09/02/2008 - Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced Tuesday that Dario Franchitti will replace Dan Wheldon in the team's No.10 car, starting in 2009. Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion, will return to the open-wheel ranks after spending less than a year in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition. He plans to make several more Nationwide starts this year.
"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want."
Franchitti's transition to the big leagues in stock cars was tougher than he thought. His best finish in 10 Sprint Cup starts this season was 22nd in March at Martinsville, VA.
"With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more," Franchitti said. "I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."
Franchitti will be teamed with Scott Dixon, who is currently battling Helio Castroneves for the 2008 IndyCar title. Dixon holds a 30-point lead over Castroneves heading into Sunday's season-finale at the Chicagoland Speedway. Last year, Franchitti and Dixon battled for the championship all the way to the last lap at Chicago with Franchitti winning the race and the title.
In July, Franchitti was out of a Cup ride when Ganassi ceased operation of its No.40 team due to lack of sponsorship. He continued to run in some Nationwide races.
"I have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR," team owner Chip Ganassi said. "When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."
After terrifying airborne crashes in consecutive weeks at Michigan and Kentucky in 2007, Franchitti and his wife, actress Ashley Judd, were convinced it was time for the Scotsman to leave open-wheel racing. It was one of the major factors that led him to NASCAR.
Franchitti was not hurt last year at Michigan and Kentucky, but he sustained a fractured ankle during a crash in the Nationwide race in April at Talladega.
Wheldon won the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and series championship with Andretti Green Racing. The following year, he joined Ganassi and tied Sam Hornish, Jr. for the series title. However, Wheldon lost the "Championship Cup" based on the first tiebreaker (Hornish's four wins for the season compared to Wheldon's two).
"I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future," Wheldon said. "In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season."
Wheldon has recorded 15 victories in 96 IndyCar starts.
<< Rockies make slew of roster moves
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies made a number of roster
moves on Tuesday, most notably reinstating pitcher Matt Herges from the 15-day
disabled list.
Herges, who has been was sidelined since mid-August due to l
<< Astros' Matsui activated from 15-day DL
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros second baseman Kazuo Matsui
was activated from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Matsui was placed on the DL on August 16 with an irritated
disc in his back. Matsui has h
<< Rays activate Percival off DL
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays activated closer
Troy Percival from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
The veteran closer has been sidelined since August 14, with cartilage damage
in his right knee.
Percival
<< Bucs trade for Mahan
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have acquired
guard/center Sean Mahan from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for an
undisclosed draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Mahan started all 16 games at cen
Golden Gophers ink head coach Borton to six-year deal >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Golden Gophers inked head
women's basketball coach Pam Borton to a new six-year contract on Tuesday.
The new deal, announced by director of athletics Joe Maturi, was announced on
Tuesday.
Nationals' Flores leaves game versus Phillies >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals catcher Jesus Flores
left Tuesday's game against the Phillies after Chase Utley, while trying to
score from third after a pickoff attempt to first base in the third inning,
drove
Tigers bring up four, transfer Bonderman and Wilson >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have recalled right-handed
pitcher Chris Lambert and lefty Clay Rapada from Triple-A Toledo and purchased
the contracts of catcher Dusty Ryan and infielder Mike Hessman from Toledo on
Tuesday
Utah's Eliapo out with foot injury >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah nose tackle Kenape Eliapo is
expected to miss the next six to eight weeks with a left foot injury, coach
Kyle Whittingham announced Tuesday.
Eliapo, who played in all 13 games for the Ut
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting