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08/08/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.B. Holmes bogeyed two of his last four holes Friday, but still managed a two-under 68 and took the second-round lead of the PGA Championship.
Holmes finished two rounds at Oakland Hills at one-under 139 and is the only player under par at the season's final major championship.
Charlie Wi (70), Justin Rose (67) and 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis (67) are tied for second place at even-par 140. The 67s by Rose and Curtis were the lowest rounds of the championship, while Wi is playing in his first major championship.
David Toms, the 2001 PGA Champion, posted a one-under 69 and moved into a tie for fifth place with Henrik Stenson, who carded an even-par 70 on Friday. They finished at one-over 141.
Phil Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion, bogeyed three of his last five holes Friday en route to a three-over 73. He finished 36 holes at three-over 143.
Mickelson got to even-par for the championship after a six-foot birdie putt at the 13th. That got him within one of Holmes, but some uncharacteristic bad shots around the green doomed Mickelson.
His second at 14 went through the green after an errant drive and his chip stopped nine feet from the stick. Mickelson missed that putt, then stubbed a chip at the 15th and left with another bogey.
After a poor second at the 16th, Mickelson saved par from five feet. His five- iron tee shot at the 17th rolled through to the back fringe. Mickelson appeared to skull his chip that ran through the other side of the putting surface. That led to another bogey, but a par at the last kept Mickelson within striking distance.
"If they water the greens and change some pins, you can shoot under par," said Mickelson. "I'm within four going into the weekend. There's a lot of golf left out here."
The first round was completed Friday morning after play was suspended for darkness on Thursday. It was a one-hour, 25-minute weather delay on Thursday that set the tournament back, but the second round was finished without a stoppage.
Holmes played a great opening nine with two birdies and a bogey. It wasn't until he made the turn that he vaulted up the leaderboard.
At the par-five 12th, Holmes chopped his third from the thick rough near the green to three feet. He kicked in that birdie putt and made it two in a row with an eight-footer at the 13th.
Holmes made an unlikely birdie at the 501-yard, par-four 14th. From just short of the putting surface, Holmes rolled in a 25-footer for birdie to get to three-under par.
Things came undone a bit when Holmes played the final four holes into the wind. At the 15th, he came up short and right with his approach and made bogey.
After an errant tee shot, Holmes three-putted from a long distance for another bogey at 17. A par at the last got Holmes in as the only player from the morning wave under par.
"I hit some good shots on those holes and made birdie," said Holmes. "After my third birdie, the next four holes were pretty much into the wind right there and I was just trying to make par on those holes.
"Glad I got in with that. But I felt I left a few out there."
One of the big stories all year has been Kenny Perry's quest to make the Ryder Cup team in his home state of Kentucky. Holmes also has ties to the "Bluegrass" State, although he hasn't been consumed with it, rather his work has been geared toward a first major.
"Going into the week you want to play well, but you can't be thinking about anything like that when you're out there," said Holmes. "I put myself in a pretty good situation and I just got to go out there and play and hopefully it will happen."
Sean O'Hair is still in the mix for a U.S. Ryder Cup berth. He shot a three- over 73 on Friday and is tied for seventh place with 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera (72), Brandt Snedeker (71), first-round co-leader Jeev Milkha Singh (74), Aaron Baddeley (71), Ken Duke (73) and Sergio Garcia (73). The group finished at two-over 142.
Garcia is still looking for that elusive first major.
Robert Karlsson, the other first-round co-leader, struggled to a seven-over 77 on Friday and fell into a tie for 26th at five-over.
When the horn sounded Thursday night, Andres Romero was tied for the lead with Singh and Karlsson at minus-two. When Romero came back Friday morning, he bogeyed 18 to fall out of the lead.
Sadly, the worst was yet to come for Romero.
The Argentine shot an eight-over 78 in round two, including a quadruple-bogey eight at 16 and a double-bogey six at 18, to fall to seven-over-par 147 for the championship, one stroke above the cut line.
Two of last week's main players in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational were the biggest names to miss the cut. Last week's winner Vijay Singh, a two-time PGA Champion, and Lee Westwood, who tied for second behind Singh at Firestone on Sunday, both missed the 36-hole mark by numerous shots.
Rod Pampling was tied for eighth after the first round, but shot an 81 and missed the cut by three strokes.
Among those that will have the weekend off are 1991 winner John Daly (149), Fred Couples (149), Zach Johnson (149), Adam Scott (150), Darren Clarke (151), K.J. Choi (151), Stewart Cink (151), Davis Love III (152), Hunter Mahan (160) and Colin Montgomerie (160).
Mahan and Montgomerie both need help to make their respective Ryder Cup teams, but tying for the worst score by a non club professional won't help.
<< Yanks recall Kennedy for start
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees added pitcher Ian
Kennedy to their starting rotation in time to start Friday night's contest
against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Kennedy, who was winless in nine appea
<< Braves P Hudson to have Tommy John surgery on Saturday
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson will undergo
Tommy John surgery on Saturday.
The team announced the scheduled procedure on Friday and it will be performed
in Pensacola, Florida by Dr. James Andrews.
Team
<< Mickelson struggles late on Friday at PGA
Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson bogeyed three
of his last five holes Friday en route to a three-over 73 in the second round
of the PGA Championship.
Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion, is still very much
<< Kanaan, AGR agree to 5-year extension
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing have
reached a long-term agreement that will keep the 2004 IndyCar Series champion
with the team through 2013.
"I'm very happy and relieved to have a deal in place
Runnin' Rebs give Kruger contract extension >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UNLV signed men's basketball coach Lon
Kruger to a one-year contract extension Friday.
The Nevada Board of Regents approved the extension during its meetings August
7-8 in Reno. Kruger is now under co
Dixon grabs pole for Kentucky >>
Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Dixon won the pole for Saturday's Meijer
Indy 300 at the Kentucky Speedway. The No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver
circled the 1.5-mile oval four times in 1 minute, 37.3293 seconds (218.968
m.p.h.)
Piercy moves three clear in Wichita >>
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Piercy fired a nine-under 62 Friday to
move three strokes clear of the field after two rounds of the Wichita Open.
Piercy completed 36 holes with a tournament-record score of 16-under-par 126.
The pr
Jazz owner out of hospital >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller was
released from the hospital Friday morning, almost two months after a near-
fatal heart attack.
The 64-year-old Miller described the heart attack, subsequent
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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