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08/12/2007 - Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart watched as Jeff Gordon slid off the track with two laps to go and the No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on to capture Sunday's Centurion Boats at the Glen Nextel Cup race at the Watkins Glen International road course. The Home Depot Chevrolet took the checkered flag 2.460 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin.
The victory was Stewart's third of the season, fourth at Watkins Glen and 32nd of his "Cup" career.
"Jeff and I by far had the best two cars," said Stewart. "We kept the pressure on Jeff and hoped he made a mistake and that's what happened."
After pole qualifying was rained out, Gordon was awarded the pole based on owner points and he brought the field to the green flag for 90 laps of racing. But Matt Kenseth beat him to the first corner and came out of it in first. Down the back straight, Gordon got it back and he completed the first lap as the leader.
Gordon continued to show the way with Hamlin and Stewart second and third, respectively. Kenseth's Ford was way too loose and he fell back through the top-10. Moving up into the top-10 were Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch. Also charging forward was Juan Pablo Montoya who cracked the top-10 on lap eight.
Stewart got around Hamlin and took off after Gordon. Following a caution flag (David Ragan spin) Stewart easily beat Gordon into the first turn and the lead was his. The No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet quickly built the margin to two seconds.
Brian Vickers brought out the second caution flag on lap 24 and most of the leaders took advantage of the flag to make their first of two pit stops on the afternoon.
Seven cars had stopped earlier or were still waiting for their pit window and behind Jamie McMurray held the top seven spots. But Gordon and Stewart quickly knifed their way up the charts.
By lap 30 Gordon was third and Stewart fifth. A lap later they were second and third. They were both chasing Patrick Carpentier. Finally on lap 38 the Canadian pitted and it was Stewart, who got by Gordon, in control.
This time Stewart didn't run away and hide from Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. who was in third place. They could stay with Stewart, but was the No.20 Chevrolet just pacing himself for the end?
Inexplicably, Stewart made a mistake and spun on lap 45 in turn one, falling from first to 19th place. That gave the lead to Gordon once again. Gordon built his lead to one second on "Junior" and three seconds on Jimmie Johnson as the field passed the 50-lap mark.
Meanwhile, Stewart began the long trek back up the charts, trying to do it without abusing his Chevy for the final laps.
A caution flag on lap 52 (Reed Sorenson and Johnson spin) left 38 laps to the checkered flag.
Pit road was busy as Gordon led the parade down pit lane in which almost every car stopped. They would all take the gamble on fuel hoping to reach the end from there.
The four drivers who didn't stop, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne and Dave Blaney held the top positions.
Of those earlier leaders, Gordon edged Earnhardt Jr. and Hamlin off pit road. Looming big behind the leaders was Montoya.
Gordon was flying and by lap 60 only Mayfield was left in front of him. He passed Mayfield with ease, but Gordon couldn't relax. Behind him was Kurt Busch, "Junior" and Carl Edwards. Also in the top-10 were Montoya and "angry driver" by the name of Stewart.
By lap 63 Stewart was in seventh, just behind Montoya. Earnhardt Jr. came to the first turn on the same lap and suddenly slowed. He appeared to be coasting without power and the caution flag came out.
"It looks like the engine blew," said an unhappy crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
The result for Earnhardt Jr. was a 42nd-place finish and a disaster for his "Chase" hopes.
Kurt Busch took advantage of the Earnhardt problem and refueled to guarantee he could make it to the checkered flag. Smart "insurance" by a smart team.
Stewart made quick work of Montoya and was in fourth behind Gordon, Hamlin and Edwards. With 23 laps to go, Stewart made a spectacular pass, both on and off the course, of Edwards for third place.
But a caution flag when Kyle Petty blew his engine gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and set up the battle for the win.
The race restarted with 18 laps to go, but they couldn't get past the first turn before another caution flag. This one started when Truex Jr. got into the back of Montoya and sent him into the turn too fast hitting Harvick. The two got out of their cars and started pushing and yelling at each other.
Finally, Montoya got back in his car and drove away but only a few feet further and his day was essentially done. Others that suffered damage included Jeff Burton and Jamie McMurray.
The race was red-flagged for the multi-car cleanup and it gave everyone a chance to calm down for the final laps.
The restart came with 13 laps remaining. Somehow, despite one car spinning, they got through the first turn without a caution flag.
Gordon, Hamlin and Stewart were nose to tail. Stewart got side-by-side with Hamlin in turn 10 and beat him the start/finish line for second place.
Still, Gordon had about an eight-length lead, but that wasn't enough with still 12 laps to go.
The action was furious, but with 10 laps to go, P.J. Jones spun into the gravel trap and the yellow flew once again. He appeared to have help from Kurt Busch.
The green flag dropped with eight to go and Stewart was stuck on Gordon's rear bumper like glue.
Slowly, every so slowly, Gordon pulled away from Stewart. With five laps to go he held 0.523 seconds (four lengths). A lap later in was 0.590 seconds.
Then Gordon went too deep into turn one on lap 89 and the race was between Stewart and Edwards for the win.
"I just overdrove it into (turn) one, pretty much the same thing that happened to Tony," said Gordon on his way back to the garage. "We're right on the edge in the braking zone getting into one...just stupid. Tony was really good and I really wanted the win."
"I gave it away and got it back the same way I lost it," said Stewart.
On the final lap Edwards was about two lengths back going into turn 10 and went way too deep running through the gravel trap. Stewart cruised to the win and somehow Edwards still finished eighth.
Johnson, Ron Fellows and Robby Gordon completed the top-five while points leader Jeff Gordon finished ninth.
The next race is the series is set for Sunday, August 19th at the Michigan International Speedway.
<< Millar strikes against former team, O's top Red Sox in extras
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Millar crushed a game-winning, three-
run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Baltimore Orioles over
the Boston Red Sox, 6-3, in the finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Corey
<< Gorzelanny blanks Giants as Pirates complete sweep
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny allowed five hits to post
his first career shutout, Josh Phelps tied a career-high with four RBI, and
the Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco
Giants
<< Astros salvage game with Brewers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Biggio, Ty Wigginton and Lance Berkman
all homered as Houston downed Milwaukee, 6-4, in the finale of a three-game
set at Minute Maid Park.
Eric Bruntlett added a big two-run single for the Astros,
<< U.S. women roll to win over New Zealand
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd each scored twice
as the United States Women's National Team rolled to a 6-1 victory over New
Zealand in a friendly on Sunday.
Kristine Lilly and Lindsay Tarpley also scored for
Leon wins another Futures Tour title >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taylor Leon closed with a three-under 69 on
Sunday to win the Betty Puskar Golf Classic, her second Duramed Futures Tour
title in four events.
Leon ended at 13-under 203 for a three-shot win over Vik
Japan to play Canada, Brazil in exhibitions >>
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan will play fellow World Cup qualifiers
Canada and Brazil in exhibitions prior to next month's tournament.
Japan, which is in Group A with Argentina, England and Germany, plays Canada
on Aug. 30 and B
Mets salvage series finale versus Marlins >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Moises Alou belted two home runs, including a
solo shot that put New York in front in the sixth, as the Mets held on for a
10-4 victory over Florida in the finale of a three-game set at Shea Stadium.
Jose
Woods wins 13th major at PGA Championship >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods collected his first major of the
year and 13th overall Sunday when he won the PGA Championship at Southern
Hills.
Woods shot a final-round, one-under 69 to finish the tournament at eight-
under-par 2
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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