Boys and a girl, have at it in 2012

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - From Trevor Bayne's stunning win in the Daytona 500 to Tony Stewart beating Carl Edwards for the championship in a tiebreaker, NASCAR indeed had an unforgettable season in its premier series in 2011. Now the burning question is: Can this upcoming season in NASCAR top the one from last year.

One thing is for sure. The much-anticipated arrival of Danica Patrick to the Sprint Cup Series is upon us. The hype began the moment Patrick announced her intentions to run in the series last August, and it will continue throughout the season.

And don't be surprised if we have another year of temper tantrums and other shenanigans from Kyle and Kurt Busch on and off the track.

Yes, this should be another eventful year in NASCAR.

DANICUP

Danica-mania is now at an all-time high. All eyes will be on Patrick next week when she makes her Sprint Cup debut at Daytona International Speedway. Thanks to Tommy Baldwin Racing's alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and therefore a transfer of owner points to Patrick's No.10 team, the former IndyCar star is guaranteed a starting position in the February 26 season-opening Daytona 500.

In addition to her full-time duties with JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series, Patrick is expected to compete in at least 10 Sprint Cup races this season.

Nine of Patrick's races have already been determined. In addition to Daytona, she is slated to compete at Darlington (May 12), Charlotte (May 27), Bristol (August 25), Atlanta (September 2), Chicagoland (Sept. 16), Dover (Sept. 30), Texas (November 4) and Phoenix (Nov. 11).

"I'm excited about the season, and I'm excited about the racing," she said. "I'm a little bit nervous, too, because I want to do well. Any time you feel like you want to do well, whether it's on the track or doing your job, you get a little nervous, because you feel a little pressure to want to do it. But I'm very happy with where I am. I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity I do with two fantastic teams. That's all you can ask for as a driver - to have good racecars and good crew chiefs."

Will the July 29 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway be her 10th one?

"It would be great to go there and do the big NASCAR race and be around," she noted. "I love that track. It's my favorite track. So that's a great idea."

Patrick will not compete in this year's Indianapolis 500, which is scheduled on the same day as the 600-mile race at Charlotte.

While Patrick might be very popular and highly marketable, perhaps more so than Dale Earnhardt Jr. right now, she will have her work cut out on the racetrack in both Sprint Cup and Nationwide this year.

NEW FACES AT STEWART'S TEAM

After a host of personnel changes to his team during the offseason, Stewart is ready to begin his title defense. Stewart did not have much time to celebrate his third Cup championship during the winter break, as he spent a lot of his time getting new crew chief Steve Addington up to speed.

Following the completion of the 2011 season, Addington left Penske Racing and came on board with Stewart-Haas Racing to take over the crew chief role formerly held by Darian Grubb.

"Personality-wise, Steve and I get along really well, and it's similar to where Darian and I started out," Stewart said. "When I say it's a little loose, it's a question of what a little loose means to him. And Steve's worked with different drivers, so he knows how to go through that process too. So, it's literally trying to figure out what that combination is going to be like."

Greg Zipadelli has also joined SHR after spending the past 13 years as a crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing. Zipadelli will serve as SHR's director of competition and Patrick's crew chief in her 10 scheduled races.

Stewart had a phenomenal ending to the '11 season by winning five of the 10 championship Chase races. Will his momentum carry over into the new season?

"Honestly, I think it's easy to keep that intensity up," he said. "The difference is, there are some variables that have changed. So you realize it's a different focus than necessarily what we had at the end of the season last year. There is always something when you get three or four races from the end of the year, and you know you've got a shot at it, that there is a redirected energy. It's like nothing else matters.

"Now, everybody's hit the reset button. We're all starting at zero again. You go down to Daytona and start at day one just like everybody else. You realize that intensity is still there, but you realize there is a learning process that's going to go on with learning a new crew chief. It's just part of the process, but you still keep that focus as high as you can."

Stewart has yet to win the Daytona 500 in 13 starts. How ironic would it be if the driver of the No.14 wins NASCAR's biggest race of the season in his 14th attempt.

