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11/01/2011 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - According to reports from several media outlets on Tuesday, Mark Martin will join Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the No.00 Toyota in a part-time Sprint Cup Series schedule in 2012.
MWR has scheduled a press conference for Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway, the site of this weekend's Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races.
Martin, 52, is in his third year as driver of the No.5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Kasey Kahne is taking over driving duties of that car, starting next year. Martin has previously said he wants to run a limited Sprint Cup schedule after he leaves Hendrick. He has also considered running partial schedules in Nationwide and truck.
David Reutimann is currently behind the wheel of the No.00 car, but Reutimann's future with MWR is not known at this time. He is now 28th in points, with just two top-10 finishes so far this season.
Reutimann has driven for MWR since 2007. He has also given the racing organization its first two wins in NASCAR's premier series (Charlotte in May 2009 and Chicagoland in July 2010).
MWR's driver lineup for next season will include Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Martin. Bowyer is leaving Richard Childress Racing and moving over to Waltrip's team at the end of the year.
Driver/owner Michael Waltrip will likely drive the No.00 car in all four restrictor-plate races (two at Daytona and two at Talladega) next season.
Martin drove a limited Cup schedule for Ginn Racing/Dale Earnhardt Inc. from 2007-08 before signing with Hendrick for the 2009 season.
<< Hurricanes double up Lightning
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Skinner and Chad LaRose each tallied
twice, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay
Lightning.
Cam Ward stopped 28-of-30 shots for Carolina, which had lost four
<< NBA lockout keeps Jordan from Presidents Cup
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Jordan's responsibilities as
majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats will keep him from being an assistant
captain on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
U.S. captain Fred Couples, who selected
<< SEC suspends Arkansas' Wade 1 game for hit
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arkansas wide receiver Marquel Wade has been
suspended one game by the Southeastern Conference for an illegal hit during
Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.
Wade was suspended for violating NCAA rules
<< Montreal signs midfielder Ubiparipovic
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Impact continued to shape their
team for their debut season in Major League Soccer on Tuesday, signing former
Red Bull New York midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
Ubiparipovic, 28, becomes the fou
Caps storm back to edge Ducks in OT >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicklas Backstrom tied the game with 42
seconds left in regulation and won it at the 2:18 mark of overtime as
Washington rallied for a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Dennis Wideman and Joel W
Gold Glove winners announced; Ichiro denied No. 11 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore's Nick Markakis was the American
League's representative in right field on the Gold Glove Award team, ending a
run of 10 consecutive defensive honors for the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki.
Markakis w
Canucks cruise past Flames >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Luongo came less than a minute away
from a shutout, but stopped 28 shots to help Vancouver to a 5-1 win over
Calgary at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Alexander Edler had a goal and two assists while
Frank McCourt agrees to sell Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank McCourt has agreed to sell the Los
Angeles Dodgers less than a month after being awarded sole ownership of the
club in a divorce settlement.
In a joint statement with Major League Baseball,
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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