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12/15/2011 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a near two-month investigation, IndyCar revealed a comprehensive review of the 15-car racing accident that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon in the early going of the October 16 season- ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
IndyCar officials stated that Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former series champion, suffered a "non-survivable head injury" after his No.77 car went airborne and then made impact with a vertical post on the catch fence that's located in the turn-two area of the 1.5-mile racetrack. The pole intruded the cockpit of Wheldon's car, therefore producing life-ending blunt force trauma to his head.
The accident report noted that Wheldon's path on the lower portion of the racetrack was blocked by the multi-car crash he was approaching. Wheldon, who started from the rear of the 34-car field, was running 24th just before the incident occurred on lap 11.
"There are multiple factors that are not uncommon to racing that came together in a way that claimed Dan's life," Brian Barnhart, president of operations for IndyCar, said during a press conference held on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "It is a tragedy. Our thoughts and support will always be with Dan's family."
IndyCar analyzed data from the accident data recorders carried on board each race car involved in the crash, the on-board data acquisition system from teams, timing and scoring data, video, still photographs, physical evidence and eyewitness reports from participants.
Third-party experts with Indianapolis-based Wolf Technical Services provided independent assurance that the investigation protocol, evidence examined and reviewed, and the conclusions reached were consistent and appropriate to standard scientific and engineering investigation methods.
In what the accident report cited as a "perfect storm," Wheldon's fatal crash involved circumstances of location, direction and orientation on the track that were the chance result of previous car contact.
Examination of video of the incident demonstrated normal "pack racing" that was common on high-banked ovals, but there was almost unlimited movement on the track surface under race conditions not previously experienced that attributed to track geometry beyond banking. This widened the probability for car-to-car contact but made it more difficult for drivers to predict the movement of other competitors. The chances for a multi-car crash were therefore increased.
According to the report, the 34-car starting field was determined to be acceptable based on factors such as length and width of the racetrack and pit space capability. The incident that happened at Las Vegas could have occurred with any size starting field at any track.
Last week, IndyCar announced it would not compete at Las Vegas in 2012. The series was scheduled to run its season-finale there on October 14, but IndyCar and track officials have said considerable testing with the 2012 car is needed prior to returning to the track. Wheldon had been testing the new Dallara chassis prior to his accident.
"IndyCar's commitment to safety was enhanced by Dan Wheldon's testing throughout 2011 of the new car to be used by IndyCar in 2012," Randy Bernhard, the CEO of IndyCar, said. "The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season ushers in an era of a new race car and the opportunity for continued safety advancements.
"Dan Wheldon was instrumental in the testing and development of this new car and the safety innovations that it represents. We are thankful for his efforts and commitment to racing."
The 2012 schedule is expected to be released in the coming days. It's not known yet if Texas Motor Speedway -- a track similar to Las Vegas -- will be on next year's calendar.
<< In the FCS Huddle: Four QBs in FCS semis a dangerous bunch
Philadelphia, Pa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As a freshman last year, Sam Houston State
quarterback Brian Bell saw his first collegiate action in the second game of
the season, a 56-14 thrashing at the hands of Western Illinois.
It was the type of lo
<< Bears WR Hurd arrested
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was
arrested in Chicago on Wednesday night.
The Chicago Tribune reported Hurd allegedly attempted to purchase drugs
from a supplier in North Texas. The N
<< Nets sign Udoka
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets signed free agent
forward Ime Udoka on Thursday.
Udoka spent last season with San Antonio, appearing in 20 games off the bench
and totaling 14 points and 19 rebounds.
A seven-
<< Minnesota signs Wells, Lee
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves signed veteran
swingman Bonzi Wells and rookie guard Malcolm Lee on Thursday.
Wells last played in the NBA during the 2007-08 season, when he split the year
with Houston and New
Nets waive F Travis Outlaw >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets waived forward
Travis Outlaw on Thursday and designated him as the team's amnesty player.
Under the amnesty clause, Outlaw will be paid the remainder of his contract by
the Nets
Fordham to introduce Moorhead as head coach >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fordham University will hold a news conference
on Friday to introduce Joe Moorhead as its new head football coach.
The University of Connecticut quarterbacks coach is graduate of Fordham. He
was a three-year s
Liberty to study possible move to FBS >>
Lynchburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the day Turner Gill was introduced as its
new head football coach, Liberty University announced Thursday it will conduct
a study to determine the feasibility of moving its program from the Football
Championsh
Redskins place Landry on IR >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second straight year, the Washington
Redskins placed safety LaRon Landry on injured reserve with an Achilles
injury.
"It's not torn, but it is quite sore," Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan sa
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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