McMurray grabs third pole of the season at Chicagoland

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie McMurray picked up his Sprint Cup Series leading third pole of the season after topping the charts in Friday's qualifying for the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

McMurray turned in a lap of 183.542 m.p.h. around the one-and-a-half-mile oval for his sixth career Cup pole.

"It's really amazing with our qualifying this year, and we've been really strong," McMurray said. "I'm really happy with our lap today."

McMurray began the season in February by winning the Daytona 500, but has dropped to 19th in the standings since then. He trails 12th-place Carl Edwards by 225 points with eight races remaining before the start of the championship Chase.

Jimmie Johnson will start on the outside pole after posting a lap of 183.281 m.p.h. Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, became a father earlier this week. His wife, Chandra, gave birth to their first child, a daughter. The couple has yet to choose a name, but are affectionately referring to her as "Baby J" for now.

"We didn't expect her to come this early, so that was a bit of a surprise," Johnson said. "With [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] leading this 48 team and all the support at Hendrick [Motorsports], we had everything in line. I feel bad for Aric [Almirola]. He didn't get a chance to drive the car, and I think he is a great talent, and hopefully he will be picked up by someone. He's doing a great job in the Truck Series, but I know he has aspirations to get into the Cup Series."

Almirola was on standby to drive the No.48 car for Johnson if his wife gave birth during the race weekend.

Johnson said he planned to fly back home to North Carolina this evening to be with his wife and daughter, and then return to Chicagoland in time for Saturday night's race here. Chicagoland is one of four tracks on the series schedule where Johnson has yet to win.

Tony Stewart, a two-time Chicagoland race winner, qualified third, while Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top-five.

"We had two hours and 45 minutes of practice and made only one qualifying run, so I'm pretty happy with our race car," Stewart said.

Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard and Juan Pablo Montoya qualified sixth through 10th, respectively.

Kevin Harvick, the current points leader and winner of last weekend's race at Daytona, will start 27th, while NASCAR fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. will roll off two spots ahead of Harvick in 25th.

Harvick holds a 212-point advantage over Gordon heading into the 19th race of the season.

Michael McDowell, Dave Blaney, J.J. Yeley and Todd Bodine failed to qualify.

Saturday's 400-mile race at Chicagoland is scheduled to start just after 7:30 p.m. (et).

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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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.