Time to take the danger zone out of Pocono

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/02/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Track officials at Pocono Raceway might have breathed a sigh of relief after Elliott Sadler walked away from one of the most vicious accidents in NASCAR history, but it's now evident that safety improvements must be made at the track to avoid a potentially fatal incident.

With 36 laps remaining in Sunday's 500-mile race at Pocono, Jimmie Johnson tapped Kurt Busch from behind. Busch hit the outside wall, slid down the track and then spun on the wet, grassy area along the backstretch before plowing into the inside guardrail. It had rained at Pocono prior to the start of the race.

Sadler, who won the inaugural Truck Series race at Pocono on Saturday, got caught up in the accident when he was hit from behind, as he was slowing down to avoid hitting Busch. Sadler slammed head-on into the guardrail after sliding on the grass at a high speed.

The impact was so severe that it stripped the engine and driveshaft from Sadler's car onto the grass and track surface. Sadler gingerly climbed out of his car and then laid down next to it, as track and medical officials quickly attended to him. Both Busch and Sadler were later released from the track's infield care center.

"Somebody just ran into the back of me and turned me inside through the wet grass into the guardrail, so I was along for the ride," Sadler said. "It was a very hard hit. I'm a little sore through my chest and my stomach, but that's from where the seatbelts did their job and grabbed me and kept me in the car, so I'm thankful for that."

Thank NASCAR for Sadler leaving the accident unscathed.

Since Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR continuously has improved the safety of the sport. The current car (car of tomorrow), the Head and Neck Support (HANS) device and the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier, also known as the "soft wall," have all reduced the potential for serious injuries during a crash.

What has been an issue for Pocono is that the 2.5-mile triangular track does not have SAFER barriers installed along the inside area of the backstretch, where many horrifying accidents have occurred in the past.

When the Sprint Cup Series competed at Pocono in June, a nine-car pileup occurred on the final lap when A.J. Allmendinger shoved his teammate, Kasey Kahne, down the track and into the grass. Kahne's car got airborne after he shot up the track and then slammed hard into the wall.

In July 2002, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Park crashed spectacularly on the backstretch. Park's car did several barrel rolls on the grass before smashing into the guardrail. NASCAR stopped the race for more than one hour, as track officials repaired the barrier.

Following Kahne's crash at Pocono, some drivers, particularly Greg Biffle, have criticized the track for its lack of efforts to improve safety.

Biffle ended a 46-race winless streak and gave Ford its first victory of the season at Pocono.

"It's dangerous to have grass next to where you're running 200 miles an hour; that's all there is to it," Biffle said during his post-race news conference. "Talladega and Daytona had that same issue, and they added pavement, like a skid pad, whatever you want to call it, so when the car gets out of control, gets going that direction, you still have some control.

"Once you hit the grass, especially with it wet or dry, it's going to make it a little different. If you hit the grass wet, you're along for the ride. It feels like you pick up speed actually when you get into the wet grass."

Biffle was very outspoken against Pocono during a Sports Illustrated interview last month. He told the magazine, "They're going to kill somebody there."

In response to recent criticisms, Pocono track president Brandon Igdalsky, who is the grandson of track owners Joseph and Rose Mattioli, confirmed the facility will undergo modifications to improve safety, including the installation of SAFER barriers where needed, in time for the series' next race there, which is expected to be in June 2011. NASCAR anticipates releasing its schedule for next year in the coming days.

Pocono immediately planned on making changes to the track following Kahne's incident two months ago. However, Igdalsky noted that it was not possible to complete all modifications in time for Pocono's second date this season.

"Talking with the guys at the racetrack this [past weekend], they obviously have a great plan as to fixing the walls and upgrading the catch fences and all those things," current Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick said. "With seven weeks in between the races, it was hard to put that plan into place in between these two races. It's a huge undertaking for the racetrack to spend the amount of money that they're going to spend with the upgrades they're going to have, and I'm glad to see that they have a plan to do that."

Let's hope Pocono indeed improves their safety initiatives, so we don't have an unforeseeable tragedy.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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