Thousands of people waving Union Flags lined the streets of London to toast the athletes behind the country's unprecedented summer of sporting success. Twenty-one floats carried members of the Olympic and Paralympic teams from St. Paul's Cathedral to Buckingham Palace, where the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows aerobatic team left a trail of red, white and blue smoke over The Mall.
"Unbelievable, to think that everyone's come out for all of us," said Zara Phillips, who won a silver medal in equestrian. "This is like the whole games though ... the crowd were unbelievable and we are so grateful to them."
London staged two trouble-free Games that defied initial anxiety about security and inclement weather to provide a lift for the recession-hit nation. Britain's summer in the international spotlight began in May with festivities to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
"What a golden summer it has been for our country," Prime Minister David Cameron said. "I think it has given us a tremendous lift, I think it has brought the country together."
Cameron said there is also a lesson to draw from the Olympics, as countries across Europe struggle to deal with huge debts and sharp austerity programs.
Read More: Golden summer of sport given fitting finale as thousands line streets for Olympic and Paralympic athletes' parade - Telegraph
THE POPULARITY of the Olympics sapped interest in betting on sports such as soccer and horse racing in recent weeks, online gambling exchange Betfair said yesterday, eating into revenues at the company which offers an alternative to traditional bookmakers.
Betfair, set up 12 years ago, said like-for-like revenue adjusted for the impact of regulation was only marginally higher since the start of August against the same period a year before.
That compares with core revenue growth of 13 per cent to £91.6 million in the three months through July, helped by the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, although the company said its performance was broadly in line with expectations for the year to date, thanks to its strong first quarter.
Before the Olympics, bookmakers had been cautious about the impact of the Games, noting that many of the sports were not big betting markets. That seems to have been the Betfair experience, although punters staked more cash than before on the event.
“We had our best-ever Olympics with over twice as many customers betting on the Games as they did in Beijing,” chief financial officer Stephen Morana said, although he conceded that activity overall had been hit.
The company also announced that Mr Morana would leave his position as chief financial officer once a successor had been found, having served as interim chief executive for several months and having been with the business for a decade.
Breon Corcoran, previously chief operating officer at Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, took over as chief executive last month.
Mr Corcoran will have to deal with regulatory issues in a number of continental European markets and ensure revenue growth picks up again. He said he would give more details on his plans at the company’s interim results in December.
Betfair has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission over new Cypriot gambling legislation, which it says could lead to betting exchanges being prevented from operating in their current format in Cyprus.
In Germany, a 5 per cent federal turnover tax introduced in July would make its exchange model unviable if applied, the company warned.
Betfair says Olympics put dent in its revenue - The Irish Times - Wed, Sep 12, 2012
Once the darling of the online set with its Farmville and other mobile and online applications, Zynga has hit hard times of late as its stock has dropped 72 % since its IPO in December and recently its executives have been fleeing the building, with seven gone since August.
The company is the largest maker of games for Facebook, and it is known for programs such as Mafia Wars, CastleVille, CityVille, Words with Friends and of course FarmVille is now looking to partnerships to help bolster its brand and hopefully bring in additional customers and revenue.
The latest move is to promote developer RocketPlay and its Sports Casino and will be bringing the app to Facebook and Zynga-com. This is the first time that Zynga has promoted a third party app, in the past all of the content in is lineup has been homegrown. It will be interesting to see if in the future Zynga takes on a much larger role as a publisher, and if that will cause complications due to conflicts of interest.
Sports Casino imitates real life in many ways; you check the odds and place bets, and then root for the results that will bring you in the cash. It is not just a sports book but also will have video poker, slots and blackjack and other casino games. You can even enjoy a nice cocktail while doing so. The difference is that you do so by simply logging into Facebook while sitting at home, and of course no real money changes hands.
Out just a week it already has 10,000 followers, which is a nice start but far from the heady numbers that some of the more established games have such as Words with Friends that has 13 million players, but it is still new.
One feature that it has that I greatly dislike is that it may post on my behalf mentioning achievements high scores etc… Thanks but that is not really something I want, and that feature has prevented me from using other apps that do this. However others seem quite happy in broadcasting to the world their ups and downs playing online games.
The game will initially only present odds for NCAA football, the NFL, MLB and a variety of soccer matches but expects to expand to cover a number of additional sports including the NBA and NCAA basketball and others.
Zynga already has a virtual gambling game, Zynga Poker, which was its first game. However Business Insider has suggested that the reason for the partnership is that RocketPlay’s platform could be the basis for a real-money gambling at some point in the future. RocketPlay’s management team has experience in that area.
