Bires coming on board with JR Motorsports in 2010

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/15/2009 - Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Bires has signed a multi-year agreement with JR Motorsports to drive in the Nationwide Series full-time, the team announced Tuesday.

Bires will drive a Nationwide entry for team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr., beginning in 2010. He will replace Brad Keselowski, who will move over to Penske Racing at season's end to drive the No.12 Dodge in next year's Sprint Cup Series campaign.

"Kelly is a talented young driver, and we want to give him the opportunity to showcase that talent," Earnhardt, Jr. said in a team statement.

JR Motorsports fields the No.88 and No.5 Chevrolets in Nationwide. The team has not yet made a decision which car Bires will drive next year.

"They win races, and they contend for championships," Bires said. "As a driver, that's all you can ever ask for."

Bires has made 66 career Nationwide starts so far, with three top-five finishes and 11 top-10's. He finished 13th in points last year. Bires made his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series in 2006.

Footballchancesports Autoracing Betting News

<< Medalist and defending champ out at Senior Women's Am
Hot Springs, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke-play medalist Joan Higgins and defending champion Diane Lang were both eliminated in Tuesday's action at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship. Higgins was knocked out in the morning'

<< This Week in Auto Racing September 18 - 20
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After deciding the 12-driver field for this year's "Chase for the Sprint Cup" at Richmond, the 10-race battle for the championship begins this weekend at New Hampshire. The Camping World Series joins

<< Reds activate Nix from DL
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds activated outfielder Laynce Nix from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. Nix had been out of action since August 30 with a bulging cervical disc. He is having somewhat of a

<< Rangers' Young returns to lineup
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young is in the lineup for the Rangers matchup against the Oakland Athletics after missing the previous two weeks with a strained left hamstring. Young was injured when he grounded out t

<< Warriors' Jackson fined by NBA
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors forward Stephen Jackson has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for public statements detrimental to the league. On August 28, Jackson told the media that he would like to be traded

NFL defers action on "StarCaps" case involving Saints players >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Tuesday that Saints defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith will not face immediate disciplinary action for their involvement in an ongoing battle over 2008 su

Yankees' Pettitte to skip turn in rotation >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With signs of shoulder fatigue popping up, left-hander Andy Pettitte will skip his turn in the rotation when the Yankees play the Blue Jays on Wednesday. The 37-year-old Pettitte complained of pain in

Co-medalist Simson out at Senior Am >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Simson, who shared medalist honors in stroke play, was eliminated in Tuesday's third round of the USGA Senior Amateur Championship. Simson was knocked off by Marvin Giles III, 2 & 1, in T

UCLA football suspends four >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA football suspended four players for unspecified rules violations on Tuesday. The Bruins will be without defensive back Courtney Viney, tailback Milton Knox, and wide receivers Randall Carr

Pats LB Mayo to be sidelined for undetermined time period >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time after suffering an injury to his right knee in the

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.