Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/10/2010 - West Allis, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The IZOD IndyCar Series unveiled its 2011 schedule on Friday at The Milwaukee Mile, which will return to the circuit after a one-year absence.
While IRL officials announced the return of The Milwaukee Mile and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as well as the addition of the inaugural street race in Baltimore, four tracks -- Chicagoland Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Watkins Glen International -- were dropped from next year's 17-race schedule.
Chicagoland, Homestead, Kansas and Watkins Glen are all owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
IRL officials recently announced that New Hampshire and the Baltimore street circuit will be added to the schedule for next season. New Hampshire hosted an IndyCar event from 1996-98. IndyCar ran at Milwaukee from 2004-09, but the track was dropped from the schedule this year when an event promoter could not be secured. Milwaukee obtained a new promoter for the June 19 race. The first race in Baltimore, which incorporates the city's Inner Harbor, will take place on September 4.
The 2011 schedule features nine road/street courses and eight ovals.
"It was important that the IZOD IndyCar Series continue to strike a balance between ovals and non-ovals to maintain our claim to the most diverse racing schedule in the world," said Randy Bernard, the chief executive officer of the IZOD IndyCar Series. "We want to have the best drivers in the world, and it's important that our schedule truly challenges the best through short ovals, speedways, temporary circuits and road courses."
There are other significant changes to next year's schedule.
The season-opener will be held March 27 on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. This year, the inaugural race on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil kicked off the season. The May 1 Brazil event will play host to the lead-in race for the May 29 Indianapolis 500.
As previously announced, Texas Motor Speedway will feature dual races on June 11.
Kentucky Speedway shifts from Labor Day weekend to October 2.
The season-ending race, which will take place on an oval, will be revealed at a later date. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is widely rumored to be the site for the season-finale. The series competed at Las Vegas from 1996-2000.
The 2011 IndyCar Series schedule:
Sunday, March 27 Streets of St. Petersburg 1.8-mile street course
Sunday, April 10 Barber Motorsports Park 2.38-mile road course
Sunday, April 17 Streets of Long Beach 1.968-mile street course
Sunday, May 1 Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil 2.536-mile street course
Sunday, May 29 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval
Saturday, June 11 Texas Motor Speedway 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, June 19 The Milwaukee Mile 1-mile oval
Saturday, June 25 Iowa Speedway .875-mile oval
Sunday, July 10 Streets of Toronto 1.755-mile street course
Sunday, July 24 Edmonton City Centre Airport 1.97-mile airport course
Sunday, August 7 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2.258-mile road course
Sunday, August 14 New Hampshire Motor Speedway 1.058-mile oval
Sunday, August 28 Infineon Raceway 2.303-mile road course
Sunday, September 4 Streets of Baltimore 2-mile street course
Sunday, September 18 Twin Ring Motegi (Japan) 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, October 2 Kentucky Speedway 1.5-mile oval
TBA, TBA TBA TBA
<< Colsaerts joined in first in Netherlands
Hilversum, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-round leader Nicolas Colsaerts
only managed an even-par 70 on Friday, but it was enough to share the lead
with Shiv Kapur after two rounds of the KLM Open.
Colsaerts and Kapur, who posted a
<< Ankle injury rules out Everton's Rodwell until December
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell is
expected to be out until December after sustaining an ankle injury against
Aston Villa.
Rodwell had to be substituted after 20 minutes against Villa, and
<< Spurs lose Defoe for three months
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham was dealt a big blow on Friday as
it was revealed that striker Jermain Defoe is set to miss the next three
months after undergoing ankle surgery.
Defoe was already set for a groin operation
<< Bryans capture third U.S. Open title
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded twin Bryan brothers,
Bob and Mike, captured their third career U.S. Open men's doubles title on
Friday.
Playing in their fourth U.S. Open final, the 32-year-old Bryans improved
Tennessee Tech visits No. 4 TCU >>
Cookeville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Open the season at a ranked FBS team and
it's supposed to get easier for an FCS program.
That's not necessarily the case for Tennessee Tech, which will try for a
monumental upset Saturday at TCU, ranked four
Wild name Hendrickson assistant coach >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild named Darby Hendrickson an
assistant coach on Friday.
Hendrickson was an original member of the Wild and scored the team's first
goal in a contest against Philadelphia on October 11
New Engalnd Patriots >>
Signed quarterback Tom Brady to a four-year extenstion through the 2014 season.
Broncos rookie WR Thomas questionable for opener >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver Demaryius
Thomas is listed as questionable for Sunday's opener at Jacksonville.
Thomas, selected with the 22nd overall pick in this year's draft, is slowed by
a foot injur
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.
Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting