Football Betting

Crafton tops in truck qualifying at Martinsville

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/29/2011 - Martinsville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Crafton will start on the pole for Saturday's Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race after setting a new track qualifying record at Martinsville Speedway.

Crafton turned a lap at 96.352 mph for his second pole of the season and the sixth of his truck career. Jack Sprague previously held the track record at 96.327 mph, set in 2008.

Ron Hornaday Jr.'s lap at 96.224 mph earned him the outside pole. Hornaday is the defending race winner.

Denny Hamlin, driving Kyle Busch Motorsports' No.18 truck, qualified third, while Johnny Sauter and James Buescher rounded out the top-five.

Kevin Harvick, Todd Bodine, Justin Lofton, Timothy Peters and Austin Dillon, the current points leader, qualified sixth through 10th, respectively.

With three races to go, Dillon holds just a three-point advantage over Buescher. Sauter trails Dillon by 14 points, while Hornaday is 16 markers out of the lead.

Jennifer Jo Cobb and Charlie Vest failed to qualify.

The 200-lap race at Martinsville is scheduled to start just after 2:00 p.m. (et).


<< Cowboys waive RB Choice
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys waived running back Tashard Choice on Saturday, more than 24 hours prior to a key NFC East contest in Philadelphia on Sunday night. The 26-year-old has been bothered by shoulder

<< Kvitova, Azarenka to meet in Championships final
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka will meet in the final at the season-ending $4.55 million WTA Championships. Kvitova battled back from a set d

<< Martinsville qualifying washed out, Edwards on pole
Martinsville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Persistent rain at Martinsville Speedway forced NASCAR to cancel Saturday's qualifying session and therefore set the starting field for the Tums Fast Relief 500 -- the seventh race in the Chase for the

<< Rangers holds off Aberdeen to remain unbeaten
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goals from Kyle Lafferty and Nikica Jelavic handed Rangers another win in league play on Saturday as the club held off Aberdeen for a 2-1 win at Pittodrie Stadium. Lafferty put Rangers on the boa

<< Mets name Tom Goodwin first base coach
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets named Tom Goodwin their first base coach Saturday. The 43-year-old Goodwin spent the past four seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization. Goodwin played 14 seasons in the big

Donald to miss HSBC Champions >>
Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Luke Donald announced on Saturday that he will skip next week's WGC-HSBC Champions to be with his wife for the birth of the couple's second child. Donald won the PGA Tour money title

Van Persie fires Arsenal past Chelsea >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A hat trick from Robin van Persie inspired Arsenal to a 5-3 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, handing the Blues a second successive defeat. Chelsea dropped a 1-0 contest at QPR last week

Gomez leads Bayern to 4-0 win over Nurnberg >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mario Gomez scored twice to remain atop the Bundesliga scoring chart, and Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-0 win over Nurnberg on Saturday at the Allianz Arena. Gomez scored in the 2nd and 69th minutes to inc

Toussaint leads Michigan over Purdue >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fitzgerald Toussaint carried the ball 20 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns, as the 17th-ranked Michigan Wolverines cruised past the Purdue Boilermakers, 36-14. Denard Robinson completed 9-of-14 pass

Kings activate Doughty from IR >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings activated defenseman Drew Doughty from injured reserve on Saturday. Doughty suffered an upper-body injury during a 3-2 overtime win at Philadelphia on October 1

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

MySportsbook is a large, publicly traded company with strong financial backing. You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.