Jimmie Johnson is the favorite on the NASCAR futures at Bovada as the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday afternoon in one of two marquee races on the calendar for this weekend.
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Johnson is pegged at 9/4 odds at Bovada on the odds to win the Sprint Cup this season, with the field for the Chase finally set. Denny Hamlin, who is at 5/1 to win the title this year, sits three points up on Johnson, Tony Stewart (10/1) and Brad Keselowski (9/1) in the adjusted standings for NASCAR's playoffs, which begin in Sunday's Geico 400.
Greg Biffle (12/1) and Clint Bowyer (18/1) are both six points back of Hamlin as the Chase gets underway, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8/1) and Matt Kenseth (12/1) nine points behind the leader. Kevin Harvick (18/1), Martin Truex Jr. (18/1), Kasey Kahne (10/1) and Jeff Gordon (9/1) are each a dozen points back of Hamlin heading into the Geico 400.
There have only been 11 Sprint Cup Series races held at Chicagoland, with Harvick winning the first two events on the track in 2001 and 2002, and Stewart taking a series-high three checkered flags at the venue (2004, 2007, 2011).
Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and David Reutimann have all managed to win Cup races at Chicagoland Speedway in their careers as well.
On Saturday night the IndyCar Series will close out its season at the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, with Team Penske's Will Power (453 points) trying to hold off Andretti Autosports' Ryan Hunter-Reay (436 points) for the driver's title.
Hunter-Reay leads the way with four victories so far this season, while Power has managed to cross the finish line in first place three times in 2012. The MAVTV 500 will be the first IndyCar Series race at Auto Club Speedway since 2005, when Dario Franchitti won.
William Hill - The UK's Number One bookmaker is introducing a betting first with the launch of their brand new Priority Prices innovation this Saturday.
From a company with a proven record for delivering enhanced odds on the biggest events the Priority Prices innovation will see William Hill offer punters the opportunity, via a simple registration process, to gain advance notice of standout odds on the biggest sporting events.
Whether you bet with williamhill-com in-shop or via your mobile, you will be able to sign-up for advanced alerts - ahead of the rest of the world - on each Priority Price offer.
To sign-up for Priority Prices alerts either: • Text 'Priority' to 87004 • Follow @Priority Prices on Twitter • Register on facebook-com/WilliamHillSports
Kate Miller, spokeswoman for William Hill, said: ''This is a first for the betting industry where subscribed customers can gain advance notification on enhanced odds ahead of the rest of the gambling community. It's free to sign-up and we're committed to only offering industry-best odds. It's another weapon to add to any punters' armoury.'’
William Hill is only able to offer a limited number of Priority Prices for each event, but as part of this very special scheme, William Hill will be keeping its customers informed on Priority Prices release dates, number of bets available at that price, as well as regular updates on how many bet numbers remain available.
Read more here: LONDON, September 13, 2012: William Hill Launch New Alert Service with Priority Prices! | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online
It sounds like boasting to say — and as you know British people do not make claims about their prowess — that it sits pretty well with us sporting types to be British at this moment.
Having issued the disclaimer about boastfulness, well, we are perpetual winners in sports year 2012.
Most recently there was Andy Murray’s victory in the U.S. Open tennis tournament when he defeated Djokovic and at last got his hands on a major trophy and when he looked for the first time as if he actually caused the holder of the cup to say to himself: “Hey, this guy makes me shiver.”
Steady progress
Murray’s progress through the swollen ranks of tournament players has been steady rather than spectacular. It is seven years since I asked a famous tennis correspondent if Murray could win a major. “I am told it is a certainty,” he replied. “His footwork, his wrist position and his sheer determination that makes it so.”
It is not so much that Rory McIlroy wins golf tournaments but that Tiger Woods, whose days may have gone, says the Irishman can take the place Woods held until his family problems and the death of his father and mentor upset his rush to immortality.
Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France which is about as natural as a Tibetan being named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, our footballers are making satisfactory progress towards the finals of the 2014 World Cup and if our cricketers are out of sorts and off the top of the world rankings ladder, well, we know they are a good side. They are also young enough to make it back.The football authorities have concerns about Wayne Rooney who has returned from his summer idleness a lot heavier than his managers can stomach and the whole of cricket is waiting for England to sort out its differences with Kevin Pietersen who has only one problem.
Read More: The Hindu : Sport / Other Sports : Perpetual winners in sports year 2012
The number of U.S. homes that don't get traditional television service continues to increase, but that doesn't mean they don't have TVs.
