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08/17/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Going out last, Jeff Gordon captured the pole for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports driver circled the high-speed, two-mile oval in 38.090 seconds (189.026 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Gordon's series-leading sixth of the season, fifth at MIS and 62nd of his Nextel Cup career.
"Welcome back Steve Letarte," said Gordon of his crew chief, who returns from a six-race suspension. "We have good chemistry and that late draw really played out for us. I knew it was a good lap, I didn't know if it was enough for the pole,"
Starting on the front row with Gordon will be Greg Biffle, who held the top spot for about 60 seconds. Biffle went out next-to-last and posted a time of 38.159 seconds.
Kasey Kahne (38.193), who held the provisional pole for most of the session will start third and Bobby Labonte (38.271) will start from fourth place.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Carl Edwards (13th), Jeff Burton (19th) and Tony Stewart (35th).
Just four races remain until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Following an eventful Sunday in upstate New York, the picture is becoming clearer as to who is a contender and who is just a pretender.
The race for the final position in the "Chase" appears to be coming down to Kurt Busch, his Penske teammate Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle.
One thing is for sure, Busch, starting 15th, is a championship contender. The No.2 Miller Lite Penske Racing Dodge driver has been on fire since the Pepsi 400 in early July. In his last five starts, Busch has one win (Pocono), three top-10s and finished no lower than 11th.
Newman, starting 34th on Sunday, has been just outside the "Chase" all season and unfortunately appears on a course to stay there. Just two top-10s in the last five races and a accident that left him 42nd at Indianapolis has left him with only a slim chance at making NASCAR's "playoffs."
Earnhardt Jr. (starting 39th) is 100 points out of the playoffs and has finished 34th or worse in three of the last five events. Not exactly the way to make a move up the charts. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd after an engine failure, his team's second in the last three events.
Biffle is 15th in the standings, but 212 points out of the "Chase." It's a tall order for Biffle to jump over three drivers and that many points. The team has been solid of late, but not extraordinary, which is what will be needed over the next month if the No.16 Roush Fenway Ford team is to make the leap into the "Chase."
Follow the race and the "race-within-the-race" when the green flag drops on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).
<< Federer sneaks into Cincy semis
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer needed all three
sets to win his quarterfinal match Friday at the $2.45 million Western &
Southern Financial Group Masters -- the seventh of nine ATP Masters Series
events this seaso
<< Klose goes for milestone against former club
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All eyes will be on Miroslav Klose on
Saturday as the former Werder Bremen striker returns home as a member of
Bayern Munich in search of his 100th Bundesliga goal.
Klose joined Bayern from W
<< RSL tries to start winning streak against Chicago
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake will be looking to put
together its first winning streak in almost a year Saturday night when it
hosts Chicago at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Both teams are currently out of the playo
<< Toronto hopes to stop six-game slide
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC will be trying to win its first
game since July 4, when it welcomes Chivas USA to BMO Field on Saturday
afternoon.
Mo Johnston's club has not won in six straight outings, and has not sco
Red Sox pound Lackey in game one of day-night doubleheader >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz blasted a two-run homer as part of a
six-run first inning, and the Boston Red Sox made Clay Buchholz a winner in
his major league debut with an 8-4 victory over the LA Angels of Anaheim in
the fro
Blue Jackets' Svitov inks deal with Russian Super League >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus forward Alexander Svitov, who
signed a two-year contract with the Blue Jackets on July 2, has also inked a
deal with the Russian Super League and intends to play there in 2007-08.
The 24-yea
BoSox place Mirabelli on 15-day DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed catcher Doug
Mirabelli on the 15-day disabled list Friday after the veteran left the team's
opener of a day-night doubleheader against the LA Angels of Anaheim with a
straine
Orioles' Ray has Tommy John surgery >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles closer Chris Ray underwent
Tommy John surgery Thursday, a procedure that will sideline him for this and
possibly the entire 2008 season.
Ray was placed on the disabled list on July 2
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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