RECLAIMING THE TITLE

Jimmie Johnson's record string of championships came to an end this past year. After winning five straight titles from 2006-10, Johnson endured a somewhat disappointing '11 season by finishing a career-worst sixth in points.

No doubt, Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the No.48 Hendrick Motorsports team have spent extra hours at the race shop this winter, gearing up for what they hope will be a comeback season. Knaus was on vacation in South Africa during last month's preseason testing at Daytona, but hey, all of us need to take a break every once in a while.

"Not winning last year has been a good thing for the race team," Johnson said. "It's really tough to strip things down and critically evaluate yourself, your team, the guys around you, when you have great success. We had a great run, and things were amazing, but having lost this last championship, I think we've all looked at ourselves differently. There's been a lot of great conversation and bonding that's taken place. There has been a lot of growth."

In a NASCAR media poll released on Thursday, Johnson was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Sprint Cup championship. He received 147 votes, just two more than Edwards, who finished second in last year's point standings. Defending champ Stewart trailed Johnson by three votes.

CAN THE BUSCH BROTHERS BEHAVE THIS YEAR?

The 2011 season was a "rowdy" one for Kyle Busch and his elder brother, Kurt, and their actions during the tail end of the season cost them dearly.

In wake of his retaliation against Ron Hornaday Jr. in last November's truck race at Texas, NASCAR suspended Kyle for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide events there. The sanctioning body later fined him $50,000.

"Certainly, we went through a lot during the first few weeks and months after the Texas incident, but since then, it's been good," Kyle said. "We're back to a new year and starting off fresh and being able to get to Daytona, race how I need to race in order to get wins."

Kurt's inappropriate hand gesture and use of foul language while waiting to be interviewed by an ESPN reporter during the season-ending race at Homestead, FL not only led to a $50,000 fine from NASCAR but his dismissal from Penske Racing as well.

This year, Kurt has a one-year deal with Phoenix Racing. But he's hoping it will end up being a long-term relationship with the team.

"Phoenix Racing could be a place that I stay forever, with the amount of fun I know we're going to have," Kurt said. "It's been that way already. And now we just go to each race and settle in."

According to a recent poll from Forbes, Busch was voted as America's 10th most-disliked sports figure.

One thing the Busch brothers can look forward to this year is sharing driving duties at Kyle's new Nationwide team. Kyle will drive the car in the first five races this season, starting at Daytona. Kurt is also running a limited Nationwide schedule for Phoenix Racing.

NEW RIDES IN '12

In addition to Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, A.J. Allmendinger and Mark Martin are among a long list of drivers with new teams this year.

Kahne is now the driver of the No.5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports after a "lame duck" season with Red Bull Racing, though he did win at Phoenix three months ago. Kahne has settled in well with Hendrick and is figured to be a strong contender to make this year's Chase.

"The Daytona test [last month] was the first time I started to feel like kind of part of the team, and it's been really good," Kahne said. "It's been everything that I expected up to this point. I still am pretty fresh with the whole deal, so I think it only gets better from here."

After driving the No.5 car full-time the past three years, Martin begins a new chapter in his Cup career by running a limited schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing. MWR has beefed up its operation with the addition of Bowyer.

David Reutimann became the odd-man out at MWR, but Reutimann will team up with Patrick at Tommy Baldwin's team. He will drive the No.10 car in the races that she is not entered.

Busch's departure at Penske opened the door for Allmendinger in the No.22.

Aric Almirola moves up from the Nationwide ranks to replace Allmendinger in Richard Petty Motorsports' No.43, while David Ragan landed a ride at Front Row Motorsports after spending five seasons with Roush Fenway Racing.

A WIN FOR JUNIOR?

One other burning question for the '12 season: Will Earnhardt Jr. finally get back into victory lane? It's sure been a long time -- 129 races to be exact -- since Earnhardt Jr. has taken the checkered flag.

It's time for him to get another win.

It's also time to say gentlemen and a lady, start your engines and have at it.

My-sports-books Autoracing Betting News

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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