The Nielsen company said in a report issued Tuesday that three-quarters of the estimated 5 million homes that don't get TV signals over the airways or through cable, satellite or telecommunications companies have televisions anyway.
Many of these homes are satisfied to use their TVs for games or get programming through DVDs or services such as Netflix or Apple TV, said Dounia Turrill, senior vice president for client insights at Nielsen.
The company's report shows how the nature of TV service is slowly changing. Before the percentage started declining about three years ago, more than 99 percent of TV homes received the traditional TV signals. Now, that has dipped just below 96 percent.
Part of the decline is also economic — service is deemed expendable by people struggling to make ends meet, Nielsen said.
Because of the changes, Nielsen is considering redefining what it considers a television household to include people who get service through Netflix or similar services instead of the traditional TV signals, Turrill said.
During the first three months of 2012, the average consumer spent about 2 percent less time watching traditional TV than the previous year, Nielsen said. They more than made up for that by spending more time watching material recorded on DVRs or on the Internet through TVs, computers and mobile devices.
Read More: ENTERTAINMENT: Nielsen shows how people use TV differently
Dean Greyling's flying attack at Richie McCaw's unprotected head was bad enough, but unfortunately the madness hasn't ended there.
To compound an already appalling incident during Saturday's Rugby Championship match in Dunedin, Sanzar have seen fit to ban the replacement Springboks prop, who was yellow-carded on the advice of an assistant referee, for just one match. Officially it is a two-week suspension, but with all four teams having a week off he will miss only the match against Australia in Pretoria.
To recap, Greyling, in attempting to "clean-out'' McCaw, leapt over a ruck and connected with the All Blacks captain's jaw with his forearm. McCaw is becoming used to such attacks to his head but even he looked shocked by the reckless nature of it.
Seconds earlier he received a shoulder to the head from another South African. It's a wonder he managed to get to his feet afterwards.
It is hard to put such a soft penalty into perspective, but by way of comparison, Greyling's teammate Even Eztebeth received the same sanction after being found guilty of striking Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe the previous weekend in Perth, which resulted in lock Eztebeth missing the Dunedin match.
With Valerie Adams set to be awarded her Olympic gold medal in Auckland there is a strong sense in New Zealand that the drug testing system works and justice has been done.
The steroids that were taken by Adam's great rival, Nadzeya Ostapchuk, are currently banned in elite competitive sport.
Yet the reasons for their prohibition outlined in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) World Anti-Doping Code are absurd, particularly Wada's claim that performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are contrary to their definition of the spirit of sport.
Wada decides which substances will and will not be banned on the basis that they must meet two out of the following three criteria: They must have the potential to increase sporting performance; represent an actual or potential risk to the athletes health or their use be contrary to the spirit or sport.
This allows athletes to take drugs that are harmful but not performance enhancing or seen as being contrary to the spirit of sport, like tobacco. It also allows athletes to take drugs like caffeine, which enhances performance but isn't considered to be harmful to health or contrary to the spirit of sport.
The wording of point two is particularly devious in the way it is so open: it states that a substance must represent ''an actual or potential risk to health''.
This allows for any substance in existence; too much water can potentially be harmful you. These criteria can be twisted to argue for or against any substance and show the reliance of Wada on the concept of the "spirit of sport", which the decision to ban many substances can hinge.
Read More: Sport drug testing rules are absurd | Stuff.co.nz
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When you think of brilliant individual sports moments which turn a game, you have to include Maradona's goal vs England in 1986.
It was, in fact, voted by fans as the goal of the century on FIFA-com in 2002.
It remains, 10 years on, the defining moment of his career, the moment where a plucky 5ft 5'' (1.65m) Argentinian took on half the England team and won.
The 1986 World Cup quarter-final was hanging in the balance at the start of the second half when Maradona shocked England by scoring two goals in four mins.
His first was the infamous "Hand of God", where he blatantly used his hand to punch the ball into the net. The second, though, was legitimately a masterpiece.
Receiving the ball 60m away from the goal, Maradona proceeded to out-dribble and juke around six English players to score.
The ease with which he runs around the English is astounding, it almost looks like he's on a fast-forward setting, compared to the rest of the players. In today's game, this play would never have happened due to the physical nature of the game. Therefore, this goal will stand alone as the best single run of all time.
Argentina would eventually win the match 2-1 and go on to win the tournament. Maradona won the best player of the tournament award and would become known as one of the Top five greatest football players.
