Auto Club 400 Gambling Preview
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series crisscrosses the nation one more time with a return west this week to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for the running of the Auto Club 400.
David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series crisscrosses the nation one more time with a return west this week to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for the running of the Auto Club 400.
The men’s college basketball 2014 NCAA Tournament gets underway this Tuesday night with two of four play-in games that now comprise the First Round.
It is not called March Madness for nothing as 68 of the top men’s college basketball teams in the country begin their quest for a national title this Tuesday and Wednesday night starting with four play-in games in Round 1.
The last time the Mets qualified for the postseason was in 2006 when they went all the way to the NLCS after winning 97 games that season.
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for the first race this season at this track for the running of the Food City 500.
The glory days for this franchise that led to a World Series title in 2008 are becoming a fading memory after posting an 81-81 mark in 2012 and ending last season’s campaign with a losing record of 73-89.
Two years ago Miami moved into their new digs at Marlin Park with Ozzie Guillen at the helm as manager and a renewed hope of making a much anticipated return to the postseason.
Things quickly became unglued with that entire situation, so when you fast forward to the start of this season, you have Mike Redmond in his second season as manager, leading a team that went 62-100 last year, which was the worst record in the National League.
It has not been a revolving door in Miami this past offseason but a few prominent faces have come and gone.
There will be whole new look in the infield with Garrett Jones penciled-in at first, Rafael Furcal taking over second base and Casey McGehee manning third base.
Jarrod Saltalamacchi was also added to handle the catching duties. Gone are Ryan Webb, Chad Qualls, Logan Morrison and Justin Ruggiano.
Projected Starting Lineup
Rafael Furcal (2B)
Christian Yelich (LF)
Giancarlo Stanton (RF)
Garrett Jones (1B)
Marcell Ozuna (CF)
Jarrod Saltalamacchi (C)
Casey McGehee (3B)
Adeiny Hechavarria (SS)
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This lineup probably will not strike all that much fear in the heart of too many starting pitchers this season, but it has nowhere to go but up after the Marlins finished last season ranked 30th in runs, batting average and slugging percentage.
Jose Fernandez
Nathan Eovaldi
Henderson Alvarez
Jacob Turner
Fernandez leads the rotation after earning NL Rookie of the Year honors and finishing second in the Cy Young voting with a 12-6 record and 2.19 ERA. Eovaldi and Alvarez are coming off an injury-plagued campaign in 2013 so there are still some remaining question marks with both of these starters.
Turner is listed as the fourth starter, but that is still subject to change following a less than stellar performance last season. The fifth spot in the rotation remains up for grabs heading into opening day.
The Marlins’ bullpen took a hit with the loss of Webb and Qualls, but it still has a few quality arms in Mike Dunn and AJ Ramos. Closer Steve Cishek is back after finishing last season with 29 consecutive saves, which is currently the longest active streak in the Majors.
A lot would have to go right for Miami to stay in this division race much past the month of June, but it will not take all that much in terms of injuries and/or poor performance to send it spiraling towards another last place finish in the NL East.
The best case scenario would be a 70+ win season, but I would not be too quick to jump on the OVER for the Marlins’ projected win total of 69.5 games.
NASCAR’s third point race of the new Sprint Cup racing season takes us to the gambling capital of the world for the running of this Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is set to get underway at 3:15 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series heads out west for the second point race of the season to for the running of the Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Speedway.
NASCAR Sprint Cup- Profit on CNBC 500 Preview and Prediction
Race: Profit on CNBC 500, Phoenix International Speedway
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014
Time: 3:15 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: FOX
Odds By Bovada
The race is set to get underway at 3:15 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
Crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally ended a streak of near misses at Daytona with a thrilling victory in last Sunday’s soggy Daytona 500 to get the new season off to a strong start.
Denny Hamlin raced is way to second and 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski finished third.
The following is a look at my top favorite, contender and longshot to win this Sunday’s race based on odds provided by Bovada.
Even though I went with Jimmie Johnson as my pick to win last Sunday, I was really high on Denny Hamlin’s chances to win that race as well. This week, both of these drivers have been opened as 13/2 co-favorites to take the checkered flag, but this time around I am going with Hamlin as my top pick.
The No. 11 car struggled through the entire 2013 season, but ended things on a strong note with a win at Homestead in the final race of the year. It started this season with a victory in the Sprint Unlimited before taking second in the Daytona 500.
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The main reason I like Hamlin this week is a solid racing record at Phoenix. He won this race in 2012 and he finished third in last year’s race. Looking back at his career record at this track, he has placed in the top three in seven of his 17 Sprint Cup races here.
I would normally jump all over Matt Kenseth at longer odds and this week in no exception with him listed at 10/1 to win on Sunday. The No. 20 car is coming off an extremely productive 2013 campaign in which it led the entire Sprint Cup field in point race victories with seven.
It finished in second-place in the Sprint Cup point standings, just 19 points behind Johnson for the title. This race team is off to another fast start with a victory in one of the Budweiser Duels and a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500.
The one drain on these odds is Kenseth’s past struggles at this track. His 23rd place finish in the second race at Phoenix last season all but ended his title hopes and his average finishing position here is just 17.4.
If you are looking for even longer odds on a quality driver for Sunday’s race, my pick would be Greg Biffle at 33/1. He is the kind of driver that does not win all that often, but he hangs around the lead pack in almost every race he runs.
The No. 16 car finished ninth in last season’s standings and the team is off to a good start this year with an eight-place finish at Daytona.
When it comes to Biffle’s racing record at Phoenix, the results are mixed. Last season, he failed to crack the top 10 in both point races at this track, but the season before he finished third in this race and seventh in the second race.
Get ready to start your engines for another season of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing with the running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday afternoon at the fabled Daytona International Speedway.
The first Wednesday in February is loaded with opportunities to bet on the NBA, but I have narrowed down my plays to a pair of contests that come together perfectly to form this week’s ‘NBA Wednesday Parlay’.
The NBA closes out the final week of January with a full 11 games on Wednesday schedule, but I have narrowed my focus to a pair of contests that come together perfectly to form this week’s ‘NBA Wednesday Parlay’.
The NBA regular season continues to grind its way through the month of January with a full 12 games on this Wednesday’s schedule.
We are down to the final eight teams in this year’s quest to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLVIII after the first four teams were eliminated in last week’s Wildcard Round.
The NBA regular season enters the first full week of the New Year with a number of intriguing matchups on this Wednesday’s slate.
The NFL regular season is in the books so it is now time to turn my attention to the Super Bowl XLVIII Derby and in particular this weekend’s Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs.