Extreme heat forces Philly and Delaware Park to cancel

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/06/2010 - Bensalem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's 100-degree temperatures forced Philadelphia Park to cancel its live racing card. The track issued a release in the morning ahead of the first race.

The suburban Philadelphia track conducted its Monday, July 5th program as scheduled despite temperatures near 100. Live racing will resume Friday afternoon with a 4 p.m. (et) post-time.

About an hour south of Philly Park, Delaware Park canceled its Tuesday card after two races. According to the Daily Racing Form, it was 101 degrees when Delaware Park's first race went off at 1:15 p.m.(et).

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<< Texas' Hamilton named AL Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton earned American League Player of the Month honors for June. Hamilton batted an MLB-best .454 (49-for-108) during the month. He had 10 doubles, an AL-best nin

<< Mets' Wright named NL Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets third baseman David Wright has been named the National League Player of the Month for June. Wright batted an NL-best .404 and knocked in 29 runs during the period, becoming the first Me

<< Marlins' Johnson voted NL Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson has been named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June. In five June starts, Johnson pitched to a 1.18 earned-run average and a 3-1 record, striking out 38 in

<< Seattle's Lee named AL Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for June. Lee went 4-1 in June with a 1.76 earned run average and went the distance in four of his six starts i

<< Reds add striker Mista to fold
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC signed Spanish forward Miguel Angel Ferrer Martinez "Mista" through the end of the 2010 season, the Major League Soccer club announced on Tuesday. The 31-year-old joins Toronto FC after

Purse increased for British Open Championship >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The R&A announced on Tuesday that the purse for next week's British Open Championship will be increased substantially. "The Open Championship sits at the forefront of world go

Marlins' Sanchez named NL Rookie of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez has been selected as the National League's top rookie for June. Sanchez paced the NL rookies with 39 hits, 16 runs scored and a .587 slugging percentage during the p

Fish, Mahut advance in Newport >>
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded American Mardy Fish and Wimbledon marathon man Nicolas Mahut were a pair of opening-round winners Tuesday at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. Fish swam past journeyman fellow American Micha

Twins' Thome earns AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jim Thome has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 4. The slugger posted an MLB-best 1.150 slugging percentage and tied for

Tigers' Boesch named top AL rookie for June >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch has been selected as the American League's top rookie for the month of June. Boesch lead all AL rookies with eight homers, 23 RBI, 35 hits and 17 runs scored. H

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.

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