Nothing was more instrumental in his becoming a football legend than this goal.
Football: The Glory of Sport: Diego Maradon | Stuff.co.nz
Which Unsung Hero in your area deserves recognition? Amid the stunning year of sport so far, the BBC has launched the BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero Award, to celebrate people working behind the scenes to make sport accessible to all.
The spirit of volunteering has been seen across the UK throughout 2012, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games bringing thousands of volunteer 'Games Makers' to the fore, while also highlighting the fantastic work done by other people around the country who generously give their time and effort. Since 2003 the BBC has recognised the achievements of Unsung Heroes with this award, with nominations coming entirely from members of the public. Now in its 10th year, the Unsung Hero Award will be given to someone who goes the extra mile to help out in local sport.
So if you know someone who coaches, administers or organises clubs in their free time for no reward except the enjoyment of seeing sport flourish in their communities across the UK, you can nominate them now.
Read More: BBC Sport - BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero 2012
After coming up just short in the first Chase for the Sprint Cup race last weekend, championship favorite Jimmie Johnson will be looking to grab the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon as the circuit takes on New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Sylvania 300.
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Johnson finished second to Brad Keselowski in last week's Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, which gave Keselowski the early advantage in the Sprint Cup's Chase standings; Keselowski has 2,056 points after one Chase race, with Johnson at 2,053.
Still, it's Johnson – who has won the Sprint Cup five times in the past – listed as the current 9/4 favorite on the NASCAR futures at Bovada to take the title again this season, while Keselowski's victory at Chicagoland has him in second at 4/1 odds on that list.
And Keselowski will be seeking his first-ever Cup victory at the Loudon track on Sunday; back in July at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Keselowski turned in a fifth-place result in a race that was won by Kasey Kahne.
Johnson ended up back in seventh place in that race in July but he's managed to pick up wins in New Hampshire before – most recently at the 2010 Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Johnson also visited Victory Lane at Loudon in both events at the track back in 2003.
Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. filled in the rest of the top five drivers at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in July, and they're also part of this year's Chase field – Hamlin is at 9/2 odds to win the Sprint Cup, with Bowyer at 20/1, and Dale Jr. at 9/1.
The rest of the current NASCAR championship odds at Bovada: Tony Stewart (6/1), Kahne (10/1), Matt Kenseth (15/1), Greg Biffle (20/1), Jeff Gordon (20/1), Martin Truex Jr. (20/1), and Kevin Harvick (22/1) – who ended up eighth at New Hampshire in July.
Sports books in the USA and abroad are struggling with all the usual problems associated with betting online but one that plagues the industry more than most is money transfers. A recent news article noted that fraud has been a problem that has grown in scope as new customers who deposit with a credit card feel they have the right to dispute the deposit charges when they lose. Customers are complaining that they are having difficulty using their credit cards causing long delays and sometimes refusal of service.
One of the reasons for the changes comes from the fact that today's operators are smarter, have analyzed the numbers and are now using proven verification systems to ward off fraud. "We are simply doing more due diligence on customers and running their applications through well-known verification systems," one sports book spokesperson said. "We would rather refuse a deposit from someone who gets flagged by our systems than run the risk of charge-back and fraud," "These new systems look at everything, just like any business who takes credit card payments blindly over the Internet,"
The problem of ‘charge back’ fraud is explained, "If we take in $10,000 in credit card deposits and half of those 'players' dispute the transactions and a few of the remaining half win, we are actually losing money. It's just not worth the risk anymore because not only is there a financial risk, but there is also the greater and more damaging risk of losing our credit card processing all together."
The idea that the customer must gain the trust of the online sportsbook sounds odd but is very real. Bookies online who eventually get to know their customers which is a basic goal of every operator become more accepting of credit card deposits and transactions. The sports books explain that the online gambling industry is still young and has been through many changes in its twenty or so years of operation so there are adjustments being made to the process almost daily.
Sporting Clube de Goa remained in the hunt for a semifinal berth as it got the better of qualifier Kalighat Milan Sangha 3-2 in a second round Group C league match of the 34th Federation Cup here at the Kanchanjungha Stadium on Sunday.
Dawson Fernandes struck twice while Macroy Piexote found the net once for Sporting Clube, which saw all its goals coming in the first half. Christopher Chizoba scored in each half to reduce the margin for Kalighat MS.
Improving upon its 1-1 draw against last year’s runner-up East Bengal in the previous round, Sporting Clube went into attack mode right from the start. Macroy Piexote struck the target in the 12th minute to give Sporting an early advantage. Kalighat worked its way back into the game with a 36th minute equaliser off a powerful long range shot from Nigerian Christopher.
