Earnhardt Jr.'s 1st year with Hendrick ends on "disappointing" note

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/24/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even though Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made the field for the 2008 "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship, his first year with Hendrick Motorsports did not live up to expectations.

After spending his first eight full years of NASCAR Cup competition at Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt, Jr. left the team his father started in 1996 to join the mighty organization of Hendrick as driver of the No.88 Chevrolet at the start of this season.

With a new team, car number and sponsors, the "Junior Nation" was revitalized.

Earnhardt, Jr.'s new ride also sparked a lot of hype in the pre-season.

In January, three-time Cup champion and Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip predicted Earnhardt, Jr. would win six races, including the Daytona 500. Earnhardt, Jr.'s crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr., said he would be disappointed if his team didn't win at least four races this year.

Earnhardt, Jr. began the year by winning the Budweiser Shootout (pre-season, non-points race) at Daytona International Speedway and then a victory in the first Gatorade Duel at Daytona, giving him the third starting spot in the Daytona 500. He finished ninth in that race.

In June, Earnhardt, Jr. snapped a 71-race winless streak at Michigan, but it turned out to be his only points-paying victory of the year.

Two months later, he started the Chase in the fourth seed after recording 13 top-10 finishes during the 26-race "regular season."

While a consistent number of solid finishes put Earnhardt, Jr. into this year's Chase, a string of bad luck in the final 10 races led to a 12th-place finish in points.

"I'm disappointed," team owner Rick Hendrick said last week at a media luncheon at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I felt we were so good early on, and we just had tremendous little gremlins bite us from tire problems to things you just can't control."

"I think when we look back on the year and we look back at what he's accomplished, how he's fit into our organization and how happy he and Tony (Eury Jr.) are, we're going to make it better for next year."

Earnhardt, Jr., voted NASCAR's "Most Popular Driver" the past five years, will not attend next week's awards banquet in New York City as only the top-10 finishers in the Chase are honored.

"I was super excited about the way the season was going to start," Earnhardt, Jr. said. "I couldn't wait to get to work earlier this year. It was a long year, and we worked really hard. It went good at sometimes, and it went poorly other times. For the most part, I was real proud of just getting the season in the bank and getting done and looking forward to next year. I am really happy to be with Rick (Hendrick) and working with the guys I am working with."

Earnhardt, Jr. enjoyed his best Cup season with DEI in 2004 when he won six races, including the Daytona 500, and finished fifth in points.

While Earnhardt, Jr.'s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, aims for a record fourth- straight series championship, Mark Martin joins the Hendrick stables, replacing Casey Mears in the No.5 car.

With the addition of Martin, Hendrick has created a mega team with any one of his four drivers a strong possibility to win next year's title. But Hendrick thinks Martin's presence will help improve his organization. How that will effect Earnhardt, Jr. remains to be seen.

Though expectations might have been in his first year with Hendrick, Earnhardt, Jr. hopes next year he can return to his winning ways and finally capture his first Cup championship, joining his legendary father who won a record-tying seven titles.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

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Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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