Edwards receives three-race probation for Atlanta incident

Autoracing Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards avoided suspension but received a three-race probation period from NASCAR after intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski in last Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR President Mike Helton addressed the seriousness of the Edwards- Keselowski incident, in which Keselowski's car went flying upside down into the frontstretch wall after Edwards deliberately hit him from behind in the closing laps at Atlanta. Helton also said NASCAR officials had several discussions internally as well as conversations with the stakeholders of the situation, including team owners Jack Roush (Edwards) and Roger Penske (Keselowski), before making their decision to place Edwards on probation for the upcoming races at Bristol, Martinsville and Phoenix.

Edwards was neither fined nor penalized with a points loss for the incident.

Both drivers had an earlier encounter at Atlanta when Keselowski clipped Edwards and shot him up the track, sending him and Joey Logano into the wall. Edwards spent more than 150 laps in the garage for repairs, but retaliated shortly after he returned to the track.

NASCAR took action immediately when they parked Edwards and ordered him to the sanctioning body's hauler for a discussion on the matter.

"We made it very clear to [Edwards] that these actions were not acceptable and did go beyond what we said back in January about putting the driving back in the hands of the drivers," Helton said. "I believe [Edwards] understands our position at this point."

Prior to the start of the 2010 season, NASCAR essentially told Sprint Cup Series drivers, "Boys, have at it and have a good time." NASCAR adopted a more hands-off policy.

"We were willing to put more responsibility in the hands of the drivers, but there is a line you can cross, and we will step in to maintain law and order when we think that line is crossed," Helton added.

NASCAR does plan to meet with both drivers and team owners next week at Bristol to resolve the latest in an on-going feud between Edwards and Keselowski.

The issues between the two began last April when Keselowski hit Edwards from behind on the final lap at Talladega. While Keselowski drove on to his first Sprint Cup victory, Edwards' car spun and then sailed into the safety fence along the frontstretch. Eight race fans sustained minor injuries after being struck by debris from his car.

Later in the season, both drivers tangled in a Nationwide Series race at Memphis, with Keselowski turning Edwards around in the closing laps.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.