Briscoe takes Watkins Glen pole for second straight year

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Briscoe won the pole at Watkins Glen International for the second year in a row after dominating Saturday's qualifying for the Camping World GP at the Glen.

Briscoe posted a new track record lap time of one minute, 28.5970 (136.935 m.p.h.) in the third and final round of qualifying. He finished 0.7 seconds quicker than Justin Wilson for his second pole of the season and the sixth of his IndyCar Series career. Briscoe shattered Helio Castroneves' 2007 track qualifying record by more than one second.

"I haven't had this much fun around a road course in a long time," Briscoe said. "We had a great car today, and hopefully we can break the Penske tradition and get a win here."

Team Penske has won the pole for the first five races at Watkins Glen, with Castroneves taking the top starting spot in the first three races here from 2005-07. But Penske has yet to win a race at the 3.4-mile road course.

Wilson from Dale Coyne Racing secured the outside pole for the second consecutive time at Watkins Glen after turning a lap at 1:29.3106 (135.841 m.p.h.).

"I don't know if we had enough for Ryan, he was obviously doing a great job today," Wilson said. "I would like to think we could have gotten there, especially since he was on used tires and we got by on a new set."

Scott Dixon, a three-time Watkins Glen winner, and Mario Moraes will start on row two, while Graham Rahal and Dario Franchitti will share the third row.

Franchitti, the current points leader, crashed on the final turn during the opening minutes of the final round.

"I pushed too hard and went into the corner a little too quick and it bit me," Franchitti said.

Mike Conway, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan will start seventh through 10th, respectively.

Castroneves surprisingly failed to make it out of the first round and ended up with a 14th starting position.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the defending race winner, will start 16th.

Sunday's race is scheduled to start around 1:30 p.m. (et).

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.