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07/24/2010 - Edmonton, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Power won the pole for Sunday's Honda Indy Edmonton, while his teammate, Helio Castroneves, qualified on the outside pole to give Team Penske another front row start in the IZOD IndyCar Series this season.
Power rounded the 1.96-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport course in one minute, 0.7126 seconds for his sixth pole of the season and the eighth of his IndyCar career. He started on the pole and won his first IndyCar race one year ago at Edmonton.
"It's awesome to get the car on the pole again," Power said. "All the points count, and I know here it's important to be at the front, because it is tough to pass. If all the strategy goes well, like it did last year, it makes it easier to win. It's a long day tomorrow. We have a good starting spot, and we have to keep going to win this championship."
Castroneves came up short of winning the pole by qualifying 0.0765 seconds behind Power.
"We had a very good lap out there, and I just made a little mistake, and this place is about not making mistakes," Castroneves said.
Team Penske has dominated qualifying in the series this season by winning the pole for nine of the last 10 races. Last weekend at Toronto, Justin Wilson ended Penske's streak of eighth consecutive poles.
Scott Dixon, who won the inaugural 2008 IndyCar race at Edmonton, qualified third, while his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and defending series champion, Dario Franchitti, took the fourth spot.
Power will attempt to win a series record-tying third consecutive race. He won on the street/road courses at Toronto and Watkins Glen, NY earlier this month. The Australian driver currently holds a 43-point lead over Franchitti.
Ryan Briscoe from Penske and KV Racing's E.J. Viso will share the third row.
Rookie Simona de Silvestro, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Wilson and Raphael Matos completed the top-10.
Danica Patrick did not make it out of the first of three qualifying sessions and will start 21st in the 25-car field.
Canadians Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani qualified 15th and 19th, respectively.
<< Suzuki, Cust power A's past White Sox
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Suzuki had three hits, including a home
run, to lead the Oakland Athletics in a 10-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox in
the second of three games at Oakland Coliseum.
Suzuki, who signed a contract extens
<< Bayne claims Nationwide pole at ORP
Clermont, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Bayne won his second consecutive pole
in the Nationwide Series by posting the fastest lap in Saturday's qualifying
for the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
Bayne turned a lap of
<< Giants place Affeldt on disabled list
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have placed pitcher
Jeremy Affeldt on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain.
The veteran left-hander has appeared in 37 games in relief this season and has
posted a rec
<< New York's Barajas leaves game
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mets catcher Rod Barajas left Saturday's
game against Los Angeles in the sixth inning with a strained right oblique.
The veteran receiver had singled in a run to cut the Dodgers' lead to 2-1 and
was re
Loney's HR in 13th gets Dodgers past reeling Mets >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Loney hit the game-winning home run
in the bottom of the 13th to lift Los Angeles to a 3-2 win over New York in
the third meeting of a four-game set.
George Sherrill (1-1) tossed a scoreless
Isner, Fish reach final in Atlanta >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded American John Isner advanced to
the final of the Atlanta Tennis Championships after defeating Kevin Anderson
in three sets.
Isner will have an opportunity for his second career title agai
Giants' Velez hit by foul ball >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants outfielder Eugenio Velez
left Saturday's game against Arizona after being hit in the head by a foul
ball.
During the top of the fourth inning, the Giants' Pat Burrell fouled a bal
Houston's struggles continue at Columbus >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew extended their lead atop
Major League Soccer's Eastern table with a 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on
Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Edgar Renteria scored in the first half, and An
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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