Wallace, Allmendinger replace Carpentier at GEM

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/07/2008 - Statesville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canadian Patrick Carpentier has been released from his driving duties of the No.10 Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series, Gillett Evernham Motorsports officials announced Tuesday. Mike Wallace will drive the No.10 car this weekend at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, and AJ Allmendinger will take over for the remainder of the season.

"I'm excited about this news," Allmendinger said. "GEM has great equipment and I'm confident we can take these final five races and get the No.10 up in points. I know we have a lot of work to do, but we are going to give it our best shot. I'm looking forward to spending some time with crew chief Mike Shiplett and the guys starting at Martinsville."

Last week, Allmendinger was released from his ride at Red Bull Racing, but picked up by Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the No.00 Toyota this weekend at Charlotte in a one-race deal.

Carpentier drove the car in 24 races during his Sprint Cup rookie season with his best finish of 14th coming in July at Daytona. He won the pole for the June race at New Hampshire. Carpentier's team is currently 39th in owner points.

"We certainly appreciate all the effort that Patrick Carpentier made for us this year, Mark McArdle, the team's vice president and managing director of competition, said. "But our job is to put ourselves in a position to win races, plus we're striving to get the No.10 into the top-35 in points. We feel AJ gives us the best chance to do both."

Reed Sorenson will assume the driving duties of the No.10 at the beginning of the 2009 season. Sorenson is currently behind the wheel of the No.41 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Vwgas Autoracing Betting News

<< NFC West: Cardinals show there's no place like home
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Much has been made of Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt's decision to keep his team on the East Coast following its road loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 3. Needless to say, the second-year sideline boss lear

<< Lakers coach Jackson misses preseason opener with leg discomfort
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson missed the preseason opener against Utah because of minor discomfort in his lower legs. Kurt Rambis took over the head-coaching duties in Jackson's absence. Jackson d

<< AFC West: Chargers treated rudely in South Beach
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luckily for the San Diego Chargers, Oakland and Kansas City are still in their division. The Chargers headed to Miami for a showdown with the supposedly-overmatched Dolphins this past Sunday and came back home with a 2-3 r

<< Jamison hurts knee in preseason opener
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison sprained his right knee in the first quarter of Tuesday's preseason opener against the Dallas Mavericks. Jamison was on the defensive side trying to guard Di

<< Tennessee suspends Johnson, Myers
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Phillip Fulmer announced at his Tuesday news conference that offensive linemen Darius Myers and Ramone Johnson have been suspended for two weeks and will miss up

Troy QB Hampton hurts leg >>
Boca Raton, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy quarterback Jamie Hampton suffered what appeared to be a devastating left leg injury during Tuesday's 30-17 win over Florida Atlantic. Hampton was injured in the final minute of the third quarter on

Oden solid in preseason debut >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - More than a year after being selected first overall in the NBA draft, Greg Oden had a smashing debut with the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 13 points, pulling down five rebounds and blocking a pair of

Sweden up by 10 after day one of Women's World Amateur >>
Adelaide, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After carding a record-tying nine- under-par 137 in the opening round, Sweden has opened a 10-stroke lead over Spain in the 2008 Women's World Amateur Team Championship at the Grange Golf Club.

Sun Devils and Trojans square off in pivotal Pac-10 matchup >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pac-10 foes will collide at The Coliseum this weekend, as the eighth-ranked USC Trojans play host to the Arizona State Sun Devils. There is absolutely no question that Arizona State and its fans are highly

ACC showdown pits Tigers against Demon Deacons >>
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons are set to host the Clemson Tigers Thursday night in an important ACC clash. Clemson got crushed by Alabama in the season opener, but the team rallied to record v


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

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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









Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.