Nationwide championship battle moves on to Phoenix

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/09/2011 - Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, November 12. Race: Wypall 200. Site: Phoenix International Raceway. Track: one-mile oval. Start time: 3:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 200. 2010 Winner: Carl Edwards. Television: ESPN 2. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

With two races to go, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. holds a 17-point lead over Elliott Sadler. Stenhouse and Sadler are now the only drivers who remain in title contention in the Nationwide Series.

Stenhouse's sixth-place finish coupled with a ninth-place run for Sadler in last Saturday's race at Texas allowed Stenhouse to add two more points to his lead.

"That's good," Stenhouse said. "That's better than where we were when we came [to Texas], and that's really all we can ask for."

As is the case for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide teams face a lot of uncertainties this weekend at Phoenix, since the track has recently been repaved and reconfigured.

"It may be one of those races that changes the game in the championship standings, and our team is going to do everything we can to make the right adjustments throughout the weekend to have a solid finish before heading to Homestead," Sadler said.

While the fight for the driver's championship has turned out to be a good one, the battle for the owner's title is even better. Just two points separate Joe Gibbs Racing's No.18 team from Roush Fenway Racing's No.60 team.

Jack Roush, who is on the verge of winning his 300th NASCAR race, leads all team owners with nine Nationwide victories at Phoenix. Carl Edwards, driver of the No.60 Ford for Roush Fenway, has won the last three fall events here.

Edwards is one of four Sprint Cup regulars competing in this race. Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer are the others. Logano is driving the No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which is normally occupied by Kyle Busch, who won at Phoenix in February.

NASCAR has lifted its parking directive against Busch, allowing him to participate in this weekend's races at Phoenix. He was not scheduled to compete in the Nationwide event here.

Last weekend, NASCAR suspended Busch from the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Texas after he intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Camping World Truck Series event there.

Forty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Wypall 200.

Dasino Autoracing Betting News

<< Edwards, Stewart title bout moves on to Phoenix
Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, November 13. Race: Kobalt Tools 500. Site: Phoenix International Raceway. Track: one-mile oval. Start time: 3:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 312. Miles: 312. 010 Winner: Carl Edwards

<< CFL Previews - November 13 - Playoffs, Week One
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (8-10) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (10-8) DATE & TIME: Sunday, November 13, 1:00 p.m. (et). GAME NOTES: The two-time defending Grey Cup Champions try to get their offense back on tra

<< Ballardini returns to Cagliari
Cagliari, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Davide Ballardini has been named the new manager of Cagliari, replacing Massimo Ficcadenti after he was fired on Tuesday. Ballardini, 47, will be taking over at the club for a third time ha

<< Flyers lock up Coburn
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed defenseman Braydon Coburn to a multi-year contract extension Wednesday. The team did not announce terms of the deal, which TSN reported to be four years and $

<< Tottenham's Dawson undergoes Achilles surgery
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham defender Michael Dawson has undergone surgery to repair an Achilles injury, potentially keeping him on the sidelines until January. Dawson last featured for Spurs in late August, and it wa

Rangers F Rupp out 4-6 weeks >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Rangers center Mike Rupp will miss four to six weeks after undergoing successful surgery Wednesday to repair a meniscus tear in his knee. Rupp has recorded one goal in seven games this season.

Djokovic, Murray, Federer reach third round in Paris >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four of the top-five players in the world, including former champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and former world No. 1 Roger Federer, were all second-round winners Wednesday at the $3.06 million Paris Masters

Flyers D Pronger to return Wednesday >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers defenseman and team captain Chris Pronger will return for Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pronger has been out since October 24 when he suffered a right-

Rodgers, Kiwanuka, Peterson named NFC players of the week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson have been honored as the NFC's top players for Week 9 of the NFL season. Rodgers earned

Easy win for Mucho Macho Man in return >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Triple Crown contender Mucho Macho Man made a successful return to the races Wednesday at Aqueduct. The three- year-old was making his first start since the Belmont Stakes. Starting in an opti

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


FOOTBALL BETTING

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.