The Kolkata side could not hold on to the scoreline as Dawson fired Sporting’s return with a 43rd minute penalty. The striker found the Kalighat net again with an angular shot in first half stoppage time.
As Sporting sought to preserve the 3-1 lead by tightening its defence after the break, Kalighat exploited the free space and reduced the margin in the 72nd minute off a Christopher solo goal.
Read More: The Hindu : Sport / Football : Narrow win for Sporting Clube
BRAZIL'S sports minister described as lamentable and unacceptable the theft of computer files from London Olympic organisers by members of his country's organising committee.
Minister Aldo Rebelo said the Rio 2016 committee acted "correctly to investigate the incident" and fire its 10 employees who downloaded the internal documents without authorisation during the London Games.
Rebelo, the government official in charge of overseeing Brazil's World Cup and Olympic preparations, said in a statement that the employees' behaviour does not represent the relationship of "trust and harmony" between both countries hosting the Summer Games.
It was the first time the Brazilian government officially commented on the embarrassing episode, which hadn't been made public by local organisers and was only confirmed after a report in Brazilian media.
The minister said he didn't think the episode would affect the relationship between Brazil and Britain ahead of Rio's preparations for the next Summer Games.
"It's a lamentable episode involving two private entities - the Olympic organising committees of London 2012 and Rio 2016," Rebelo said.
"The Rio 2016 committee acted correctly to investigate the incident, along with the London committee, to punish those responsible."
His comments came after Brazilian media published unconfirmed reports that London 2012 organisers were disappointed and planned to cooperate less with Rio now as opposed to before the episode happened.
"The United Kingdom, actually, has already approved the creation of a working group to act with the Brazilian government to relay its experience as host of the London Games to help Brazil overcome the challenges of preparing the Rio 2016 Games," Rebelo said.
The Rio 2016 committee did not say which types of files were downloaded or name the employees fired, only noting that they were not in managerial positions.
London officials said on Friday the documents likely would have been provided to the Rio team had they requested them.
The employees removed the files while working alongside London staff in the technology department as part of an official "transfer of knowledge program" between the Olympic host cities during the July 27-August 12 London Games.
The Rio 2016 committee was heavily criticised for not disclosing the incident even though it happened more than a month ago.
After Brazilian journalist Juca Kfouri reported the case, it released a statement saying that the employees were engaging in conduct "contrary to the ethical principles and mutual trust shared by the two organisations".
It also said "all of the documents were recovered and returned" after the "isolated case", noting that about 200 Rio employees were represented in London during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Brazil's sports ministers slams Rio organisers who stole London Olympic files | adelaidenow
The internet company which launched a little over five months ago has introduced a new way for sports bettors to place wagers on their favorite sports teams without any of the risks associated with typical online sports betting. Players can win prizes such as the latest Apple iPad, Apple MacBook Air, and Sony’s 65 inch HDTV. In addition, through its flagship contest, The Summer Streak Challenge, players can win a 2012 Ford Mustang V6 convertible by successfully picking 30 games in a row.
The site offers free, non-gambling tournaments in which players can compete by picking sporting outcomes and can win prizes. Players can compete on the basis of professional and collegiate sports results. This includes: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAAF and NCAAB. They can also issue direct challenges to compete against other players on the site and create profiles and interact through various social networking features.
Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Gray, said “We plan to increase our offering of prizes and tournaments steadily. We constantly monitor site usage and review customer feedback in order to continue developing a product that will be attractive and fun to our user community. Our progress has been great since launching earlier this year and we plan to continue offering great prizes like Ford Mustang convertibles.”
Created by Five1Eight Media LLC, Betbomb-com is an entirely new online sports gaming concept that is free to play. It combines traditional sports betting with poker style play to develop a strategy based, sports betting game that does not exist anywhere else. The website is seamless, intuitive, and extremely user friendly. The game’s strategic and social nature coupled with the ability to win great prizes at no cost generates a new excitement in the online sports gaming.
Any further questions regarding BetBomb-com, its services, and features may be sent to [email]info@betbomb-com[/email].
New York Online Sports Gaming Company Adds 2012 Ford Mustang V6 Convertible To Prize List. - Entertainment News - redOrbit
FIREFIGHTERS are working to protect gas and power assets as a scrub fire continues to burn near Loch Sport in Gippsland.
The 730ha fire, in the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park, started last night and is now burning about 10km southwest of the Loch Sport township.
