Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 

 
Weekly Rumblings
 
 
 

This Sunday is the year's biggest waste of fossil fuel, and I love it.

First comes the Indianapolis 500. It used to be the main course on Memorial Day weekend, something even my grandfather, no racing fan, would tune into every year, even if it wasn't always broadcast live (anyone else remember when they used to air the 500 in the evening? I used to fall asleep on the couch listening to it). If I have to choose between NASCAR and Indy racing, I'll take NASCAR every time, but I'm still shocked every time I see bits of a good Indy race (few and far between these days), because the cars are so incredibly fast and light and small and capable of whipping around one another like mosquitoes. When the 500 is close in the final few laps, it's still one of the most exciting things in sports. Plus, Danica is cute.

Advertisement
Then comes the main event, the reason to cookout on Sunday: the Coke 600 from Charlotte. Seriously, even if you think you hate NASCAR, you should give this event a try. Don't watch the whole thing, because that'll be like five hours. It's a friggin' marathon (well, just over 23 marathons, actually). Just have it on in the background. Check in on it every once in a while. Watch the highlights packages, listen to the bitchy drivers get out of their wrecked cars all cranky and fuming, feel the homespun wisdom of Darrell Waltrip come over you in a redneck wave. Take a nap (like the old days), wake up, find the running order crazily jumbled and inverted. Then watch as the lights come on, the paint schemes get shiny, the racing gets aggressive, and Jimmie Johnson wins. (Because Jimmie Johnson always wins.)

Environmentally friendly, it ain't. But if car racing gets one day on the calendar per year, this is it. I'll be watching, and you should too.

What's your reaction to the NBA Draft Lottery? Oden to Portland and Durant to Seattle...does that help the league? Do you think the lottery is fair?

Bodog Bookmakers, Bodog.com: I was told the top three results via text message and almost dropped my phone. I was shocked, to say the least. The first thought I had was, "Basketball in the Pacific Northwest just got a whole lot better." Adding Oden to Roy, Jack and Aldridge will help the Blazers on the court, not to mention revamping the team from the "Jail Blazers" reputation of the past. If Zack Randolph can keep himself in check, the Blazers should sneak into the seventh or eighth playoff spot next season. Moving a couple hours north, I'm not sure Kevin Durant is enough to keep the Sonics in Seattle. David Stern may say he's committed, but he may just be giving lip service to prevent the Sonics from relocation. I like the current NBA draft lottery format. The problems we saw at the end of the season (as ESPN's Bill Simmons called it "tankapalooza") would have happened with any other draft system other than a true lottery involving all 14 teams. If I were to make a suggestion, I would say have a true lottery with the bottom three teams and another weighted lottery for picks No. 4-14.

It'll be Ottawa vs. Anaheim in the Stanley Cup finals. How do you handicap this one?

BDB, Bodog.com: This is going to be an entertaining series; the Ducks have shown they can play defense and get goals when they need them. J.S. Giguere, along with Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, has done a tremendous job at keeping their opponents off the score sheet. They'll need to do all they can to stop Ottawa's top three of Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley. The Ducks and Sens didn't play each other in the regular season, so we don't have any head-to-head results to base the odds on. This will come down to defense versus offense, but as the Ducks have home-ice advantage, they'll be favored to win the series.

How much wagering action is there these days on the Indianapolis 500, which is this Sunday? Which racing handle will be bigger that day, the Indy 500 or NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600?

BDB, Bodog.com: The Indy 500 has lost its luster in recent years. Other than Danica Patrick, there aren't many, if any, drivers that non-fans will know. Everyone knows Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. whether you're a fan of NASCAR or not. We'll probably see double the action on the 600. Sadly, the Indy 500 hurt itself by limiting the race to IRL drivers only. This move leaves some of the best open-wheel drivers in the world on the outside looking in, essentially making what used to be a historic race this just another run around an oval track.

The French Open begins next week. How surprised would you be if we didn't see a Federer / Nadal final?

BDB, Bodog.com: It's pretty much a given we'll see these two in the final. But honestly, who else would you rather see? Federer breaking Nadal's clay court streak has added to his status as the best in the world.

  
HEADLINES
Bovada.lv: NFL Season Win Totals
Bovada.lv: Indy 500 Odds & Props
Bovada.lv: NHL Award Props
Bovada.lv: Heat-Pacers Props
CarbonSports: NFL Win Totals
CarbonSports: Pacers look for upset
Sportsbook: Heat expected to roll!
Sportsbook: Heisman Update
MORE HEADLINES
 
 Marc Lawrence
 15-5 L20,23-6 L29, 48-19 CBK Run
 Kevin Rogers
 10-5 L6 Days, 61% +4,000 TY
 Chip Chirimbes
 28-15 L43 College Selections
 Joe Nelson
 +2,195 NCAA This Season
 Bill Marzano
 5-1 L6 Picks, 9-3 Last 3 Days
 ASA
 4-2 L6, 8-3 L11, 20-9 L29 Picks
 Tom Freese
 4-1 Last 5, 9-3 Last 12 Plays
 Andy Iskoe
 2-0 LN, 9-2 L11, 11-3 Last 7 Days
 Scott Pritchard
 12-4 College Hoops Streak
 Lance Blankenship
 16-7 Last 23 NCAA Guarantees
 Joe Williams
 14-6 L20 Guaranteed Plays
 Mike Rose
 10-3 L13 G-Plays, +2,140 TY
 The Gold Sheet
 5-2 Last 7, 9-4 Last 13 CBK Picks
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.