Odds on the Daytona 500

Joe Ellison

Without a doubt the most exciting sporting event this weekend will be NASCAR's 46th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. At this Super Bowl of auto racing, engine restrictor plates guarantee a close finish and provide the constant potential for a terrible wreck.

Greg Biffle earned the pole position and won the Pepsi 400 at this track last season. His odds have dropped from 40/1 to 10/1.

Dale Jarrett won Saturday's Bud Shootout, and the last two times he did that he went on to win the Daytona 500 in 1996 and 2000. His odds have lowered from 22/1 to 8/1.

But when it comes to restrictor plate racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. are the ones to beat. DEI driver Michael Waltrip has won two of three Daytona 500s, including last year's. Overall DEI has captured nine of the last 12 restrictor plate events.

Look at the results of yesterday's Twin 125s to get an idea of what will happen on Sunday.

Prediction: I'm taking Waltrip (6/1) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3/1).

- Odds are also available now and throughout the season for the Nextel Cup points championship. In 2003, Matt Kenseth won only one race, but took the final Winston Cup title easily because of incredible consistency. That boring season ending led to a change and this year's "Cup Chase to the Championship," where after 26 races only the top 10 drivers or those within 400 points will be bunched up in the standings and allowed to compete for the Nextel Cup.

Prediction: My advice is to wait to make a wager on the Cup until there are less than 10 races left because that's when the real chase has begun.

- The NBA All-Star Game also is Sunday. Even though this is just a game for the fans, the players that have led to the biggest increases in attendance, rookies Cleveland's Lebron James and Denver's Carmelo Anthony, unfortunately were not invited.

However, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant finally returned to action Wednesday after missing seven games with a cut on his right index finger. Bryant says he stuck his hand through a window while moving boxes. Am I the only one who feels that this could be a made-up story? Bryant is very emotional, he is used to getting his way, and he has been under an enormous amount of pressure lately. It would not surprise me to one day find out that the right-handed Bryant got upset and stuck his hand through the window in anger.

All-Star Game prediction: It will be an uneventful All-Star Game and weekend.

- One of my favorite things to do regarding my column is read my mail. But unfortunately during the seven years I've done my article, I have received only three responses, and all of those have been negative. It would be nice just once to read a letter that agrees with me.

But I thank John Shuler for at least responding in last Sunday's Nevada Appeal mailbox. One can tell that Mr. Shuler is an intelligent fellow, and his well-written letter was not too personal an attack compared to what I've received in the past.

In response to Mr. Shuler's suggestion that I just "keep my opinions to the outcomes of games and gambling predictions," I'm sorry I cannot accommodate him. Much like everyday society, professional sports are all about violence, money, politics, sex and drugs. When those stories become bigger than the sports themselves, such as in Kobe Bryant's rape trial, Pete Rose's admission to gambling, or Janet Jackson's exposed breast, everyone will continue to voice their opinions.

So, being easy-going and open-minded to the point where Jerry Springer episodes don't offend me, seeing Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show was no big deal. But that doesn't mean that I don't "respect women" or "appreciate their value." I just look forward to the day when people can admire a woman in a painting or magazine or on television without someone calling it exploitation or a cause of "family breakdown" or "sexual abuse."

I realize it is just my opinion, but I find women's bodies to be beautiful. So for the "fathers in this country or city" I have some advice. If your young son comes to you asking about a breast he just saw, take the positive rather than negative approach. Merely say, "Son, God made women and their breasts, and they are beautiful. God-willing you will one day grow old enough to fully appreciate their beauty."

As for those people who say they "were not given a choice," and felt the halftime program was "forcing televised nudity," they are wrong. At the first hint of a suggestive dance or grab of a crotch, those offended people had all the power in the world to avoid witnessing such an "embarrassment" by simply turning their heads or changing the channel.

As for Mr. Shuler who feels that "people are wise to be grieved by opinions like" little ole' Joe Ellison's, I grieve for him. He lives in a country where a married President Bill Clinton can have oral sex performed on him in the White House by an intern, lie about it to a grand jury, and then not be punished in any way, shape or form. All that singer Janet Jackson did was expose a breast.

Joe Ellison is the Nevada Appeal Betting Columnist. Contact him at editor@nevadaappeal.com.