 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
This Week in Golf - May 27th through May 30thGolf Betting Lines05/24/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - CROWNE PLAZA INVITATIONAL AT COLONIAL, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas - Once again, the buzz this week focuses on a possible change atop the world rankings. Phil Mickelson is in the field this week at Colonial and can overtake Tiger Woods for the No. 1 spot in the world with a victory. Mickelson won this title in 2000 and again in 2008, so the possibility of a change is very real. He also had the chance to become No. 1 at the Players Championship, but that didn't happen. Mickelson's pursuit of No. 1 is at the forefront this week, but the defending champion is no slouch in the rankings either. Steve Stricker, No. 4 in the world, defeated Tim Clark, who won the Players Championship a few weeks back, and Steve Marino in a playoff to walk off with the title in 2009. Stricker is scheduled to compete this week, although his last tour event was the Masters. He won the Northern Trust Open earlier this year, but has been out of action since Augusta with a right shoulder injury. This week's field is strong, not just because of Mickelson and Stricker. Angel Cabrera, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Clark, John Daly, Lucas Glover, Hunter Mahan, Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson and Y.E. Yang are all scheduled to compete. Jason Day, who won the Byron Nelson on Sunday, is also on tap to appear. It was here seven years ago that Annika Sorenstam became the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event. She missed the cut on a sponsors' exemption with rounds of 71-74. Colonial Country Club has hosted this event since the tournament's inception in 1946. No other course has held a U.S. Open, a Tournament Players Championship and an annual PGA Tour event. In 1991, Colonial added the U.S. Women's Open to that unique repertoire. This is the second oldest PGA Tour event still being played at its original site. The Masters at Augusta National is the oldest. The Golf Channel has the action on Thursday and Friday and CBS takes over on the weekend. Next week it's Jack's event, the Memorial. Tiger Woods won last year, but with his neck injury, it's not known if he will be in the field to defend his title. CHAMPIONS TOUR SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Colorado Golf Club, Denver, Colorado - It's the first major championship on the Champions Tour this week and it's a PGA Tour player who will be defending his title. Michael Allen won last year's Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio. He has teed it up 10 times in 2010 on the PGA Tour, with his best finish a tie for fifth in late January at the Farmers Insurance Open. However, Allen has missed the cut in five of his last seven starts. Allen has also made four appearances on the Champions Tour this year. He finished third at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai the week before the Farmers Insurance Open. Allen would be one of the favorites this week, but not the No. 1 favorite. That status still belongs to the money leader this year on the Champions Tour, Fred Couples. Couples has three victories this year on the 50-and-over circuit, but hasn't visited the winner's circle since late March at the Cap Cana Championship. In the meantime, Couples took sixth at the Masters and has two top-12s on the Champions Tour. Bernhard Langer, Jay Haas, Loren Roberts and Eduardo Romero will all be in the hunt as well. The first two rounds are on the Golf Channel, then NBC has the final two rounds. Next week is the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa. Mark McNulty won last year's title. EUROPEAN TOUR MADRID MASTERS, Club de Campo, Madrid, Spain - There will be a strong Spanish contingent this week in Madrid, headlined by Sergio Garcia. Garcia will shoot for his fourth European Tour title on home soil, but will be joined in the field by fellow Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Miguel Angel Jimenez, both winners this year on tour, as well as Rafael Cabrera Bello and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. The strong homeland group will be trying to take down defending champion Ross McGowan, who will be defending his first title on the European Tour. McGowan fired a 60 on Saturday and had a seven-shot cushion heading into the final round. He won by three at Centro Nacional de Golf, but he will be defending on a different course. Also in the field this week is Luke Donald, who tied for second Sunday at the BMW PGA Championship. He was tied for the lead on the 17th hole, but took a double-bogey. Donald birdied the last to lose by a stroke, but there are Ryder Cup points on the line, so everyone will be looking to cash in on a chance to make Colin Montgomerie's team. The Golf Channel has all four rounds. Next week is the Celtic Manor Wales Open. Jeppe Huldahl won last year's title at the site of this year's Ryder Cup. LPGA TOUR BRASIL CUP 2010, Itanhanga Golf Club, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - This is an unofficial, 36-hole event in Brazil that highlights some of the best players on tour. Last year, Catriona Matthew shot a pair of 69s and won the tournament by five strokes over Kristy McPherson. Both players are in the field starting Saturday. The 2009 event featured 15 players with a $500,000 purse, but this year's championship will have 27 golfers and a $700,000 purse. Rio de Janeiro is the host city of the 2016 Olympics and that year, golf will make its debut. There is no television coverage of this unofficial event. In two weeks, it's the LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Illinois. In- Kyung Kim walked off with the title last year when she beat Se Ri Pak by a stroke.
<< Collins returns home to lead Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Collins is home again and ready to coach the team for which he played for eight seasons. Collins agreed to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers last week and was introduced Mon
<< Teams on the clock in deep NHL draft
<< In the FCS Huddle: Salukis hope to wow 'em in new stadium
<< Czech friendly is vital for a number of USA hopefuls
<< Pacers G Price hurts knee
Federer, Djokovic, Murray win French openers >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer began defense of his French Open title with a straight-set win on the second day of play at Roland Garros. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 seed Andy Murray also moved on in Paris. The
Suns' Nash has broken nose, won't miss time >>
Top horses maintain positions in NTRA Polls >>
Texans WR Johnson hires agent >>
Nash has broken nose, says he will be fine >>
Horse Betting(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine). The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late. "You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest. "A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve." When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential: CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped. DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins. PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge. You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike. "You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders." Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of. (By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.) Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout." But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing." Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you." Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front." All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold. In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse. "Now," says Avello, "it's time for action." To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs. |
|
