This Week in Golf -- February 16th through February 19th
Golf Betting Lines
02/13/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - NORTHERN TRUST OPEN - Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California - A week after crushing the field in the final round at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson heads to Hogan's Alley to see if he can keep the momentum going.
Mickelson fired an eight-under 64, while paired alongside Tiger Woods, to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by two strokes.
The victory was his 40th on PGA Tour and two of those have come at the Northern Trust Open. Mickelson beat Jeff Quinney by two strokes in 2008 and fended off Steve Stricker by a shot the following year.
Stricker came back to win the title in 2010, but neither he nor Mickelson contended last year.
Aaron Baddeley was one of five players to break par in every round last year, but was the only one to card all four rounds in the 60s en route to a two- stroke win over Vijay Singh.
For Baddeley, it was his third PGA Tour victory, but by far his biggest. The win came four years after his previous tour title.
Baddeley is coming off a fourth place finish at Pebble Beach, and has three top-30 finishes in four starts this year. He'll have plenty of competition this week in his title defense.
World No. 1 Luke Donald will make his first PGA Tour start of the season, and just his second start worldwide.
Along with Mickelson and Donald, two-time winner Fred Couples will be making his 30th appearance at this event and is one of eight former champions playing this week.
Six of the last seven winners are competing this week, including a pair of Australians -- Rory Sabbatini and Adam Scott, who is making his season-debut at Riviera.
Also in the field this week are a pair of college standouts - Jordan Spieth of Texas and Patrick Cantlay of UCLA. Spieth is currently the second-ranked collegiate player, while Cantlay is the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world.
Golf Channel and CBS will split the broadcast this week.
There are a pair of PGA Tour events next week. Donald will be in Arizona to defend his title at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, while the remainder of the tour will be in Mexico for the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Johnson Wagner won that title last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
AVANTHA MASTERS - DLF Golf & Country Club, New Delhi, India - India native S.S.P. Chowrasia closed with back-to-back 67s last year to earn his second European Tour title.
Chowrasia, whose other tour win was at the 2008 Indian Masters, was in his third campaign on tour and the win was one of just four cuts he made last year. He missed the cut in 16 events and withdrew from two others.
The 33-year-old is off to a better start this season as he has made the cut in three of his four starts. However, his best finish was a share of 24th at the Volvo Golf Champions.
Robert Coles handed Chowrasia the title in regulation last year, as Coles bogeyed the final hole to fall one back.
Chowrasia's countryman Jeev Milkha Singh, who was the first Indian to qualify for the European Tour, will also be in the field.
There will be a trio of Americans in the field as well - former major winners Todd Hamilton and John Daly along with Peter Uihlein, who was the top-ranked amateur in the world before turning pro.
Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds.
The European Tour will be in the United States for its next two events. First up is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where world No. 1 Luke Donald will defend his title. After a week off, Nick Watney will defend his crown at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
LPGA TOUR
HONDA LPGA THAILAND - Siam Country Club (Pattaya Old Course), Chonburi, Thailand - Women's world No. 1 Yani Tseng ran away with this crown last year as she kicked off a run of four top-five finishes in her first five events.
Tseng went on to win six more times, including two more major championships in 2011. She opened and closed the event with 66s en route to an easy five-stroke win over Michelle Wie. Tseng had four birdies on the back nine to pull away.
The 23-year-old from Taiwan entered the event as the new world No. 1 after a pair of wins on the Ladies European Tour.
Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds.
The LPGA will wrap up its three-event Asian swing next week with the HSBC Women's Champions, Karrie Webb won by two strokes over Chie Arimura last year, while Tseng took third.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
ACE GROUP CLASSIC - TwinEagles Golf Club (Talon Course) Naples, Florida - Bernhard Langer cruised to victory at this event last year, but it was one of just three top-10 finishes on the season.
Langer injured his thumb a couple weeks after this win and missed significant time. He played the following week at the Toshiba Classic, then didn't return to the tour until the U.S. Senior Open, which was the last weekend in July.
The German opened with a 64, then carded consecutive 66s on the weekend to win by four strokes over Fred Funk. Langer has finished in the top four in all three of his starts at this tournament.
The field includes 10 of the last 14 champions, including two-time winners Loren Roberts and Hale Irwin.
Golf Channel has tape-delayed coverage all week.
After a three-week break, the Champions Tour will return to action in California for the Toshiba Classic. Nick Price held off Mark Wiebe to win by a single stroke last year.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
PACIFIC RUBIALES COLOMBIA - Country Club de Bogota, Bogota, Colombia - The Nationwide Tour opens its 2012 season in Colombia this week and the event has a big name helping the cause.
Former President Bill Clinton will be at the event on Tuesday and Wednesday and will play in the Pro-Am to boost the stature of the tournament. The Tuesday evening charity gala will support Clinton's foundation.
The weather was the real winner last year. With bad weather the first couple days, the first round was not completed until Saturday morning. Brendan Pappas took the lead after round two and the third round started Sunday afternoon.
More than two hours into the third round, more inclement weather moved in and the tournament was shortened to 36 holes.
Pappas was declared the winner. It was his second tour victory. He will be on hand to defend his title.
There is no television this week.
The tour heads to Panama next week for the Panama Claro Championship, where Mathew Goggin won by two shots last year.
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia were among the winners Monday on the first day of main draw action at the Qatar Open. The 13th-seeded Ivanovic was ahead 6-1, 4-1 when Spain's Carla
<< Van Basten to take charge of Heerenveen
Heerenveen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Netherlands international
Marco van Basten has agreed to take over as manager of Heerenveen in the
summer after agreeing to a two-year contract.
Van Basten will take over for Ron Jan
<< Korda cracks top 100 in women's rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following her playoff victory at the
Women's Australian Open on Sunday, Jessica Korda jumped 203 places in this
week's women's world rankings.
Korda, who birdied the second playoff hole to def
<< Sa Pinto replaces Paciencia at Sporting
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Lisbon fired manager Domingos
Paciencia on Monday and has replaced him with Ricardo Sa Pinto.
Sa Pinto has been promoted to manager from his role in Sporting's youth setup,
and the 39-year-ol
<< Tretschok, Covic take charge of Hertha temporarily
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Hertha Berlin players Rene Tretschok
and Ante Covic have been named caretaker managers of the club following the
departure of manager Michael Skibbe on Sunday.
Skibbe took charge over the winte
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If an unproven scriptwriter took Jeremy Lin's story to Hollywood a month ago, he would have probably been thrown out on his ear. "Too unrealistic, kid," a jaded Tinseltown exec likely would have told the
Smith, Malkin, Perron named NHL's 'Three Stars' >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith,
Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin and St. Louis left wing David Perron have been
selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending February 12.
Smith won eac
Baylor still women's No. 1, UConn second >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor is again a unanimous choice as the No.
1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll.
The undefeated Lady Bears received all 40 first-place votes and a total of
1,000 points from
Oilers ink Sutton to extension >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers agreed to terms with
defenseman Andy Sutton on a one-year contract extension Monday.
Acquired on July 1 from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Kurtis
Foster, the 36-ye
Union adds MLS veteran Albright >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union has signed MLS veteran
defender Chris Albright, the club announced on Monday.
Albright is a three-time MLS All-Star and has spent 13 seasons in the league
with four teams.
The 33-
NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
Field 100-1
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