Three-peat: Logano reigns at Kentucky

Autoracing Betting Lines

06/13/2010 - Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Logano outran Carl Edwards in the closing laps and beat the weather to win Saturday's Meijer 300 Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Logano passed Brendan Gaughan and took the lead for good with less than 25 laps remaining. Edwards then chased down Logano within the last 10 laps, but he held off Edwards by 0.67 seconds for his first victory of the season and the seventh of his Nationwide career.

His last win came in October 2009 at Fontana, CA.

Logano became the first driver in series history to win three consecutive races at the same track after starting on the pole for each one of those events. When Logano won his first Nationwide race at Kentucky in 2008, he became the youngest winner at age 18 years and 21 days.

"Oh man, I don't know what feels better, getting three-for-three here or finally getting a win this year," said Logano, who led a race-high 106 laps. "We've had quite a few stolen, and with Carl running right up there at the end, I was saying, 'I don't want to lose another one this way'."

The 300-mile race featured a track record-tying 10 cautions for 51 laps. Logano lost the lead after several late-race restarts, but managed to reclaim the top position shortly after.

"On my restarts, for at least on the first lap, I wasn't up to speed that good, and after that, I was able to make something of this car," he added.

Logano pulled into victory lane just before a severe thunderstorm moved over the 1.5-mile track. Teams were preparing pit strategies in the late-stages of the race in anticipation of the rain shortening the scheduled 200-lap distance.

Edwards finished in the runner-up spot for the second week in a row, while points leader Brad Keselowski overcame a 25th starting position to finish third.

"I'm sure Joey has had a long week, and he deserves that win," Edwards said. "I had him on that high line. I was up there, and I thought, 'Man, I hope they don't tell him what I am doing,' but I knew they were, and he got back up there."

Keselowski now holds a comfortable 272-point advantage over Edwards.

"It was one of those days, but we came away and brought home a solid finish for [this team]," Keselowski said.

Logano, Edwards and Keselowski are pulling the Kentucky-Michigan combo this weekend. The Sprint Cup Series will race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick missed out on the Nationwide race for the second week in a row to concentrate on their Sprint Cup efforts.

Gaughan, who was looking for his first Nationwide win, wound up finishing fourth, and Reed Sorenson took the fifth spot.

Steve Wallace, Scott Wimmer, Justin Allgaier, Scott Riggs and rookie Colin Braun completed the top-10.

Wwwscrapbook Autoracing Betting News

<< Reynolds and D'Backs down Cards
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Reynolds finished a triple shy of the cycle and Dan Haren tossed eight solid innings, as the Arizona Diamondbacks handled the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2, in the second test of a three-game series

<< Salazar and LeBlanc lead Padres past Mariners
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oscar Salazar hit a three-run home run to help the San Diego Padres dominate the Seattle Mariners, 7-1, in the second of a three-game interleague set. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run home run and scored

<< Guillen's 10th-inning homer lifts Tigers over Pirates
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Guillen's homer to start the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second of a three-game interleague set. With Brendan Donnelly (2-1) on the

<< Hamilton homers, Rangers hang on to beat Brewers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Smoak hit a two-run double and Josh Hamilton blasted a solo home run, as the Texas Rangers held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, in the middle portion of a three-game interleague series

<< Hammel impressive on the mound as Rockies shut out Jays
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Hammel and Manuel Corpas combined on a four-hitter in Colorado's 1-0 victory over Toronto in the middle meeting of a three-game interleague set at Coors Field. Hammel (4-3) yielded only three hits,

Giants' Zito records first win against former team >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Uribe drove in a pair of runs to help the San Francisco Giants take a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the middle installment of a three-game interleague set at AT&T Park. Pablo San

Florida downs Miami, advances to CWS >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Maddox's RBI double in the top of the 10th inning lifted Florida over Miami-Florida, 4-3, sending the Gators to the College World Series. Florida, which won 7-2 in the opener of this best-of-t

UCLA coach Howland has surgery >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA head men's basketball coach Ben Howland underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. The procedure was performed on Friday at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medi

Rivera homers as Angels edge Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera clubbed a two-run homer to help the Angels defeat the Dodgers, 4-2, in the middle contest of a three-game interleague series at Chavez Ravine. Howie Kendrick and Torii Hunter each had an

Robben ruled out of Dutch opener >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjen Robben has been ruled out of the Netherlands' World Cup opener against Denmark on Monday due to a hamstring injury. Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk said that it was too risky to pl

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.