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06/08/2010 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, June 12. Race: VFW 200. Site: Michigan International Speedway. Track: two-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 100. Miles: 200. 2009 winner: Colin Braun. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
Todd Bodine padded his points lead to 65 over Aric Almirola after winning last Friday's race at Texas. Bodine led 97 of 167 laps, but had to hold off Johnny Sauter and Ron Hornaday Jr. in a two-lap overtime finish to capture his record-extending sixth victory there. He also ended a 24-race winless streak in the Camping World Truck Series.
"To come out of [Texas] with a win for the stretch, it's awesome, but it's just one win, it's one track and we have to go to Michigan [this] week and beat them up there," Bodine said.
Michigan is the final race before the series' last big break of the season. The next event after Michigan is on July 11 at Iowa. The series will then begin a 10-week stretch.
There will be a guaranteed new race winner at Michigan. No previous winners are on the entry list. Former series champions Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Bodine, along with Kyle Busch, who returns to trucks after taking a week off, have never driven into victory lane at Michigan. All four of those drivers have combined for 109 victories in the series.
A Ford has won five of the previous 10 truck races at Michigan, but the automobile manufacturer has been winless so far this season. The last victory for Ford actually came one year ago at Michigan.
Jack Roush leads all team owners with five victories at Michigan, including wins in the last three races with drivers Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun. Roush has no truck entries so far this year.
Michigan has featured quick races and close finishes since the series started competing there in 1999.
Brendan Gaughan's 2003 win at Michigan remains the fastest truck event ever run. Gaughan averaged 154.044 m.p.h. and cruised to an 11.477 margin of victory in a race that wrapped up in one hour, 17 minutes and 54 seconds.
Two years ago, Darnell won there in thrilling fashion. He nipped Johnny Benson by 0.005 seconds, making it the second closest finish in series history.
Thirty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the VFW 200.
<< Tigers DFA Everett
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers made it official and
designated shortstop Adam Everett for assignment.
The move, which had been announced Sunday but took effect Tuesday, comes after
Everett had major offensive strug
<< This Week in Auto Racing June 11 - 13
Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All three of NASCAR's national touring series
are in action this weekend, with the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck
Series at Michigan International Speedway and the Nationwide Series at
Kentucky Speedway. Form
<< Guerrero won't play OF back-to-back vs. NL
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Texas Rangers designated hitter Pedro Guerrero will play right field in the upcoming interleague series. He won't, however, play on consecutive days.The Rangers begin a nine-game stretch against National League teams beginning
<< National League All-Star Fan Voting
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 1,549,9412. Ryan Howard, Phillies, 761,8523. Prince Fielder, Brewers, 416,3604. Joey Votto, Reds, 373,5955. Troy Glaus, Braves, 342,344Second Base1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 1,573,2482. Martin Prado, Braves, 595,2503. Dan
Rangers ink Byers to extension >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers agreed to terms with
forward Dane Byers on a contract extension.
The 24-year-old Byers, a second-round draft pick of the Rangers in 2004,
played in five games with the team l
Dodgers reinstate LHP Sherrill >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dodgers have reinstated lefty
reliever George Sherrill from the 15-day disabled list.
Sherrill hit the DL on May 25 with tightness in the middle of his back. He was
0-1 with a 7.36 earned-run
Strasburg simply sensational in MLB debut >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington's Stephen Strasburg certainly
lived up to the hype in one of the most anticipated debuts in recent memory,
striking out an eye-popping 14 of the 24 Pirates he faced.
Despite being limited by a pi
Strasburg fans 14 in MLB debut; Nats top Pirates >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Strasburg certainly lived up to the
hype in one of the most anticipated debuts in recent memory, striking out an
eye-popping 14 of the 24 Pirates he faced in Washington's 5-2 victory.
Despite bein
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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