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08/11/2007 - Elkhart Lake, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Bourdais captured the pole for Sunday's Generac Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. The No.1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver circled the historic 4.048-mile road course in one minute, 41.535 seconds to take the top spot. The lap was more than 1.5 seconds faster than his nearest competitor.
The pole victory added one championship point to Bourdais' total his second of the weekend.
Starting alongside Bourdais will be Will Power who put up a time of 1:43.116.
Robert Doornbos (1:43.134) and Graham Rahal (1:43.162) will make up row two.
"Road America is a high-speed track, more what I'm used to in Europe," said former Formula One driver Doornbos. "You sort of have to shift your mind set, just as you'd change the setup on your car after racing on a street course. For one thing, there is so much more speed around the turns compared with the street circuits that you have to be much more delicate and precise with the car. We did well at the test earlier this year, and I can't wait to get back there."
With seven races left in the series, Bourdais, who just announced that he would leave the series to drive for Formula One's Toro Rosso in 2008, is on track to win his fourth consecutive series championship. The Frenchman used a win at Edmonton to reclaim the top spot and a fifth-place two weeks ago to maintain his lead. It is where Bourdais always expects to be. In 68 races, Bourdais has been the points leader for 42 of them.
However, Bourdais will bring just a 12-point lead over "rookie" Doornbos into this week's race at Road America. Doornbos cut the lead in half with a win at San Jose.
The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Sunday at 3 p.m.
<< Giants option Sanchez, bring up Wilson
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants optioned pitcher
Jonathan Sanchez to Triple-A Fresno and recalled pitcher Brian Wilson from
Fresno on Saturday.
Sanchez is 1-2 with a 5.30 earned run average in 29 appearances
<< Federer eases into Rogers Masters final
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded and defending champion Roger
Federer defeated Czech Radek Stepanek in the semifinal round of the $2.45
million Rogers Masters -- the sixth of nine Masters Series events this year.
The w
<< Celtic returns to championship form
Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Miller, Shunsuke Nakamura and
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink each scored to lead Celtic over Falkirk, 4-1, in
Gordon Strachan's 100th competitive match for the Glasgow club on Saturday.
The de
<< Padres place Barrett on DL
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres placed catcher Michael
Barrett on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with concussion-like symptoms.
The 30-year-old Barrett suffered a head injury while attempting to break up a
doub
Tigers demote pitchers Tata, McBride >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers optioned right-handed
pitcher Jordan Tata and left-handed pitcher Macay McBride to Triple-A Toledo
Saturday, purchasing the contracts of righthanders Eulogio De La Cruz and
Aquilin
Garcia disqualified at PGA >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia was disqualified from the PGA
Championship on Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard.
Garcia signed for a par four at the 17th, but actually made five. He should
have shot a four-ove
Sharapova withdraws from Toronto >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian Maria Sharapova has pulled out of next
week's Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto, citing fatigue, she announced on her
website on Saturday.
"Unfortunately at this stage of the summer and after many
Bills' Hargrove suspended four games >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills defensive end Anthony Hargrove
was suspended four games without pay by the NFL for violating the league's
substance abuse policy.
The league did not announce what substance Hargrove tested posi
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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