Another pole for Newman at PIR

Autoracing Betting Lines

04/10/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Newman captured the pole for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway. The No.12 Alltel Dodge circled the flat one-mile oval in 26.975 seconds (133.457 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Newman's first of the season, record fourth at PIR and 43rd of his Sprint Cup career. It's been an eventful week for the Penske driver who received a 25-point penalty earlier in the week after failing post- race inspection in Texas.

"It wasn't a perfect lap, but it was a very good lap," said Newman, the track qualifying record holder (26.499 seconds in 2004). "I want to thank everybody at Penske Racing."

Starting alongside Newman will be Elliott Sadler who posted a time of 26.984 seconds.

Row two will consist of Carl Edwards (26.991), who won last week's race and Mark Martin (26.993). They were the only drivers to break the 27-second barrier.

"I think we are going to be pretty competitive on Saturday night," said Edwards, who leaders the series with three wins.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Kasey Kahne (fifth), Kyle Busch (sixth), two-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Martin Truex Jr. (ninth), Jeff Gordon (11th), Tony Stewart (12th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (13th), Kevin Harvick (17th) and Matt Kenseth (27th).

Kyle Petty and John Andretti failed to qualify for the race.

If the Chase for the Sprint Cup started today, there would be some very big names left without a "ticket to the dance." NASCAR invites just 12 drivers to compete in the "Chase." Currently outside the top-12 are: Kenseth, Gordon and Kurt Busch - all former series champions. Others who would be left off the list include: Truex Jr., who made last year's Chase, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears.

Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup Champion, is the closest to qualifying for the "Chase," just 54 points behind both Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

Gordon, part of the Hendrick Motorsports team of drivers which dominated in 2007 winning 18 of 36 events, has been frustrated for much of the season trying to find the right setup.

"I can't remember the last time we struggled this bad," said the four-time series champion.

In 2008 a Kurt Busch sighting in the top-10 has been a rare event. After pushing Penske teammate Ryan Newman to the victory at Daytona in February, Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup Champion, has failed to earn a top-10.

But the good news for these guys and the rest of the drivers outside the top-12 is that there is plenty of time left to get it together and make the "Chase." There are still 19 races remaining before the Sprint Cup "regular" season ends in Richmond on September 6th.

Gordon is the defending champion both at PIR and the next race in Talladega.

The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (et).

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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