07/04/2008 - Daytona Beach, FL (Autoracing Betting) - Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday night's Winn-Dixie 250 Nationwide Series race at the Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 29 of 105 laps. He finished 0.133 seconds ahead of Busch.
The victory was Hamlin's third of the season and eighth of his Nationwide Series career.
Hamlin had fallen two seconds off the pace after his final pit stop, but rebounded when he made the pass on Edwards for the lead on lap 89.
Hamlin drove the same car that Tony Stewart won last week at New Hampshire. Stewart also drove the No.20 Toyota to victory in the series season-opener at Daytona in February.
But it wasn't an easy win for Hamlin as Colin Braun spun and smacked the wall with two laps to go, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. On the final restart, Hamlin quickly pulled ahead of the field, while Carl Edwards was bumped into the infield grass, but made his way back into the pack.
Edwards also had a near miss with pole sitter Bryan Clauson while trying to pass him just past the halfway point. Both drivers were running among the top-five at the time.
Clauson led the field to the green, but was quickly shuffled back in the field as Clint Bowyer moved his way to top spot. Bowyer ran in front for six laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. inherited the lead.
The first caution of the night came on lap 14 when Josh Wise spun. Earnhardt, Jr. opted for fuel only on his first stop. Brad Keselowski, Earnhardt, Jr.'s protege, took on two new tires and drove off pit lane just behind Earnhardt, Jr. On the restart, Earnhardt, Jr. ran second to Shane Huffman, who did not pit. But Earnhardt, Jr. got drafting help from Keselowski to pull ahead of Huffman. Three laps later, Edwards made the pass on Earnhardt, Jr. and ran out in front until the next round of stops during the second caution.
Keselowski used pit strategy to his advantage. He took two left-side tires only and was the fastest off of pit lane. Keselowski's strategy worked well for 28 laps when he led the way. Then the tires on his No.88 Chevrolet began to wear as he fell back in the field.
Hamlin, Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. easily passed Keselowski. Keselowski would fall back to seventh before making his final stop. Hamlin and Earnhardt, Jr. exchanged the lead before teams came in for their final round of stop during the green flag with less than 25 laps remaining.
Keselowski made his stop for four fresh tires with 23 laps to go. Hamlin relinquished the lead two laps later.
Edwards won the battle off of pit lane and put himself back in the lead after the round of stops, but Busch was looking to make the move around Edwards. Earnhardt, Jr. and Keselowski were also in pursuit of Edwards.
Busch, Edwards and Hamlin swapped the lead for the next several laps before Hamlin ran out in front for the final 15 laps.
Earnhardt, Jr., Bowyer and Keselowski completed the top-five.
Bowyer will take a 202-point lead over new second-place Keselowski to the next event scheduled for Friday night, July 11th at the Chicagoland Speedway.
<< Ozaki fires 63 for early lead in New York
Endicott, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Ozaki fired a nine-under 63 Friday to grab
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Joie G
<< Galatasaray claims to have signed Kewell
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Galatasaray claims it has won the race to
sign injury-plagued forward Harry Kewell following the end of his contract with
Liverpool.
The 29-year-old Australia international was not offered fresh terms a
<< Hamburg coach expects Van der Vaart to stay
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg coach Martin Jol believes Rafael
van der Vaart will remain at the AOL Arena for the upcoming season.
The 25-year-old Netherlands international has been linked with a string of top
clubs across
<< West Ham signs Icelandic teen defender
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley has
made Icelandic teenager Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson his first capture of the summer.
The 17-year-old defender moves to Upton Park on a long term contract from HK
Ko
Grant: Scolari faces impossible job at Chelsea >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has warned
successor Luiz Felipe Scolari that he is embarking on an impossible job at
Stamford Bridge.
Scolari was confirmed as the replacement for the sacked Grant
Villa coach O'Neill won't budge on Barry >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin O'Neill again warned Liverpool
that Gareth Barry will not be leaving Aston Villa unless they match the value
of the wantaway midfielder.
The Villa boss has now rejected three bids from t
Atletico Madrid signs French striker Pongolle >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid has signed former Recreativo
striker Florent Sinama Pongolle, a French striker.
Pongolle, 23, had more than 20 goals in two seasons for Recreativo. He played
at Liverpool from 2003-06. No
Reds complete signing of Swiss fullback Degen >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool has completed the signing of
Switzerland fullback Philipp Degen on a free transfer.
Degen, 25, had agreed to join the Reds from Borussia Dortmund prior to the
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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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