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02/20/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Haas knocked off Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a playoff at the Northern Trust Open on Sunday and that helped Haas move to a career-best spot of No. 12 in this week's world rankings.
The victory for Haas was his fourth time on the PGA Tour.
Luke Donald again held steady in the top spot. Rory McIlroy inched up one to No. 2 and that bumped Lee Westwood to third.
The next five positions were unchanged with No. 4 Martin Kaymer again followed by Steve Stricker, Webb Simpson, Jason Day and Adam Scott.
Despite the playoff loss, Mickelson moved up two to ninth. Dustin Johnson remained No. 10, while Masters champion Charl Schwartzel dipped a pair to 11th.
After Haas, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney all slipped one. Sergio Garcia rose one to 16th, as K.J. Choi and Brandt Snedeker both fell two to 17th and 18th respectively.
Bradley jumped seven positions to No. 19 and Tiger Woods dropped a pair to No. 20 this week. Bubba Watson and Justin Rose fell out of the top 20 as they dipped to 21st and 23rd.
Jbe Kruger soared 50 spots to No. 109 after his win at the European Tour's Avantha Masters.
<< Stoppage Time: Next few months crucial for Arsenal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the wake of Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Sunderland
over the weekend there are two things that are near certainties.
The first is that the Gunners will extend their run of seasons without a
trophy to a sevent
<< Spurs sign Dawson to 10-day contract
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward
Eric Dawson to a 10-day contract.
Dawson has appeared in 18 games for Austin of the NBA Development League and
is averaging 15.9 points with 10.1 rebounds and
<< Brewers sign five to one-year contracts
Maryvale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pitchers Marco Estrada, Mike McClendon and Tim
Dillard were among five players the Milwaukee Brewers signed to one-year
contracts on Monday.
Estrada went 4-8 with a 4.08 earned run average in 43 games
<< Hiller, Wheeler and Spezza named NHL's 'Three Stars'
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller,
Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler and Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza
have been selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending February 19.
Hill
Baylor remains undisputed No. 1; Stanford moves to second >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor remained an undisputed choice as the
No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll.
The undefeated Lady Bears again received all 40 first-place votes and a total
of 1,000 point
Bolts' Ohlund to have knee surgery >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Monday that
defenseman Mattias Ohlund will have left knee surgery later in the week.
The 35-year-old Swede hasn't played a game this season because of the
troublesom
Golf Rantings: February Madness! >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite the efforts of Golf Channel and
its bracket announcement special Monday morning, the WGC-Accenture Match Play
Championship pales a wee bit in comparison to the Selection Sunday you'll see
in a little
Dumped by Raiders, CB Routt signed by rival Chiefs >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their
secondary on Monday, signing free agent cornerback Stanford Routt.
Routt, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with Oakland, was cut by the club
on February 9.
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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