Power dominant at Sonoma, increases points lead

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/22/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One year after his serious crash at Infineon Raceway nearly ended his IZOD IndyCar Series career, Will Power put on a dominating performance to win the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at this 2.303-mile road course in Northern California.

Power started on the pole for a record eighth time this season and then led all but two of the 75 laps. The Team Penske driver only relinquished the lead when he pitted the second and final time under the green flag. Scott Dixon came in for his stop two laps after Power, but the Aussie easily flew by Dixon after he exited the pits.

A late-race caution for an incident involving E.J. Viso and Bertrand Baguette set up a six-lap sprint to the finish. Dixon made several attempts to overtake Power after the restart, but Power eventually pulled away and finished 0.74 seconds ahead Dixon for his fifth IndyCar win this season.

Last year, Power's season came to an abrupt end at Sonoma, where he sustained multiple injuries during a practice crash. He suffered two broken vertebrae and a concussion when his car hit the stalled car of Nelson Philippe, who spun exiting the blind, downhill corner.

"What a perfect weekend to come back here after a year ago lying in the hospital watching this same race," said Power, who became the sixth different winner in as many IndyCar races held at Sonoma.

All five of Power's wins this season have come on road/street courses. He now holds a 59 point lead over Dario Franchitti, who finished third. Franchitti started on the pole and won last year's race here.

Two weeks ago, Power's second-place finish at Mid-Ohio allowed him to claim the Mario Andretti Trophy for clinching the series' first-ever road/street course championship.

Sonoma was the ninth and final road/street race of the season. There are four oval events remaining, with the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway scheduled next Saturday night.

"I'm going for it; I want to win this championship," Power said. "I'm not sitting back, and I'm not going to be stupid, but I do want to win an oval [race] before the end of the year, and I want to win the overall championship."

After finishing second, Dixon is now 95 points behind Power.

"We put on the red [tires] and seemed to be a lot quicker, and we thought we had a go at Will," Dixon said. "I don't know whether he was saving them a little bit earlier on, and I was starting to catch him pretty quickly, but in turn, I think I was using mine up too much. I gave it all I could on the restarts, and I was trying to stick my nose in there anywhere I could, but eventually it didn't come off."

Power's Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Justin Wilson, Tony Kanaan, Ryan-Hunter Reay, Graham Rahal and rookie Alex Lloyd completed the top-10.

Dan Wheldon was involved in a wild crash on the opening lap. Wheldon got clipped by Baguette and slammed into the wall before his car rolled upside down along the wall and then skidded down the track. His car continued to spin around upside down before it came to rest.

"It's never a good day to be upside down, but obviously everybody at Dallara and the Indy Racing League has worked very hard on the safety aspects of it," Wheldon said.

He finished last in the 25-car field.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

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