Almirola tops Edwards for Phoenix Nationwide pole

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/12/2011 - Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aric Almirola claimed the pole for Saturday's Wypall 200 Nationwide Series race after beating Carl Edwards by the slimmest of margins in qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway.

Almirola, who was the second-to-last driver to make a qualifying run in the 47-car field, turned a lap at 132.910 mph around the newly paved and reconfigured one-mile track. He edged Edwards by only 0.001 seconds for his fifth career Nationwide pole but his first since July 2007 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

Edwards has the most Nationwide race wins at Phoenix, including a victory one year ago.

Trevor Bayne, Edwards' teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, qualified third. Bayne won his first race in the series last Saturday at Texas.

Clint Bowyer took the fourth spot, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Elliott Sadler.

Justin Allgaier, Ryan Truex, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski completed the top-10.

Points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified 11th. Stenhouse holds a 17-point lead over Sadler heading into the penultimate race of the season. They are the only two drivers who remain in championship contention.

Jennifer Jo Cobb, Carl Long, Josh Wise and Daryl Harr failed to qualify.

The 200-mile race at Phoenix is scheduled to start just after at 3:30 p.m. (et).

Mlige Autoracing Betting News

<< Tottenham's Van der Vaart injures hamstring
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart injured his hamstring playing for the Netherlands on Friday, and will miss his country's friendly against Germany on Tuesday. Van der Vaart limped off in the 66t

<< Ducks' Visnovsky out with broken finger
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky is expected to miss four weeks of action with a broken finger on his right hand. Visnovsky suffered the injury during Friday's 4-3 victory over the Canucks. No surge

<< Panthers QB Newton has sore shoulder, is probable
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers added quarterback Cam Newton to their injury report Saturday, but listed him as probable for Sunday's game against Tennessee with a sore throwing shoulder. Newton was not liste

<< Blue Hose battle Blue Devils, as Coack K eyes milestone
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Krzyzewski sets his sights on Bob Knight, as the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils welcome the Presbyterian Blue Hose to Durham for non-conference action at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It is a quick turnaround for

<< Giants add Manningham to injury report
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have added wide receiver Mario Manningham to the injury report for Sunday's game against the 49ers. Manningham is listed as questionable with a knee injury. He practiced in fu

Federer to meet Tsonga in Paris final >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 great Roger Federer and sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France won their respective semifinal matches Saturday at the $3.06 million Paris Masters. The third-seeded Federer hand

Wisconsin routs Kennesaw State >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Gasser and Ben Brust each had 14 points as No. 15 Wisconsin rolled to an 85-31 win over Kennesaw State. Ryan Evans added 13 points and six rebounds while Jordan Taylor had 11 points and seven assists for

Weeden throws 5 TD passses as Cowboys roll over Red Raiders >>
Lubbock, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Weeden completed 31-of-37 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns, as the second-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys stayed perfect with a 66-6 rout of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Joseph Randle carri

Mired in scandal, Penn State falls to Nebraska >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the midst of everything, a game. What began Saturday with dozens of players from both teams kneeling in silent prayer at midfield, ended with Penn State losing on a luminous afternoon that was sun

Clemson secures ACC's Atlantic Division title on late FG >>
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chandler Catanzaro missed a field goal with 1:18 remaining, but redeemed himself by making the game-winning field goal as time expired to give the ninth-ranked Clemson Tigers a 31-28 victory over the Wake Fo

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


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.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.