08/23/2008 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite having to use their backup cars after their primary ones were damaged in transporter fire earlier this week, Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe managed to capture the front starting row for Sunday's Grand Prix of Sonoma County at the Infineon Raceway. Castroneves won the pole after turning in a quick lap at the 1.99-mile, 11- turn road course in 1 minute, 16.9027 seconds (107.809 m.p.h.) during the third and final qualifying session.
It was Castroneves' third IndyCar Series pole of the season and the 26th of his career.
"I got to thank Team Penske," Castroneves said. "What a great rebound, showing they can put those issues behind and keep working as fast as they can. Attitude and speed, that is what makes the team what it is."
Briscoe secured the second starting position with a time of 1:16.9185 seconds
Castroneves' and Briscoe's primary cars sustained water, smoke and heat damage Wednesday morning when a Team Penske transporter caught fire while en route to Sonoma, CA.
Will Power (1:17.0875) and Tony Kanaan (1:17.1286) will start in row two.
Scott Dixon and Oriol Servia were the other drivers running in the final session. They will start fifth and sixth, respectively.
The 12 quickest drivers, the top-six from each of the first two qualifying groups, then competed for 15 minutes to eliminate six drivers for the final segment.
With three races remaining this season, Dixon could all but wrap up his second series title with a record-breaking seventh victory of the year at Sonoma. Earlier this month at Kentucky, Dixon tied the series record for most wins in a season, set by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dan Wheldon in 2005.
Castroneves ran out of fuel on the last lap as Dixon passed him heading into the final turn at Kentucky. Dixon now holds a commanding 78-point lead over Castroneves, who has yet to win a race in 2008. He has finished in the runner- up spot seven times this year.
Dixon held off Castroneves in the final laps of last year's race to record his third-straight road-course victory and his fourth win of the season. He also grabbed the lead in the championship standings, leaving Sonoma with a four-point advantage over Dario Franchitti. Franchitti went on to defeat Dixon for the title in the season-finale at Chicagoland.
The green flag is scheduled to drop on Sunday around 5:30 p.m. (et).
<< Colonel John claims Travers in photo-finish
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John
survived a stretch long duel with Mambo in Seattle to win Saturday's $1
million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, The "Mid-Summer Derby"
attract
<< Royals' Gordon goes to DL
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Royals third baseman Alex
Gordon was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a torn muscle in
his right leg.
Gordon left Thursday's 10-3 loss against the Cleveland Indians
<< Rangers recall pitcher McCarthy from minors
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers recalled pitcher Brandon
McCarthy from Triple-A Oklahoma in time to start Saturday's game against the
Cleveland Indians.
The 25-year old McCarthy will make his season debut as he spe
<< Streelman leads Barclays as Stricker collapses
Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Streelman carded a three-under 68
Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of The Barclays, the first
FedEx Cup Playoff event.
Streelman completed three rounds at eight-under-par 205.
Lee versus Kittleson in U.S. Amateur final >>
Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Lee and Drew Kittleson will meet in
Sunday's 36-hole U.S. Amateur Championship final after both advanced in
Saturday's semifinals.
Lee, 18, who can become the youngest U.S. Amateur champion
Coe two clear in Ontario >>
Mississauga, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Coe fired his second straight five-
under 65 Saturday to grab a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Jane
Rogers Championship of Mississauga.
Coe completed 54 holes at 13-under-par 197. Th
Lions take advantage of injury-depleted Browns >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Orlovsky hit on 13-of-20 passes for 167
yards, with a touchdown and an interception, while Jon Kitna was 9-of-11
passing for 98 yards to help lead the Detroit Lions in a rout of the injury-
laden C
Texans WR Williams to have surgery >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Harry Williams
will undergo surgery Sunday to repair a fractured vertebra sustained in
Friday's preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The procedure will be performe
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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