The New York Jets lead the league in embracing social media

Here's a great big surprise: The New York Jets organization likes to talk.



The Nielsen people decided to measure what NFL teams make the most out of social media sites -- Twitter, Facebook, various blogs, etc. -- and found that the Jets are pumping out way more content than anyone else.

It makes sense. The Jets are in a city that, from what I understand, is a pretty sizeable media market, and they've also got media-friendly personalities. And if the head coach is setting the tone for the entire franchise, then the organizational philosophy is something like talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, whether anyone is listening to your nonsense or not.

Here's the top five:

1. New York Jets: 11.9 percent share of all NFL-related social media activity
2. Philadelphia Eagles: 8.3 percent
3. New York Giants: 6.0 percent
4. Dallas Cowboys: 5.9 percent
5. New England Patriots: 4.3 percent

Those are all the teams listed. I'd be curious to see how all 32 teams ranked, particularly the bottom five. In related news, I heard the Cincinnati Bengals were thinking about getting a computer, because computers are the future. (I guess Thursday is "Pick on Mike Brown Day". I'm OK with that.).



As far as players go, no word on who's using social media the most, but Reggie Bush is getting mentioned the most. He was mentioned 194,000 times this offseason, which compares favorably to the 12 or 13 times he'll be mentioned during the regular season.

Baseball will keep it simple with special 9/11 hats

We'll undoubtedly be hearing more about MLB's plans for the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, but it appears the league will be ditching its Stars and Stripes caps in favor of a simple, yet powerful American flag patch embroidered on the side of a regular cap.

That's a solid first move for baseball's tribute and not only because we're not fans of the Stars and Stripes series. The patches are very reminiscent of what the players wore on their caps and above the nameplates on their jersey when baseball returned after the terrorist attacks in 2001. It's what we've suggested baseball always wear on patriotic dates — Memorial Day, July 4th, 9/11 — so hopefully the caps will stick around after we remember one of our country's darkest days in a few weeks.

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NASCAR preview and picks: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen

After weeks of turning left, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will throw in a few right turns this week with a visit to Watkins Glen International for Sunday’s second and final road course event on the 2011 schedule, the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen.
To the casual fan, the second of the two road courses on the schedule might look the same (Infineon in Sonoma California in June was the first), according to this week’s favorite Kyle Busch, they are very different.

Busch describes how different course layouts are by comparing Infineon to Martinsville, the smallest Sprint Cup oval, while comparing Watkins Glen to Talladega, the longest oval on the circuit.



“Watkins Glen seems like it’s an easier road course for these cars and for us to be on,” Busch told the media. “They’re not as agile as other sports cars are. We’re 3,400-pound racecars where other sports cars are maybe 2,500 or 2,800 pounds. You can throw them around a lot easier. Their brakes are a lot better and they stop a lot better. With as big and heavy of tanks as these (Sprint Cup cars have), we seem to have a problem, already, not running into each other.”

Busch drove to victory here in 2008 and hasn’t finished outside the Top 10 at the Glen since that win. Coming off a second place finish at Pocono last week, a track that many drivers admit acts like a road course, Busch is in a great position to pick up his fourth win of the season.

Tony Stewart is another driver on NASCAR bettors’ radar. He’s the series leader among active drivers with five wins at the Glen and last won here in 2009. Stewart could score his first victory of the season Sunday and his stats at the Glen, including the highest driver rating among the Top 12 drivers, seem to bear that out. However, he has been missing something this season that keeps him out of the favorite’s column. Should the magic return this weekend, Stewart could certainly be a threat.



Jeff Gordon might be ready to add a third victory and spoil the party for everyone else. He has four wins here and has been enjoying a decent season. Keep in mind, that the last time he won here was in 2001 and, while Stewart has the highest driver rating among the Top 12, Gordon has the lowest.

Wildcard watch

Under NASCAR’s new season points, the driver who is inside the Top 20 in points and who has at least one win, will be in line to make the season ending Chase for the Championship. With five races left until the cutoff that determines who will race for the title, several drivers are vying to make it inside the Top 20.

This week, the driver with the best shot to do that and win is Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose is 23rd in the standings and while he is winless at the Glen, he has finished third, second and third in his last three races here. With a record like that, and the motivation to win, he can’t be ignored.

Another driver on wildcard watch is Juan Pablo Montoya. He’s 21st in points, won last year’s event and has finished in the Top 10 in each of the last three races, but has been so off his game this season that a win Sunday would be a genuine surprise.



