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07/06/2010 - Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday, July 10. Race: LifeLock.com 400. Site: Chicagoland Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 267. Miles: 400.5. 2009 winner: Mark Martin. Television: TNT. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
After a spectacular fireworks show on and off the track and tempers flaring in the garage last Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, it's time for the Sprint Cup Series to kick off the second half of its 36-race season this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kevin Harvick widened his points lead after an impressive win in the 400-mile race at Daytona. Harvick survived a rash of accidents, including the "big one" that involved 19 drivers, and then held off Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon in a two-lap overtime finish for his second Cup victory this season.
Chicagoland has been one of Harvick's better tracks, where he has scored six top-10 finishes, including two victories, in nine starts. He won the first two races on this one-and-a-half-mile track from 2001-02.
"We got to do some of the very first testing at Chicago, and we've always run well there," Harvick said. "Our packages have evolved over time from a setup standpoint year to year, so we always run well there and look forward to going back. I think the mile and a half tracks have been a strong point of ours this year."
He's right. Harvick has finished no worse than 11th in the four races held on mile and a half tracks so far this season -- Las Vegas, Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte.
Harvick and Tony Stewart are the only drivers with multiple victories at Chicagoland, with Stewart winning there in 2004 and '07.
Heading into Chicagoland, Harvick holds a 212-point advantage over new second- place man Jeff Gordon, who finished third at Daytona.
Gordon currently has a 47-race winless drought, which matches his career-long stretch. He also went the same number of races without a win before his last victory came in April 2009 at Texas.
"I'm excited that we're second in points, but I'll be honest, all I look at is where we are with wins right now," Gordon said. "When you're positioned well in the Chase, like we are currently, then it comes down to wins and being seeded for when that Chase comes around.
"I think these top fives that we've had here recently build momentum to get us an opportunity to get us those wins. So that's really more what's on our mind right now. It's about what we've got to do to win a championship. I feel like we've got to get a few wins before that Chase starts."
Gordon, who won at Chicagoland in 2006, is expected to make his 600th career and consecutive start at Chicagoland. The four-time series champion made his first start in the 1992 season-finale at Atlanta, and has not missed a race since then.
While Gordon climbed to second, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up two spots to 11th in the standings. Earnhardt Jr. steadily has worked his way back into the top-12 with finishes of 11th or better in the last four races, including a fourth-place run at Daytona. He is 57 points ahead of 12th-place Carl Edwards with eight races remaining before the championship Chase begins in September at New Hampshire.
"We're getting a little bit more lucky than I would like," Earnhardt Jr. said. "You don't want to make the Chase on just pure luck, because you ran well. We've been running good."
Hendrick driver Mark Martin is now outside the top-12. Martin has finished 14th or worse in the last five races, and dropped from 10th to 13th in the rankings since then. He trails Edwards by 39 points.
Martin won last year's race at Chicagoland. He led a track-record 195 laps, but had to hold off Gordon after the final restart with just two laps to go for his fourth win of the 2009 season.
One year ago, Martin trailed then 12th-place Kasey Kahne by 65 points. Martin made it into the Chase, and by virtue of his series-leading five wins, was awarded the top-seed. He finished the season second to champion Jimmie Johnson in points.
Johnson, currently third in points (-225), is tied with Denny Hamlin for most wins so far this year with five each.
This season, Johnson has checked off Bristol (March) and Sonoma, CA (June) from his list of tracks where he had yet to win. Could Chicagoland be the next one taken off the list. He sure would love to do it, particularly for crew chief Chad Knaus, who hails from nearby Rockford, IL.
"Chad has asked me since I won in California for my first race if we could win his home state so he could experience that," said Johnson, a native of El Cajon, CA. "We have been very close. I gave one up to Kyle [Busch] on a late restart a couple of years ago. Last year, we led a ton of laps, but it just didn't close at the end. Things get away from us. I feel like we've got a good chance there, and certainly hope to. It's nice to cross off these tracks that I haven't won at."
Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for the LifeLock.com 400.
<< This Week in Auto Racing July 9 - 11
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a busy weekend of racing, as the NASCAR
Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series run under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Camping World Truck Series returns to action at Iowa Speedway, and Formula
One rev
<< Blazers sign Babbitt
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward
Luke Babbitt, the 16th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft.
Babbitt was selected by Minnesota, but was then traded on draft night, along
with forward Ryan Gom
<< Brewers P Gallardo put on DL, will miss All-Star Game
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani
Gallardo was put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday due to a strained left
rib cage muscle.
Gallardo suffered the injury during the third inning of Sunday's
<< Nashville officially brings in Kostitsyn
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators officially locked
up restricted free-agent forward Sergei Kostitsyn on Tuesday.
The deal is worth $550,000 for the upcoming season.
Nashville acquired the embattled Kostitsyn
Truck begin nine-week stretch at Iowa >>
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date:
Sunday, July 11. Race: Lucas Oil 200. Site: Iowa Speedway. Track: .875-mile
oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 175. 2009 winner: Mike
Skinner. Television:
Youkilis leaves game >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin
Youkilis left Tuesday's game with an undisclosed foot or leg injury.
Youkilis was removed from play prior to his at-bat in the fourth inning after
he apparently hurt th
Cano among initial six chosen for HR Derby >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano
was among six players chosen initially for this year's All-Star Home Run
Derby, to be held next Monday in Anaheim.
Other players to commit from the Ameri
Rangers-Indians game delayed after fan falls from upper deck >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's Indians-Rangers game was stopped
for about 15 minutes during the bottom of the fifth inning after a fan fell
from the upper deck while reaching for a foul ball.
The fan fell down to the grandstand l
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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