Martin comes up big both on track and off

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Martin won the 2007 Daytona 500. Sure, he didn't get the trophy, the huge check or drenched by champagne in Victory Lane, but that doesn't change the fact that he won the race.

In typical NASCAR fashion, the rules were not applied consistently and this time it cost Martin the biggest prize of his career.

To set the scene we must turn back the clock to Sunday - lap 202 of the Daytona 500. Martin has held off the field and is just a short distance from his first Daytona 500 win in 23 attempts. Harvick is flying on the outside with help from Matt Kenseth and is close to catching Martin. Through turn three they go and Kyle Busch gets too low on the track, the rear wheels break loose and he slids up into Kenseth. All hell breaks loose behind the two leaders.

Had it been any other lap in the race, the caution flag would have come out immediately.

But NASCAR is gun-shy to throw the caution flag on the final lap of a race ever since Gordon was declared the winner over Dale Earnhardt Jr, at Talladega in the summer of 2004. The fans almost started a riot after the race, throwing bottles and cans at Gordon as he tried to take his victory lap.

So they let Martin and Harvick decide it on the track. They held the flag behind their back while Clint Bowyer was sliding upside down with flames leaping from the engine.

Harvick edged Martin by 0.020 seconds - about three feet.

"I have no idea what happened behind me," Martin said after the race. "From what my spotter said, I was ahead when they started wrecking."

About two hours after the race had ended, NASCAR changed the ruling saying: "When the No.07 car (Bowyer) went sideways - the No.29 (Harvick) was ahead of the No.01 (Martin) and was declared the winner."

Ten minutes later they reversed that statement by saying the race "ended under the green flag."

Still, Martin is a "gentlemen racer" and he didn't complain about the decision and what might have been. He said in the post-race press conference that he "thought NASCAR made the right decision." Martin is the kind of guy who wants to win the Daytona 500 fair and square. He didn't want to win the Daytona 500 by caution flag, he wanted to be the first driver to the checkered flag.

You may not respect NASCAR for its decision but you MUST respect the driver.

Wwwherald Autoracing Betting News

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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