Head-to-head

This week’s primetime matchup pairs Jimmie Johnson vs. Carl Edwards. Both are winless at the Glen, but are at the top of the standings. Both drivers share three Top-5 finishes here and both will be racing in the Nationwide event Saturday. Johnson and Edwards will try to stay out of trouble in order to maintain their points, but Edwards has been coming on strong in the late stages of races, so look for him to finish ahead of the No. 48 Sunday.

Neither Clint Bowyer nor Dale Earnhardt Jr. are known as road course kings. Both are winless, but have been making noise lately as they try to prove they’re legitimate contenders. While Earnhardt does have two Top-5 finishes, the last in 2004, he also has two DNF’s. Look for Bowyer to come out ahead in this matchup.

Bottom Line
Starting inside the Top 10 at Watkins Glen can make for an easy trip to Victory Lane. Twenty of the 28 races at Watkins Glen have been won by a car in a Top-10 starting position.



Favorites

Kyle Busch(+800)
Tony Stewart (+700)
Jeff Gordon (+800)

Wildcard

Marcos Ambrose (+400)

NFL preseason betting: Coaches to follow and fade

The NFL preseason is a month-long opportunity for sports bettors to exploit generic lines that can offer plenty of value if you're paying attention.While teams' against the spread numbers tend to fluctuate from year to year during the regular season, that often isn't the case in the preseason, where most coaches have very pronounced histories and ATS trends.

Unlike in the regular season, many coaches will reveal to the media details about their upcoming game, such as who will play and how long, what their intentions are, what areas of improvement they'll try to identify, and so on.



With that in mind, here is a look at coaches you should consider betting on or against in the 2011 preseason, which kicks off Thursday:

COACHES TO FADE

Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts

In reality, this isn't a fade on Caldwell, the Colts' third-year coach, but rather on Bill Polian, the team's president. As an organization, the Colts don't believe there is any correlation between preseason and regular season success. They are routinely among the league's worst preseason teams both straight up and against the spread but still find themselves in the playoffs every year.

The Colts pamper their veterans and give Peyton Manning extremely limited action, often times looking for reasons to avoid playing him at all. Manning is expected to miss the Colts' first preseason game, and it's a safe bet he'll play just a series or two at most in the other three.

Caldwell is 1-7 straight up and 2-6 ATS in his two seasons as coach, continuing the Colts' tradition of preseason ineptitude that began with Tony Dungy. Since 2005, the Colts are 4-22 straight up and 7-18-1 ATS, which includes a 1-3 ATS mark last year, in which the Colts lost games by 20, 13 and 35 points.



Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

Carroll is 11-10 straight-up and 12-8-1 ATS all-time in the preseason, a record that includes his first two head coaching jobs in the 1990s with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. But now, more than a decade later, it seems Carroll has mellowed with age.

Carroll's Seahawks went 1-3 SU and 0-3-1 ATS last year during the preseason, and this year, despite the layoff from the lockout, it doesn't appear that Carroll is approaching these games with any level of seriousness. The second-year Seahawks coach has been on Twitter all week imploring fans to send in their suggestions for Seattle's first play call, and it's become a bit of a circus act.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the Seahawks already, it might not be a bad idea to fade Carroll's club.



COACHES TO FOLLOW

Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars

If Del Rio's teams performed as well in the regular season as they do in the preseason, then perhaps he wouldn't find himself on the hot seat every year. But unfortunately for Del Rio, his preseason success rarely carries over, as he's led the Jaguars to just two playoff appearances in eight seasons as a head coach.

Del Rio is 20-12 SU and 20-11-1 ATS since 2003, including a 5-2-1 ATS mark the last two seasons. Overall, Del Rio has never finished worse than 2-2 ATS in the preseason, posting a 3-1 record four times, a 2-1-1 record once and a 2-2 record three times.

This preseason might offer Del Rio his biggest challenge yet, as he'll be up against two organizations — the Patriots and Falcons — who take the preseason seriously. However, he'll also be up against one of the worst preseason coaches, Chan Gailey of the Bills, who is 4-10 ATS all time.

Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins

Expect the Redskins to play with a real sense of urgency during the preseason, since these exhibition games will represent the team's four best opportunities to win a game this season.



Shanahan has always played to win in the preseason, and that's apparent when looking at his 44-28 SU mark, which is far and away the best of any active head coach. More impressive is Shanahan's ability to cover the spread, as he's posted a 39-31-2 ATS mark all time, including a 2-2 ATS mark last year.

With many people questioning the direction of the Redskins franchise, Shanahan will be looking to deliver reasons for optimism throughout the month of August.