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11/28/2011 - Kannapolis, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Addington has replaced Darian Grubb as crew chief for reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart effective immediately, Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Monday.
Addington has won 16 Sprint Cup races as crew chief, including two with driver Kurt Busch this season. He served in the role for Busch's team the past two seasons. Last week, Addington informed Penske Racing that he would not return with the team for the 2012 season.
Stewart and Addington worked together at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2005-08.
"I know Steve well, and I know how he goes about setting up a racecar," Stewart said in a team statement. "My comfort level with him is already strong. He balances the technical part of our sport with the real-world experiences we get at the track, and that will allow for a smooth transition, as we prepare to defend our title in 2012."
Before Addington joined Penske, he was the crew chief for the teams of Bobby Labonte (2005), J.J. Yeley (2006-07) and Busch's younger brother, Kyle, (2008 through race No.33 of the 2009 season). Twelve of his wins came with Kyle Busch at JGR.
"Tony and I are a lot alike, and we're able to push each other," Addington said. "I saw how he worked when we were at Gibbs together, and I'm not surprised at all at the success he's created at Stewart-Haas Racing. He expects a lot, and he knows a lot. His talent behind the wheel is obvious, but his ability to motivate and get everyone to believe that whatever goal they set is attainable is something every crew chief wants, and I plan to make the most of it."
The crew chief change comes eight days after Stewart clinched his third Sprint Cup championship as a driver and first as a team owner.
Stewart and Carl Edwards ended this season with 2,403 points each, but in a tiebreaker, Stewart captured the title by virtue of his five wins -- all of them coming in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup -- compared to only one victory for Edwards.
Grubb, who became a first-time championship-winning crew chief, had been with Stewart's No.14 Chevrolet team since the inception of SHR in '09.
"Darian was a very important part of the success we've had at Stewart-Haas Racing," Stewart noted. "I'm very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He's a great person, and I know he'll continue to be successful in this sport."
Grubb was informed midway through the Chase that he would not be back with the team next year. He had worked for Hendrick Motorsports from 2001-08.
Stewart and Grubb will be honored for their championship season on Friday in Las Vegas.
<< This Week in Golf -- November 30th through December 5th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - CHEVRON WORLD CHALLENGE -
Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, California - You ever think you'd see
the day where Tiger Woods would barely qualify for his own tournament?
We did.
W
<< Chalmers' win in Australia gets him to 63rd
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Chalmers' second big in Australia on
Sunday at the Australian PGA Championship moved him to 63rd in this week's
world rankings.
Chalmers, who also won the Australian Open earlier in the month, j
<< Blue Monday for Boudreau and Maurice
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals and Carolina
Hurricanes had disparate expectations for their clubs heading into the 2011-12
campaign, but less than two months into the season the franchises find
themselves in similar
<< Hurricanes pick Muller to replace fired Maurice
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have fired head coach
Paul Maurice and named Kirk Muller as his replacement.
Maurice was in his second stint with the franchise and served 920 games behind
the bench for the organiz
2011 Champions Tour Year In Review >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2011 Champions Tour season began in
January of 2011. By May, the eventual Player of the Year was already done
winning.
Luckily, his three victories were enough to win the money title and
Flyers D Pronger to have knee surgery >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers captain Chris Pronger
will undergo surgery Tuesday to clean out loose particles in his left knee and
the team expects he will be back playing in four weeks.
The veteran defenseman has
Sad that Speed won't get to finish what he started >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The soccer world took a stunning blow to the gut on Sunday
morning when Wales manager Gary Speed was found hanged inside his home.
The 42-year-old was by all accounts a consummate professional who enjoyed a
distinguish
Baylor continues to top women's hoops poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor is still an overwhelming choice as the
top women's college basketball team in the nation, according to the latest
Associated Press poll released Monday.
The Lady Bears again received all but one o
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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