Barcelo moves in front at Q-School
Golf Betting Lines
12/01/2006 - La Quinta, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Barcelo fired an eight-under 64 on Thursday to take the second-round lead of the finals of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He stands at nine-under-par 135 and is three clear of the field.
Play is split over the Stadium Course at PGA West and the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. Players rotate among the two courses through all six rounds as this marathon determines a golfer's fate for the 2007 season.
Anyone in the top-30 plus ties after Monday's final round will receive their PGA Tour cards for next season. The next 50 will earn full privileges on the Nationwide Tour in 2007.
Australian Paul Gow posted a four-under 68 on Thursday and is alone in second place at minus-six.
Steven Bowditch (68), George McNeill (66), Cameron Beckman (64) and Brian Bateman (65) are knotted in third place at five-under-par 139.
Barcelo played the Nicklaus Tournament Course in Thursday's second round and parred his first three holes. He tallied birdies on both par-fives on the front side - at four and seven.
The 31-year-old Nevada resident flew out of the gate on the back nine. Barcelo birdied three in a row from the 10th, then picked up back-to-back birdies from the 14th.
He birdied the par-three 17th to post his eight-under-par 64 and grab the lead at Q-School.
Barcelo only played once on the PGA Tour in 2006, a missed cut at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. He teed it up eight times on the Nationwide Tour and only made half of the cuts.
Gow started on the back nine Thursday also at the Nicklaus Tournament Course and broke into red figures quickly with a birdie at the 11th. He added birdies at 13 and 14, but bogeyed No. 18.
The Australian record two straight birdies from the seventh to get into sole possession of second place.
Bob May, who lost to Tiger Woods in a playoff at the 2000 PGA Championship, shot a seven-under 65 and moved into a tie for seventh place with Steve Allan (71), John Mallinger (71), Bob Heintz (71) and Tom Johnson (68). The group finished at minus-four.
Overnight leader Scott Gutschewski struggled on Thursday. At the PGA West Stadium Course, he tallied two double-bogeys, three bogeys and three birdies for a four-over 76. He is tied for 21st.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen carded an even-par 72 and is tied for 44th place at plus-one. Duffy Waldorf rebounded with a four-under 68 and is tied for 21st at one-under-par 143.
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles made two moves to bolster their bullpen, signing free agent relief pitchers Chad Bradford and Scott Williamson, the club announced on Thursday. Bradford, who spent last season w
<< Culpepper has more knee surgery
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper
underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Thursday to
debride some articular cartilage wear.
Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure
<< Report: Sixers' Randolph breaks ankle at practice
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia 76ers forward Shavlik
Randolph reportedly suffered a left ankle fracture and dislocation Thursday
during practice.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the injury occurred when t
<< Report: Kansas, Self agree to new deal
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas men's basketball head coach Bill
Self reportedly inked a new deal that will keep him under contract for the
next five years.
According to the Kansas City Star, the terms of the new contract
<< Bayern takes a jab, Valencia gets K.O.ed
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Bundesliga Champions, Bayern
Munich, who stand fourth in the present standings, will be without midfielder
Owen Hargreaves for the rest of the 2006 year.
The 25-year-old suffered a broken l
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas men's basketball head coach Bill Self has signed a new five-year deal, athletics director Lew Perkins announced on Thursday. "We are thrilled that Bill Self will be our coach for years
Thrashers finally beat Leafs thanks to Hossa and Lehtonen >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kari Lehtonen stopped 36 shots for his league-
leading fourth shutout of the season to help the Atlanta Thrashers stop a long
slide against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5-0 win at Philips Arena.
Marian Hoss
Emery and Heatley lead Sens over scoreless Panthers >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Emery stopped 31 shots for his first shutout
of the season to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 6-0 victory over the Florida
Panthers at Scotiabank Place.
Dany Heatley had two goals and an assist and Chris
Avs bury Oilers >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Arnason tallied two goals and added an
assist, and Marek Svatos also scored two goals, as the Colorado Avalanche
buried the Edmonton Oilers, 7-3, at Rexall Place.
John Michael Liles had a three-
Bengals keep hope alive >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carson Palmer threw for 234 yards and a
touchdown and the Cincinnati defense stymied the Baltimore offense all night,
as the Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a 13-7 victory over the
Ravens.
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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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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