Team orders put NASCAR into disrepute at Talladega
Autoracing Betting Lines
10/24/2011 - Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR's latest shindig at Talladega Superspeedway turned out to be as big of a political circus as the one in Washington these days. Don't blame NASCAR officials for the latest mess in restrictor-plate racing. Point the finger at the drivers, team owners and car manufacturers this time.
It was neither compromise nor common ground with opposing teams and manufacturers on Sunday at Talladega -- the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. A Chevrolet pairing up with a Ford or visa-versa during the 500-mile race at Talladega was along the lines of Democrats and Republicans agreeing on a political issue. It was out of the question.
Thanks to team orders, finding a partner in NASCAR's latest episode of "Dancing With the Cars" had its limits. And that cost many drivers, including several in the Chase field, an opportunity to win the race...and perhaps a championship.
Jeff Gordon was one of the championship contenders left hanging in the final laps. Gordon, in a Chevrolet, had partnered with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Mark Martin, in a two-car tandem throughout the race, but Martin was one of five drivers caught up in a wreck with eight laps remaining.
Prior to the final restart with two laps to go, Gordon was hoping to tango with Ford driver and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne. The two had worked well together in previous restrictor-plate races (Daytona and Talladega) this season. But when it came crunch time in this race, Bayne bailed on Gordon and hooked up with Ford driver and title hopeful Matt Kenseth.
"We worked together pretty well in February [Daytona 500]; him pushing me and me pushing him," Gordon said. "But I think everybody knew coming into the weekend, the Fords made it very clear about what they were doing in working with one another and helping one another out and all those things. So I didn't expect him to commit to me on the radio. I expected him to say, 'Man, I'm sorry; I can't.' And when he said, 'Yeah, I'm pushing you; we're good.' I believed him, but I think they had a different plan."
Gordon finished 27th and saw his hopes of winning a fifth Sprint Cup Series title begin to fade away. He is now 82 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
Bayne wound up finishing 15th, four positions ahead of Kenseth.
"Trevor came over to me [after the race in the garage] and said, 'Hey, it wasn't me; it wasn't me. That's what I'm being told to do'," Gordon noted. "But I'm surprised that somebody didn't come back over [the radio]. I just think it could have been handled better.
"If somebody is going to screw you, you'd like them to say it to your face you know? Or at least on the radio. I would have been fine with that."
Bayne had no comment at the track but later responded on his Twitter account.
"I'm not happy about what this has become... It's too premeditated," Bayne tweeted. "We should be able to go with whoever is around [us]."
He also posted on his account, "I would have rather pulled over and finished last than tell [Jeff Gordon] I would work with him and then be strong armed into bailing."
In what's should be every man for himself in each NASCAR race, restrictor- plate racing has become every team and every manufacturer for itself.
"The plan was that we should stick together as Roush Fenway and as the Ford group and try to help one another as best we can," said Edwards, who partnered with teammate Greg Biffle. "I thought we did a good job with that, and I saw other teams doing the same thing.
"You never know what is going to happen. We didn't think that plan would go through to the end. We thought that some of us would be crashed or have trouble or something like that, and then people would mix up partners and stuff."
It's a shame that politics played a major role in this race. It has no business on the racetrack. And NASCAR needs to address it.
You know who really got screwed the most in this race?
The fans.
"These fans pay a ton of money to watch these races, and we owe it to them to put a show on them from rag to rag," race winner Clint Bowyer said.
Talladega is supposed to be a real barnburner. This time, it was a real bummer.
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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines
Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow. Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season. Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints. These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order. As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS. The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens. The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.
MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.