Department of Sustainability and Environment incident information officer Kerri Fleet said the fire was not posing any immediate threat to private assets.
"The objective at this stage is to have the fire contained by about 5pm today, and focus on protection of Esso's gas pipeline infrastructure - not the pipeline itself as it's underground - and SP Ausnet infrastructure as well,'' Ms Fleet said.
She said the DSE and CFA had escalated its community message to 'watch and act' rather than an advice message due to today's high temperatures.
"It hasn't moved any closer towards the Loch Sport township, but we just wanted people to be aware that there is increased fire behaviour in places because it's warmer.''
Ms Fleet said 78 DSE and CFA personnel were working to control the fire, ahead of forecast strong winds later today.
"They (firefighters) are strengthening control lines and continuing with direct attack with tankers, slip-ons and appliances,'' she said.
"We've got two aircraft operating there as well, one fixed-wing for air observation and a water-bombing helicopter.''
Power has been restored in the Loch Sport area after earlier being cut off.
The fire, in coastal vegetation, is burning on both sides of the Loch Sport Rd but the road remains open with traffic management in place.
"Victoria Police are there and they're escorting people backwards and forwards along that road,'' Ms Fleet said.
The fire began north of the Loch Sport Rd between Spoon Bay Track and Crest Track and the cause is being investigated.
Fire crews fight Loch Sport fire - Weekly Times Now
Jimmie Johnson has had to settle for second place in each of the first two races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he'll be looking for a win on Sunday afternoon in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway to solidify his spot as the series' championship favorite.
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Johnson finished as the runner-up to Brad Keselowski in the Geico 400 two weeks ago and then ended up behind Denny Hamlin at the Sylvania 300 over the weekend. That kept Johnson from paying out at either of those events on the NASCAR lines at Bovada, but it did manage to boost him to the lead in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings.
Heading into this week's event at Dover it's Johnson up one point on Keselowski and seven points on Hamlin in the Chase standings with eight races to go in the season. That has Johnson sitting as the 7/4 favorite on the odds to win the Sprint Cup at Bovada, with Hamlin at 7/2, and Keselowski at 9/2.
Tony Stewart, who is 10 points behind Johnson in the current standings, is then at 13/2 to win the championship, with Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne at 10/1 on those NASCAR futures, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 15/1, Jeff Gordon at 20/1, Kevin Harvick at 28/1, both Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. at 30/1, and Matt Kenseth rounding out the lines at 35/1.
Kenseth could help himself on that odds list with his second victory at Dover International Speedway in the past two years – he took the checkered flag in the 2011 FedEx 400 on the track. It's Johnson, though, that won the FedEx 400 earlier this season, giving him four Cup wins at Dover since 2009 and seven overall in his career on the circuit.
Kurt Busch, who didn't make the field for the Chase, is the defending AAA 400 champion.
Sir Clive Woodward wants Team GB's Rio 2016 Olympics Sevens players from Wales, England and Scotland to begin playing together in 2014.
The proposal would mean players missing regular club and Test action on the International Rugby Board Sevens scene.
"There has to be some real, up-front discussions now about how it's going to work," said the British Olympic Association's director of sport.
Rugby sevens will make its Olympic bow as a new sport in Brazil in 2016.
If Ireland field a men's Sevens team in Rio, players from Northern Ireland are expected to continue with the tradition of appearing for the combined Irish team.
The 2012-13 IRB Sevens series starts on the weekend of 13-14 October, 2012 and ends on 11-12 May, 2013 with England, Wales and Scotland competing.
That pattern of dates has evolved since the inaugural 1999-2000 tournament won by New Zealand and is repeated annually.
Read More: BBC Sport - Sir Clive Woodward wants Rio 2016 Sevens bid to start in 2014
"Unbelievable, to think that everyone's come out for all of us," said Zara Phillips, who won a silver medal in equestrian. "This is like the whole games though ... the crowd were unbelievable and we are so grateful to them."
London staged two trouble-free Games that defied initial anxiety about security and inclement weather to provide a lift for the recession-hit nation. Britain's summer in the international spotlight began in May with festivities to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
"What a golden summer it has been for our country," Prime Minister David Cameron said. "I think it has given us a tremendous lift, I think it has brought the country together."
Cameron said there is also a lesson to draw from the Olympics, as countries across Europe struggle to deal with huge debts and sharp austerity programs.
Read More: Golden summer of sport given fitting finale as thousands line streets for Olympic and Paralympic athletes' parade - Telegraph