake will be looking to put
together its first winning streak in almost a year Saturday night when it
hosts Chicago at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Both teams are currently out of the playo
<< Toronto hopes to stop six-game slide
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC will be trying to win its first
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afternoon.
Mo Johnston's club has not won in six straight outings, and has not sco
Red Sox pound Lackey in game one of day-night doubleheader >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz blasted a two-run homer as part of a
six-run first inning, and the Boston Red Sox made Clay Buchholz a winner in
his major league debut with an 8-4 victory over the LA Angels of Anaheim in
the fro
Blue Jackets' Svitov inks deal with Russian Super League >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus forward Alexander Svitov, who
signed a two-year contract with the Blue Jackets on July 2, has also inked a
deal with the Russian Super League and intends to play there in 2007-08.
The 24-yea
BoSox place Mirabelli on 15-day DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed catcher Doug
Mirabelli on the 15-day disabled list Friday after the veteran left the team's
opener of a day-night doubleheader against the LA Angels of Anaheim with a
straine
Orioles' Ray has Tommy John surgery >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles closer Chris Ray underwent
Tommy John surgery Thursday, a procedure that will sideline him for this and
possibly the entire 2008 season.
Ray was placed on the disabled list on July 2
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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