Danica, have at it and have a good time

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02/08/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR officials originally set the theme for this year's Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway last month when they told Sprint Cup Series drivers, "boys, have at it and have a good time." Officials said they were easing up on some on-track rules for drivers at Daytona to make racing more competitive and enjoyable for fans.

But after racing sensation Danica Patrick's announcement on Monday that her much-anticipated Nationwide Series debut has been bumped up one week earlier to Saturday's DRIVE4COPD 300 season-opener at Daytona, the main topic for Speedweeks now should be "girl, have at it."

Patrick initially was scheduled to make her Nationwide debut with JR Motorsports -- a team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- in the February 20 race at California, but her schedule now has changed due to her stellar performance in the ARCA event at Daytona this past weekend.

Yes. "Go Daddy Girl" quickly is moving up the ranks and playing with the big boys on the high banks of Daytona, and it should be an entertaining affair.

Patrick's readiness to make her foray into NASCAR's second-tier series at Daytona will be the subject of much debate from now until the green flag waves for the 300-mile event.

"I think it's quite the arena to run my first Nationwide race," Patrick said. "It's going to be a challenge."

Patrick looked impressive in her stock car racing debut with a sixth-place finish in the 80-lap ARCA event at Daytona. She held her pace and avoided a rash of accidents until former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr. tapped her front fender and put her into a spin on the frontstretch just past the halfway point. Patrick rallied in the closing laps to become the highest finishing female at Daytona since Shawna Robinson recorded a second-place run in the 1999 ARCA race.

"It was good at the beginning; we were just kind of hanging out, and there was a lot of [cautions] obviously," Patrick said. "The car seemed like it was sliding around a bit more, and it feels like I got bumped into [turns] one and two.

"Then I kind of slid up the track, and I was a little loose in the kink anyway, which probably could have been from bumping behind in two. I just couldn't hang on. I went up the track a little, and I just got shuffled back."

Patrick said she wants to race more at Daytona after enjoying her ARCA experience there.

However, making her Nationwide debut at Daytona instead of California might pose more of a challenge for her than expected. With more than a dozen Sprint Cup regulars, including Earnhardt Jr., entered in the 300-mile event, can she hold up in the draft and avoid running into trouble?

Earnhardt Jr. seems to think she can do it.

"I really don't have the urge to give her a bunch of advice," Earnhardt Jr. said. "She's a smart racecar driver and probably has a great game plan already built up in her head. She doesn't need to have people telling her what to do so that she starts second-guessing herself."

With her enormous popularity and wide marketability, Patrick has been a racing icon since she began her IndyCar rookie season in 2005. Not only does Patrick hold the record as the only female to win an IndyCar race, but she also has graced Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue the past two years and continues to serve as a GoDaddy.com spokesperson. The 27-year-old appeared in two commercials for the web hosting company during the Super Bowl. She will guest star on the CBS television hit drama "CSI: NY" on Wednesday.

Patrick has been the center of attention in NASCAR for quite some time, but her Nationwide debut at Daytona has now made "Danica-mania" even bigger.

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A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.