Patrick secures starting spot in Daytona 500

Autoracing Betting Lines

01/31/2012 - Kannapolis, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danica Patrick will be guaranteed a starting position in the February 26 Daytona 500 due to a transfer of owner points from Tommy Baldwin Racing to Patrick's team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

SHR and TBR announced on Tuesday that both racing organizations have formed a collaborative partnership. TBR will field the No.10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for all 10 of Patrick's Sprint Cup Series races, including the season-opener at Daytona, in 2012.

TBR's No.36 car, which finished the 2011 season 33rd in owner points, will become the No.10 entry for this upcoming season. David Reutimann will drive the No.10 in the 26 races where Patrick is not scheduled to compete. Dave Blaney drove for TBR last year. Blaney will drive another entry for the team this season.

Reutimann, who had been with Michael Waltrip Racing the past five Sprint Cup seasons, will attempt to keep the No.10 car in the top-35 rankings in owner points to assure Patrick a starting spot in each of her remaining races throughout the season.

"Tommy Baldwin Racing has proven to be a very strong organization, and it's a good fit with Stewart-Haas Racing," Matt Borland, the vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, said in a team statement. "It's a Chevrolet team led by a racer who knows every inch of a racecar. That kind of technical expertise, along with a company mindset that is similar to ours, provides the ideal environment for Danica to learn and succeed."

TBR, which is owned by Tommy Baldwin, a veteran Sprint Cup crew chief, had been a single-car operation since its entrance into NASCAR's premier series in 2009. As a crew chief, Baldwin has won five Sprint Cup races, including the 2002 Daytona 500 with driver Ward Burton.

"We're very proud of what we've established at Tommy Baldwin Racing, and the opportunity to partner with Stewart-Haas Racing and aid in the development of Danica Patrick is a testament to all the hard work we've put in over the years," Baldwin said. "Danica will have a great teammate in Dave Blaney, who has been instrumental in getting our race team to where it is today. And with David Reutimann driving the No.10 car in the races where Danica is not, the team will remain in a strong and competitive position throughout the year."

As part of the alliance, Baldwin will work closely with Patrick's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, who also serves as SHR's director of competition. Zipadelli most recently served as crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing's No.20 team, with driver Joey Logano.

"Working with Tommy will be like old times," Zipadelli said. "We both grew up together and competed against each other in modifieds, and we did the same thing when we got to Sprint Cup. To finally be able to work with each other and help Danica Patrick make a successful transition from Indy cars to stock cars is a challenge we're both looking forward to."

Patrick left the IndyCar Series at the end of last season to compete in NASCAR full-time this year, running the entire 33-race schedule in the Nationwide Series and a partial one in Sprint Cup. She will drive the No.7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in Nationwide.

After next month's race at Daytona, Patrick will not compete in a Sprint Cup race until May 12 at Darlington. She is also slated to compete at Charlotte (May 27), Bristol (August 25), Atlanta (September 2), Chicagoland (Sept. 16), Dover (Sept. 30), Texas (November 4) and Phoenix (Nov. 11).

Last week, Patrick announced she will forgo this year's Indianapolis 500 to compete in the 600-mile race at Charlotte. Her tenth Sprint Cup event this season will be announced at a later date.

SHR is hopeful Patrick will run a full-time schedule in Sprint Cup next year.

Wwsportsinteraction Autoracing Betting News

<< Tottenham acquires Saha from Everton
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham signed striker Louis Saha from Everton on Tuesday. Saha, 33, had two goals in his first seven games for Everton this season, but did not score in his last 13 games. The Frenchman started his c

<< Los Angeles Angeles
Suspended minor league pitcher Daniel Reynolds 50 games for a second violation of MLB drug policy.

<< City acquires Pizarro on loan from Roma
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City acquired Chilean David Pizarro on loan for the rest of the season Tuesday from Italian side Roma. Pizarro, 32, played under City manager Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan, but has played j

<< Indians acquire Canzler from Rays
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians acquired INF/OF Russ Canzler from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations Tuesday. The 25-year-old Canzler was named the MVP of the International League last seas

<< Missouri's Tiguinho named MISL Player of Week
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri Comets forward Tiguinho was named the Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 13. Tiguinho had two goals and five assists as Missouri rolled to a 33-12 win over the Syracus

QPR completes Zamora signing >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - QPR made a late swoop on deadline day Thursday to sign striker Bobby Zamora from Fulham for an undisclosed fee. Zamora, 31, put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year deal at Loftus Road to link back

Sporting Gijon fires manager Preciado >>
Gijon, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Gijon fired coach Manuel Preciado on Tuesday, just days after the club lost for the sixth time in its last eight La Liga matches. Preciado was with Gijon for 5 1/2 seasons and led the club to the top

Timbers acquire midfielder Renken >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Timbers acquired midfielder and U.S. youth international Charles Renken off MLS waivers Tuesday. Renken, 18, has been a member of U.S. youth national teams since 2005 and most recently participa

Manning's 1st QB coach hired as Colts OC >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have continued the rebuilding of their coaching staff by bringing back Peyton Manning's first NFL quarterbacks coach. Bruce Arians, who coached the Colts' quarterbacks from 1998-200

FC Porto acquires Lucho, Janko >>
Porto, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Porto acquired Lucho Gonzalez and Marc Janko on Tuesday, as the Portuguese giants added a pair of reinforcements just days after its first loss of the season. Lucho, 31, previously spent four seasons a

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting