11/10/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the second-to-last race in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" reaching its climactic point and Jimmie Johnson on the verge of clinching his record-tying third consecutive series championship, viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones were stunned to see the remaining 34 laps of Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway switched from ABC to ESPN2.
ABC made the decision to continue its coverage of the race on their sister network in order to air an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7:30 p.m. (et). The race remained on ABC in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
"After two red flags, rain in Phoenix and 4 1/2 hours on ABC, we were still 34 minutes from the end of the telecast as it turned out," ESPN spokesman George McNeilly said in a statement. "We told fans in the East and Central from the second red flag on that the race was moving to ESPN2. ABC's entertainment viewers and NASCAR fans were both well served in a tough spot, and we are fortunate to have ESPN2 among our networks to serve the fans."
Though Johnson dominated at Phoenix, leading 217 of 313 laps, the race concluded with Kurt Busch making a last ditch effort to catch Johnson in a green-white-checkered finish and Carl Edwards rallying for a fourth-place finish to barely remain alive in the championship hunt.
For ABC to pull the plug on the race in half of the country to show funny home videos was not only a joke, but also a disgrace to NASCAR and its fans.
And some in the sport would agree with that.
"It seems a little odd to me as big as NASCAR is and as many people watch the sport, I can't imagine being a race fan and being on the East Coast and trying to watch this and then going to that," driver Jamie McMurray said after his third-place finish at Phoenix. "I mean, maybe if the President was going to talk, maybe if something big had happened, but I can't believe that 'America's Funniest Home Videos' would take priority over us."
Even Johnson echoed a similar sentiment.
"Well, I thought it went dark and nobody could watch it," he said. "So the fact that it was on another television channel was, I mean, it's better. It's still somewhat on a prime channel of course on ABC, but to go to 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' that one hurts, no doubt. I thought we have a lot of characters. Why do we need that show?"
Sure NASCAR is different from your usual stick-and-ball sport, but what sense does it make to switch a race from one network to another when the event is still ongoing.
CBS and FOX do not interrupt their coverage of football for their regularly scheduled prime-time programming on Sundays.
The start time for next Sunday's season-finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (et). Let's just hope there are no weather issues in South Florida, so ABC can air the race in its entirety and show the trophy presentation to the Cup championship.
With Johnson taking a 141-point lead into Homestead and needing to finish only 36th or better to clinch the title, it would be a shame if the network skips out on airing a historic moment for NASCAR to show videos of some kid falling off his bicycle or a cat getting tangled up in a ball of yarn.
<< Broncos place RB Torain on injured reserve
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos placed rookie running
back Ryan Torain on injured reserve Monday with a left knee injury.
Torain made his NFL debut in a Week 9 loss to the Dolphins and ran for 68
yards and a t
<< Richards wins MLS Player of the Week
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards
was voted Major League Soccer's Playoff Player of the Week, it was announced
on Monday.
Richards scored a goal and an assist as well as drawing a penalty kic
<< Around FCS: You've been eliminated
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teams battle all year to put themselves
into position for one of the 16 playoff berths in the NCAA Division I Football
Championships.
So when you get to November, losing can be a cruel fate.
Just ask Ma
<< This Week in Golf - November 13th through November 16th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LPGA TOUR - LORENA OCHOA INVITATIONAL,
Guadalajara Country Club, Guadalajara, Mexico - Normally, Lorena Ochoa's
boisterous hometown fans have to travel to see her play in person. This week,
she is
Phils re-sign veteran P Eyre >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies re-signed
veteran reliever Scott Eyre to a one-year, $2 million contract extension on
Monday.
The left-handed Eyre, 36, was acquired from the Chicago Cubs in exchange
Juan Encarnacion files for free agency >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Attempting to recover from a career-
threatening injury, Juan Encarnacion was the only player to file for free
agency Monday.
It is unknown if the former Cardinals outfielder will be able to
NFL Inactives (Monday, November 10, 2008) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for tonight's NFL game.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS, 8:30 P.M. (ET)
49ers - 3rd QB Jamie Martin, CB Reggie Smith, S Dashon Goldson, LB Ahmad
Broo
Royals sign P Duckworth to one-year deal >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals signed pitcher
Brandon Duckworth to a 2009 Major League contract on Monday and proceeded to
outright him to Triple-A Omaha.
The 32-year-old Duckworth made just seven big l
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting