This Week in Golf - October 9th through October 12th

Golf Betting Lines

10/06/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CHAMPIONS TOUR - CONSTELLATION ENERGY SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Baltimore Country Club (East Course) Timonium, Maryland - Last year, Loren Roberts fired three rounds of three-under 67 to go with a four-under 66 in the second round to cruise to a six-stroke win.

The victory was Roberts' seventh on the Champions Tour and was his third major championship crown.

This is the fifth and final major of the season on the Champions Tour. Jay Haas (Senior PGA Championship), Bruce Vaughan (Senior British Open Championship), Eduardo Romero (U.S. Senior Open) and Fred Funk (JELD-WEN Tradition) won the season's first four major crowns.

Roberts' other major wins came at the 2005 JELD-WEN Tradition and the 2006 Senior British Open Championship.

Early in the final round last year, Roberts reeled off four straight birdies to pull away from the field. That helped him erase the memory of 2006, when he coughed up a five-shot lead to open the door for Bobby Wadkins' first major championship title.

This is the 26th playing of this event and Arnold Palmer is still the only one to win this title in back-to-back years. Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton join Palmer as the only players to win this title twice.

There have been just two playoffs in the first 25 years of the event. About a quarter of the winners have been rookies, as six players won this title the first time they played the event.

This is the second year the tournament will be played at the Baltimore Country Club. From 1991 to 2006, the championship was held at the TPC of Michigan. Three other courses have hosted this event.

The Golf Channel has coverage from 1:30-4:00 p.m. (et) on Thursday and Friday, while NBC will cover the action from 4:00-6:00 p.m. on the weekend.

PGA TOUR

VALERO TEXAS OPEN, The Resort Course at La Cantera Golf Club, San Antonio, Texas - Native son Justin Leonard closed with a five-under 65 last year to force a playoff with Jesper Parnevik.

Leonard then birdied the third playoff hole to win this title for the third time. He joined Arnold Palmer as the only three-time winners of the event. Leonard and Palmer are the only two players to win this crown in back-to-back years.

Parnevik opened with a career-best nine-under 61 to lead after the first round. He went 65-66-69 the rest of the way, while Leonard closed with rounds of 64-65 to catch the Swede and force the extra session.

The Texas Open is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA Tour, but the only one that has been played in the same city throughout.

When Robert Gamez won the tournament in 2005, he ended the longest drought between wins in PGA Tour history. Gamez had last won in March of 1990. The 15 years and six months between wins was longer than the 15 years, five months Butch Baird had gone between victories.

A year earlier, Bart Bryant won thanks to a course-record, 10-under 60 in the third round. That meant he and his brother, Brad, became the fourth set of brothers to win on the PGA Tour.

The Golf Channel has three hours of coverage all four days. Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Las Vegas for the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where George McNeill won last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

MADRID MASTERS, Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain - The Madrid Masters is the third of four new events on the 2008 schedule.

The event will be run by GFC Golf & Business. European Tour player Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, a three-time winner on tour, is the president of that company. He will be joined in the field by Miguel Angel Jimenez and five other Spaniards.

This will be the 19th different event to be contested on Spanish soil. The tournament will be played at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, which hosted eight Spanish Opens and five Madrid Opens, as well as the 1965 World Cup.

The Golf Channel has three hours of coverage each day this week. Next up for the European Tour is the Portugal Masters, where Steve Webster won last year.

LPGA TOUR

LONGS DRUGS CHALLENGE, Blackhawk Country Club, Danville, California - The LPGA Tour remains in California this week for the Longs Drugs Challenge, where Suzann Pettersen claimed her third of five wins last year.

Pettersen stumbled to a one-over 73 in the final round, but it was enough to get her into a playoff with women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who closed with a 71 to join Pettersen at 11-under.

On the second playoff hole, Pettersen made a six-foot birdie putt to knock off Ochoa. The loss dropped Ochoa to just 1-5 in playoffs.

Last year's extra session was the first since the second year of the event.

LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster is the only two-time winner in tournament history, picking up back-to-back titles in 1999-2000. Inkster, who finished third last year, has made the cut in 11 of 12 starts here.

The very busy Golf Channel will have coverage from 7:30-10:00 p.m. (et) every day. Next week is the Kapalua LPGA Classic, which is a new event on the LPGA Tour schedule.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

WNB GOLF CLASSIC, Midland Country Club, Midland, Texas - Last year, this event matched the second-longest playoff in Nationwide Tour history.

Brad Adamonis (70), Ron Whittaker (71), Tjaart van der Walt (68) and Vance Veazey (68) all finished at 10-under to force a playoff.

Whittaker was knocked out on the first extra hole and Veazey got bumped off on the second playoff hole. However, Adamonis and van der Walt needed eight holes to decide a winner.

Adamonis parred the eighth playoff hole to finally knock off van der Walt. Adamonis will not be defending his crown as he is scheduled to play on the PGA Tour.

There is no television coverage this week. Next week is the Chattanooga Classic, the next-to-last full field event of the season. Whittaker won that title by a single stroke last year.

Wwwbarchart Golf Betting News

<< Beckenbauer backs Klinsmann for turnaround
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bewildered Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer believes Jurgen Klinsmann is the right man to transform the club's fortunes. Bayern could only draw 3-3 against Bochum on Saturday and are now 11th i

<< Luhukay sacked by Monchengladbach
Monchengladbach, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Monchengladbach have sacked coach Jos Luhukay following a poor start to the new season. Luhukay's side have lost six of their seven Bundesliga games this term, with the final straw

<< Creamer moves to No. 3 in Rolex Rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer won the elite Samsung World Championship on Sunday and jumped two places to No. 3 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. The top two remained the same with Lorena Ochoa followed by A

<< Karlsson climbs to eighth in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson's win on Sunday at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship helped him jump into the top 10 in this week's Official World Golf Rankings. Karlsson moved 10 places to a career-best

<< Robben out two weeks for Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben looks set for a two-week spell on the sidelines after limping out of Sunday's 2-2 draw with Espanyol due to a hamstring problem. The Netherlands international only came on at

New York safety Smith appealing suspension for hit on Boldin >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets safety Eric Smith has appealed his one game suspension and $50,000 fine that the NFL levied on him for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin in the

Tampa acquires D Krajicek from Vancouver >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman Lukas Krajicek and forward Juraj Simek from the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Shane O'Brien and forward Michel Ouellet on Monday. The 25-year-old Kr

Granollers upended in Sweden >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers was a first-round upset victim Monday at the $980,000 Stockholm Open. Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori ousted Granollers in 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 come-from- behind fashio

Griese questionable; Garcia could start >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brian Griese is considered questionable for this week's game against Carolina after sustaining elbow and shoulder injuries Sunday against Denver. Bucs coach Jon Gruden said he wo

Ferrero, Verdasco advance in Vienna >>
Vienna, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero and fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco were a pair of Spanish winners Monday at the $930,000 Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. An unseeded Ferrero toppled fourth-seeded Cr


Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.