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07/05/2010 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What a difference a year has made for Kevin Harvick.
One year ago, Harvick was far from making the championship Chase, as he sat 26th in points. Now, he's atop the standings with two wins so far this season under his belt, including an impressive victory in Saturday's 400-mile race at Daytona.
Harvick currently holds a 180-point lead over Jeff Gordon, and he's scored 13 top-10 finishes in 18 races this season.
How has he been able to turn things around? Give credit to team owner Richard Childress.
"Richard pulled the trigger on a lot of different things, whether it was reorganizing people or whether it was getting us the funds to build new cars," Harvick said. "He stepped out on a huge limb to spend the money to start over with basically four teams halfway through [last] year, and it's paying off now for us."
Signs of a turnaround for Harvick's team, as well as the teams of Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer at Richard Childress Racing, began to materialize at the tail end of the 2009 season. And the momentum hasn't lost its steam.
Burton sits eighth in points, while Bowyer holds the 14th spot, just 49 points behind 12th-place Carl Edwards. With eight races remaining until the Chase, both drivers will scramble to qualify for the playoffs, which begin on September 19 at New Hampshire.
Barring any unforeseen incident, Harvick will make the Chase, but where he will be seeded depends on his number of wins during the 26-race regular season.
"That's all we have talked about for the last two or three weeks, what do we have to do to win more races before the Chase starts," he said.
Whatever it will take for them to win, Harvick and crew chief Gil Martin said they're willing to do it.
"Obviously we're in a fortunate position to be where we are right now in the points lead," Martin said. "As far as rolling the dice, we're going to try to do that as much as possible, because we need to get to victory lane as much as we can, because basically that's what Richard pays us to do.
"We've got to get there, but at the same token, we've got to get there smart and make sure that we're not only consistent but we have some speed. Luckily, we're going to be able to take some chances possibly that we haven't been able to take in the past."
The driver with the most wins after the September 11 race at Richmond will enter the Chase as the first seed. Each of the 12 drivers who make the playoffs -- the final 10 races of the season -- will have their point totals adjusted to 5,000, plus 10 bonus points tacked on for each one of his wins this season. Right now, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have the most victories this season with five each.
Harvick's victories this season have come at restrictor plate tracks. He snapped a 115-race winless streak in April at Talladega. This past weekend, Harvick survived a rash of accidents, including "the big one" that involved 19 drivers, and then held off Kasey Kahne and Gordon in a two-lap overtime finish to win at Daytona.
"Kevin is becoming one of these guys who wins the restrictor plate races," Childress said. "He's kind of like Dale [Earnhardt] Sr. You knew he was going to be a factor in it."
Harvick easily could have begun the 2010 season with wins in the first two races -- Daytona and California. He held the lead for the final restart in the Daytona 500, but eventual race winner Jamie McMurray got a bump from Greg Biffle to move in front with less than two laps to go. Then at California, Harvick lost a spirited battle with Johnson for the win after brushing the wall in the final laps.
In May, Harvick signed a multi-year contract extension with RCR. Harvick had considered leaving RCR after finishing a disappointing 19th in points in '09. His contract with RCR was set to expire at the end of this year, and he was considered the top free agent for next season.
Harvick has driven the No.29 car for RCR in Cup since replacing Dale Earnhardt after Earnhardt's fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.
With the contract distraction out of the way, Harvick and Childress are focused on winning the championship. But they'll have to figure a way to dethrone Johnson, who is the four-time defending series title-holder.
"To race with [Johnson's team] every week and to get to the level to where they've been, they're not looking for home runs every week, they're looking to refine their product every week," Harvick said. "I think that's what we've done a really good job throughout the whole company this year is we've taken a product, refined it, and by the time we get to the Chase, hopefully it will be."
Hamlin has been considered Johnson's biggest threat for the championship since the start of this year. But with the season now at its midpoint, it's time to add Harvick into the category of favorites to win the title.
<< Buchholz headed to the DL with hamstring strain
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz is
headed to the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left hamstring.
The move is retroactive to June 27, the day after he suffered the injury while
running th
<< Hamburg snaps up goalkeeper Drobny
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg have completed the signing of
goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny after his contract with Hertha Berlin expired.
The Czech Republic international joins the Nordbank Arena-based outfit on a
three-yea
<< Almeria clinches Jakobsen signing
Almeria, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Almeria have completed the signing of
Aalborg defender Michael Jakobsen on a long-term deal.
Jakobsen, a Denmark international, missed out on a call-up to this summer's
World Cup, but is ready to
<< Blue Jackets name Boughner assistant coach
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets named Bob Boughner
an assistant coach on Monday.
Boughner had spent the previous four seasons as president and head coach of
Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League where he compi
Martino finished as Paraguay manager >>
Asuncion, Paraguay (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerardo Martino said on Monday that he
is leaving his post as manager of Paraguay after his team lost 1-0 to Spain in
the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup on Saturday.
Martino announced that his
Saborio earns another MLS Player of the Week award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio was
voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 14 of the 2010 MLS
season on Monday.
Saborio tallied two goals in Salt Lake's 5-0 win over the
South Florida extends hoops coach Heath >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of South Florida has extended the
contract of men's basketball coach Stan Heath through the 2014-15 season.
Heath has guided the Bulls to a record of 41-51 in three seasons, which
included
Cubs recall P Berg, option Stevens >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs called up right-hander Justin
Berg from Triple-A Iowa and sent right-handed pitcher Jeff Stevens to the same
club on Monday.
Berg, 26, made the Cubs opening day roster out of spring training
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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