Dein erstes Forum » doing what it takes to advance. H

LAS VEGAS -- If youre used to having action every day (and, as the old saying goes, how else would you know if youre walking around lucky?), theres not many other choices than the Home Run Derby (8 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN)?unless you want to handicap NBA summer league games from Vegas, arena football or Brazilian or Swedish soccer.Even though this is an exhibition, that doesnt mean that we cant approach it as sharp handicappers. Im certainly not suggesting to go crazy with bets on my picks or your own, but we should be able to find value.My basic approach is that this is a wide-open contest in which anything can happen. A lot of people will look at past performances and try to find trends to base their picks on. Im going to bring up some of those (for this who really want to see em) but mostly to then discredit them as a basis for predictions/bets since I really believe that no one should be more than about -120 against anyone else (after all, these are all professional power hitters and any one of them can get hot, especially considering theyre basically taking batting practice). Air Max 270 Scontate . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Air Max 720 Scontate . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/scontate-max-plus-outlet.html . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Vapormax Scarpe In Offerta . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Air Max 720 Italia . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Dont blame Jimmie Johnson if he feels confident about his chances advancing from the semifinal Round of 8 to one of the four drivers eligible for the championship at Homestead. He has earned any swagger he takes into this weekend at Martinsville.Johnson has 18 career victories at the three tracks in the semifinal round -- eight at Martinsville, six at Texas and four at Phoenix. His average finish at those tracks: 7.5, 8.3 and 7.8. Any conversation about Johnson winning his seventh Cup championship can start in earnest now as he should have that chance in less than four weeks.While Kevin Harvick does have eight career wins at Phoenix and Denny Hamlin has five at Martinsville, neither driver can boast of such a record across the three tracks. Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch are the only drivers other than Johnson who have won a Cup race at each track in the round.Winning will be big because a driver with one bad race likely wont advance on points when field is cut from eight to four; only one spot is guaranteed by points if the three races are won by three Chase drivers.Heres the outlook for the drivers, listed by their current NASCAR seeding, going into the semifinal round:1. Joey LoganoTeam Penske No. 22 FordSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,089 (third)Why he will advance: His six Chase wins in the last three seasons is tied with Harvick for the most since the elimination-style format started in 2014. He carries the momentum from the win at Talladega. Oh, and he hasnt made anyone mad in the Chase this year.Why he wont: These three tracks do not rank among his top eight Sprint Cup tracks and the only one where he has a win is Texas. While third at Texas earlier this year, he was 11th at Martinsville and 18th at Phoenix.2. Jimmie JohnsonHendrick Motorsports No. 48 ChevroletSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,100 (first)Why he will advance: Didnt you read the introduction? Hes won 18 times at the three tracks in this round. The only reason hes never had a chance at Homestead in this format is because he never made it to this round.Why he wont: Only twice this year has he had three-race stretches of top-10 finishes -- once early in the year and then with a four-race stretch in the Chase prior to Talladega. If the Toyotas have another level to bring to the track the way Johnson went from pre-August to now, then hes in trouble.3. Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas Racing No. 4 ChevroletSecond-round wins: OneSecond-round points: 3,082 (sixth)Why he will advance: His four wins this year ties him with Kyle Busch for the most among the remaining drivers in the Chase. One of those wins came at Phoenix, where he has won five of the last six races, and he did it in spectacular fashion by beating Edwards by inches. He has eight career wins at Phoenix and one at Martinsville.Why he wont: Inconsistency could end up biting this team in the semifinal round. In the Chase, he has three top-10 finishes and three finishes of 20th or worse. He cant rely on just winning in the clutch every round -- the odds say hes due for a round where he wont win.4. Matt KensethJoe Gibbs Racing No. 20 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,088 (fourth)Whyy he will advance: He led 116 laps at the last intermediate track and 105 laps at the last flat 1-mile track.dddddddddddd That bodes well for the races at Texas and Phoenix. Of all the Toyotas, he finished the last round with the most points.Why he wont:?Logano will take him out this year to repay for last year. Just kidding. The biggest question for Kenseth is whether he can win in the clutch in a three-race stretch at tracks where he has just a combined three wins and didnt record a top-5 this year.5. Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs Racing No. 19 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,082 (seventh)Why he will advance: Some of his best non-winning races this year came in races at tracks in the semifinal rounds. He led 65 laps on his way to finishing second at Phoenix and 124 laps on his way to finishing seventh at Texas. Edwards and crew chief Dave Rogers have considerable Chase experience, and dont discount that when things get tough. Plus, what are the odds of a rainstorm keeping him from advancing as it did last year at Phoenix?Why he wont: He has recorded just one top-5 finish in his last 14 races. That inconsistency wont get it done in this round.6. Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing No. 11 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,078 (eighth)Why he will advance: He has won five times at Martinsville, including in March 2015, so he has a chance of a win or a great finish to open the round and build his confidence. After barely getting out of the quarterfinal round -- he needed a tiebreaker to advance --Hamlin and his rejuvenated team have an energized outlook.Why he wont: Hamlin isnt exactly Mr. November as he seems to be the victim of mechanical gremlins or misfortune every year. He might have a false sense of confidence even at Martinsville -- he hasnt won the October race at Martinsville since 2009.7. Kurt BuschStewart-Haas Racing No. 41 ChevroletSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,099 (second)Why he will advance: He has been the epitome of consistently doing what it takes to advance. He hasnt finished worse than 15th in the Chase, and hes going to three tracks where he finished no worse than 13th earlier this year. Plus hes a Cubs fan and theres something in the air called destiny.Why he wont: He has been the epitome of consistently doing what it takes to advance. In this round, a driver has to do more. Hes going to three tracks where he finished no better than sixth earlier this year. Plus hes a Cubs fan and theres something in the air called being cursed.8. Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs Racing No. 18 ToyotaSecond-round wins: NoneSecond-round points: 3,084 (fifth)Why he will advance: He won at Martinsville and Texas earlier this year and led 461 laps in the races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. While he hasnt won a race since the Brickyard, he had a second, third, fifth and sixth in the four races leading into Talladega. Busch and Johnson appear as close to a lock to advance more than anyone else in this round.Why he wont: Parts and pieces can break. Tires can blow. The team can beat itself. ' ' '