Braun grabs pole at Gateway

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/12/2009 - Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colin Braun will start on the pole for Saturday's Copart 200 Camping World Truck Series race after topping the charts in qualifying at Gateway International Raceway.

Braun rounded the 1.25-mile oval at 133.956 m.p.h. (33.593 seconds) in his No.6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford for his third pole of the season.

Ron Hornaday Jr., the current points leader and defending race winner, will start alongside Braun after posting a lap at 133.682 m.p.h.

Johnny Sauter qualified third, followed by Brian Scott and T.J. Bell.

Matt Crafton, Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters, Mike Skinner, last weekend's race winner at Iowa, and Stacy Compton completed the top-10.

Hornaday currently holds a 225-point advantage over Crafton.

Dillon Oliver, Jack Smith and Ben Stancill failed to qualify.

Today's 200-mile race is scheduled to begin around 2:30 p.m. (et).

Gamblimg Autoracing Betting News

<< Hanson takes Mercedes-Benz lead
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweden's Peter Hanson shot a five-under 67 to take the third-round lead Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Hanson finished three trips around the Gut Larchenhof course at 11-under 205 for a on

<< Flames offer Fleury try-out
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames invited former Calgary great and All-Star Theo Fleury to 2009 training camp on a try-out basis. Fleury played the first 11 years of his career in Calgary, and last played in the league dur

<< Rockies shoot for ninth straight win in test against Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rockies weren't ready for their outstanding run to end, even if they had to wait for their final out to make sure that didn't happen. One night after a stunning ninth-inning rally, Colorado seeks its ninth win in a row

<< Giants aim to halt three-game slide, resume set with Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants will try to keep their playoff hopes alive and snap a three-game losing streak this evening in the continuation of a three-game series with the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&a

<< Rangers, Mariners try again to get series underway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-hopeful Texas Rangers try once again to open an important nine-game homestand tonight with the first of three consecutive clashes against the sliding Seattle Mariners from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. This s

Nadal rolls once rain leaves; U.S. Open men's semifinals set >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The rain finally stayed away at the U.S. Open then Rafael Nadal washed away Fernando Gonzalez in quick fashion to finish off a straight-set victory in the final men's quarterfinal. The third-seede

Bayern buries Dortmund >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich picked up its first away victory of the season on Saturday as the club scored five unanswered goals after falling behind in the opening 10 minutes to beat Borussia Dortmund, 5-1 at Sign

City topples Arsenal to stay perfect >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City maintained its perfect mark to start the season on Saturday as Emmanuel Adebayor scored in his fourth successive match to help City to a 4-2 win over Arsenal at Eastlands. An own goal

Blue Jackets ink RW Dorsett to two-year extension >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed right wing Derek Dorsett to a two-year contract extension. Dorsett ended his rookie season in 2008-09 with four goals, one assist and 150 penalty minutes in 52 games

Sharks land Heatley >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks won the Dany Heatley lottery as the team acquired the left wing from the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. In exchange for the 28-year-old All-Star, the team sent right wing Jon

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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