Busch, Gibbs address sponsorship change

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/11/2011 - Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR driver Kyle Busch continued to be apologetic for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in last week's Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Since NASCAR suspended him from last weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races at Texas, Busch spoke with reporters for the first time on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. The sanctioning body took further action on Monday by fining Busch $50,000 and placing him on probation for the remainder of the year.

Mars Inc. and its M&M's brand, which serves as the primary sponsor of Busch's No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, announced this week that it would not sponsor Busch's efforts in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Phoenix as well as the November 20 season-finale at Homestead, FL.

"As a proud member of the racing community, Mars and the M&M's brand strongly support the partnership we have with Joe Gibbs Racing and are committed to NASCAR. Yet, Kyle's recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars," Debra A. Sandler, who is the chief consumer officer of Mars Chocolate North America, said in a statement released on Thursday. "While we do not condone Kyle's recent actions, we do believe that he has shown remorse and has expressed a desire to change. We believe our decision will have a positive impact on Kyle and will help him return next season ready to win."

JGR announced that its longtime sponsor, Interstate Batteries, will be featured on the No.18 car at Phoenix and Homestead. Mars will continue its sponsorship with Busch's team during the 2012 season.

After being parked at Texas, Busch dropped from seventh to 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship point standings. He has been mathematically eliminated from title contention, as he presently trails leader Carl Edwards by 100 points.

"Obviously, this has been quite a trying week for myself and my wife [Samantha] and everybody at M&M's, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports and Interstate Batteries, all of the above," Busch said. "I'm upmost apologetic to everybody that's been having to go through this situation, and there's no one to blame but myself."

Busch said he had a telephone conversation with Hornaday days after the truck race. He quipped that he "is still invited to [Hornaday's] house."

Team owner Joe Gibbs joined Busch during the press conference, which was held prior to the first Sprint Cup practice held on the newly repaved and reconfigured one-mile Phoenix track.

"Joe has been a huge supporter of mine through all of this, and I can't say enough about him, all the folks at JGR and all the guys on my M&M's team, and we're here to say that we want to learn from this and we'll move on," Busch added.

Gibbs noted that Busch is facing penalties from JGR, including a fine. He would not comment on the details of the forthcoming penalties. Busch will not be relieved from his driving duties with the team after this season concludes.

"Kyle's penalties are going to be substantial," Gibbs said. "We also have other actions that are going to be in place. There will be other financial penalties and stuff that we're working through, and we'll continue to do that as we go forward through this process."

Busch is not competing in Saturday's Nationwide race at Phoenix. Joey Logano was originally scheduled to drive JGR's No.18 car for that event. Busch will not run in the Nationwide season-ending race at Homestead as well.

There had been speculation that Z-Line Designs, the primary sponsor of Busch's Nationwide team, asked JGR to replace Busch with Denny Hamlin in the Homestead race.

"I take the responsibility for a lot of that, because we were kind of wanting to go for the next two races to let Kyle focus on Cup, and so a lot of that came from the race team," Gibbs said.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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