PPH Sports Betting -- Stewart and Tiger Suffer Crashes of Different Sort

Tony Stewart may have found himself some big-time trouble. The three-time Sprint Cup champion, as WagerHome.com customers already know by now, was involved in an altercation on Saturday night that left a driver dead at a dirt track in Canandaigua, NY and essentially took him out of the following day's race at Watkins Glen.

 

We have no idea what was happening between the two drivers leading up to the incident, but coming out a turn, Stewart drove 20-year-old Kevin Ward into a wall, taking him out of the race. As often takes place in auto racing, the "wronged" driver got out of his car to confront the "offender." In this case, it was Ward coming out a little too far onto the track to call out Stewart. While other drivers, who were under a caution flag, avoided Ward by going to the inside, Stewart seemingly came toward Ward a little, and then he hit the throttle, seemingly side-swiping him. If the desired effect was to scare the kid, Stewart miscalculated, dragging Ward quite a distance and leaving him prone on the track's dirt surface. 

 

PPH bettors at WagerHome must admit that Ward's antics were ill-advised, although people like Stewart himself have promoted this kind of behavior in the past. In 2012 at Bristol, Stewart, after a spinout with Matt Kenseth, waited until Kenseth was exiting the pit road and then stepped out near the car and hurled a helmet at Kenseth's windshield, obviously in an attempt to cause Kenseth to do SOMETHING he didn't want to do. The punishment for Stewart? NOTHING. 

 

So while the kid contributed to the tragedy, at the same time Stewart not only did not do his best to avoid him, he perhaps thought he might send a "message" to the guy who came out onto the track and stared him down while the caution was on. Right now Stewart is not facing criminal charges, but it isn't inconceivable that he will in the future. And his "nasty" reputation, which is well-documented, including a statement after the Bristol incident that "I'm going to run over him (Kenseth) every chance I get for the rest of the year" won't help him in the event of a civil suit. 

 

What is yet to be explored is what thought process went into Stewart pulling out of the Watkins Glen race, because as NASCAR bettors at WagerHome know, he was set to compete anyway, and the Stewart-Haas Racing vice president of competition, Greg Zipadelli, called the whole thing "business as usual." All of this will probably have a deleterious effect on Stewart's career and his team, one way or another, and you can bet this whole thing is just getting started.

 

 

Tiger Woods desperately doesn't want to be written off by Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson,  although he hasn't done anything at all to bolster his case of making the team as a captain's (or wild card) pick, based on his performance this year. In golf, what you did last year doesn't matter all that much (Tiger won five times), especially if physical problems slow you down. It is clear that Woods hasn't demonstrated that he has worked himself into position to play at the highest level, not with a withdrawal and two missed cuts, the latest in the PG Championship, where he shot 74 on both days. His former coach, Butch Harmon, commented that he was "upset, for lack of a better word" that Woods even finished the Friday round, given the fact that he looked like he was in pain.

 

Still, Watson is keeping the light on, figuratively speaking, maybe because Woods told him, "I want you to pick me." Watson knows what he can do when he is even at 75% of his game, but he doesn't appear to be there. Woods will not be part of the FedEx Cup playoffs, but Watson has until September 2 to make up his mind. Woods is currently +150 at WagerHome.com to be one of those captain's picks, and maybe the oddsmakers are being charitable toward him. 

 

 

If Tiger can't make a real comeback, is Rory McIlroy prepared to pick up the slack as a major golf draw? TV networks have been crying the blues without a guy like Tiger to spotlight on Sundays, and ratings have been way down. But there was some encouragement in the ratings from this Sunday's telecast, where viewership was up 36% from a year ago and 54% from two years ago, when McIlroy won his first PGA title. And there was a 9.2 rating from 8-8:30 PM ET, when these guys were practically playing in the dark. All this is much higher than the previous three majors this year. 

 

Now that he has won two majors in a row, and the last three tournaments he's been in, and particularly with his comeback after falling behind this past weekend, WagerHome golf bettors know the stage may be set for the torch to be passed fully. McIlroy is among a select group of players (including Woods and jack Nicklaus) who have won four majors by the age of 25, and if people like Rickie Fowler can bust into the winner's circle at some point, the networks may have a rivalry that can withstand Tiger's bad back. 

 

Maybe. 

 

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