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08/02/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Track officials at Pocono Raceway might have breathed a sigh of relief after Elliott Sadler walked away from one of the most vicious accidents in NASCAR history, but it's now evident that safety improvements must be made at the track to avoid a potentially fatal incident.
With 36 laps remaining in Sunday's 500-mile race at Pocono, Jimmie Johnson tapped Kurt Busch from behind. Busch hit the outside wall, slid down the track and then spun on the wet, grassy area along the backstretch before plowing into the inside guardrail. It had rained at Pocono prior to the start of the race.
Sadler, who won the inaugural Truck Series race at Pocono on Saturday, got caught up in the accident when he was hit from behind, as he was slowing down to avoid hitting Busch. Sadler slammed head-on into the guardrail after sliding on the grass at a high speed.
The impact was so severe that it stripped the engine and driveshaft from Sadler's car onto the grass and track surface. Sadler gingerly climbed out of his car and then laid down next to it, as track and medical officials quickly attended to him. Both Busch and Sadler were later released from the track's infield care center.
"Somebody just ran into the back of me and turned me inside through the wet grass into the guardrail, so I was along for the ride," Sadler said. "It was a very hard hit. I'm a little sore through my chest and my stomach, but that's from where the seatbelts did their job and grabbed me and kept me in the car, so I'm thankful for that."
Thank NASCAR for Sadler leaving the accident unscathed.
Since Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR continuously has improved the safety of the sport. The current car (car of tomorrow), the Head and Neck Support (HANS) device and the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier, also known as the "soft wall," have all reduced the potential for serious injuries during a crash.
What has been an issue for Pocono is that the 2.5-mile triangular track does not have SAFER barriers installed along the inside area of the backstretch, where many horrifying accidents have occurred in the past.
When the Sprint Cup Series competed at Pocono in June, a nine-car pileup occurred on the final lap when A.J. Allmendinger shoved his teammate, Kasey Kahne, down the track and into the grass. Kahne's car got airborne after he shot up the track and then slammed hard into the wall.
In July 2002, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Park crashed spectacularly on the backstretch. Park's car did several barrel rolls on the grass before smashing into the guardrail. NASCAR stopped the race for more than one hour, as track officials repaired the barrier.
Following Kahne's crash at Pocono, some drivers, particularly Greg Biffle, have criticized the track for its lack of efforts to improve safety.
Biffle ended a 46-race winless streak and gave Ford its first victory of the season at Pocono.
"It's dangerous to have grass next to where you're running 200 miles an hour; that's all there is to it," Biffle said during his post-race news conference. "Talladega and Daytona had that same issue, and they added pavement, like a skid pad, whatever you want to call it, so when the car gets out of control, gets going that direction, you still have some control.
"Once you hit the grass, especially with it wet or dry, it's going to make it a little different. If you hit the grass wet, you're along for the ride. It feels like you pick up speed actually when you get into the wet grass."
Biffle was very outspoken against Pocono during a Sports Illustrated interview last month. He told the magazine, "They're going to kill somebody there."
In response to recent criticisms, Pocono track president Brandon Igdalsky, who is the grandson of track owners Joseph and Rose Mattioli, confirmed the facility will undergo modifications to improve safety, including the installation of SAFER barriers where needed, in time for the series' next race there, which is expected to be in June 2011. NASCAR anticipates releasing its schedule for next year in the coming days.
Pocono immediately planned on making changes to the track following Kahne's incident two months ago. However, Igdalsky noted that it was not possible to complete all modifications in time for Pocono's second date this season.
"Talking with the guys at the racetrack this [past weekend], they obviously have a great plan as to fixing the walls and upgrading the catch fences and all those things," current Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick said. "With seven weeks in between the races, it was hard to put that plan into place in between these two races. It's a huge undertaking for the racetrack to spend the amount of money that they're going to spend with the upgrades they're going to have, and I'm glad to see that they have a plan to do that."
Let's hope Pocono indeed improves their safety initiatives, so we don't have an unforeseeable tragedy.
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the Twins while placing reliever Andy Sonnanstine on the 15-day disabled list.
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<< Cards sign veteran hurler Robertson
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have signed veteran
pitcher Nate Robertson and assigned him to Triple-A Memphis.
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Jays outfielder Jose Bautista have been named co-Players of the Week for the
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Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned catcher
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Li, Goerges roll in Copenhagen openers >>
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at the $220,000 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open.
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BoSox place Cameron on DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Mike
Cameron on the 15-day disabled list Monday and recalled outfielder Daniel Nava
from Triple-A Pawtucket.
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Cubs place Silva on DL, recall two >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs placed right-handed pitcher
Carlos Silva on the 15-day disabled list on Monday, among three roster moves.
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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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