Play stopped again at Valderrama

Golf Betting Lines

11/01/2008 - San Roque, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third round of the season-ending Volvo Masters was suspended due to inclement weather on Saturday, the second straight day-ending suspension of the tournament.

Sergio Garcia, who won his own event last week, and first and second-round leader Soren Kjeldsen share the lead at five-under par. Garcia is one-under through seven holes of the third round, while Kjeldsen is one-over after five holes.

After several players didn't even tee off Friday in the second round, that round was completed Saturday morning and players went back out in threesomes off split tees.

Rain persisted throughout Saturday and eventually forced the suspension of play after puddles accumulated on the greens.

The plan is to return to Valderrama at 3:30 a.m. (et) Sunday morning to polish off round three. The golfers will stay in their third-round draw for the final round and once again go off both the first and 10th tees.

The final threesome is tentatively scheduled to tee off at 7:00 a.m. Sunday.

Lee Westwood is even through six holes and alone in third at minus-four.

Westwood can still capture the season-long Order of Merit title with a win this week. If Westwood wins, current leader Robert Karlsson would need to finish second or third to hang on to the money title.

Karlsson is currently tied for 28th at plus-five.

Padraig Harrington, the British Open and PGA Champion of the year, can also take the Order of Merit title. He is second to Karlsson and three shots ahead of the Swede at two-over par.

Garcia birdied the par-five fourth in the third round to move to five-under par.

Kjeldsen held a two-shot lead at the midway point, but knocked his approach over the green at the first en route to a bogey. He parred the rest to share the lead.

"I wouldn't say it was a good bad day but I hit quite a lot of bad shots and got away with it," admitted Kjeldsen after the second round on Saturday. "Overall, like I said yesterday, at some stage on this course, you're going to battle a little bit, and I did that today and I think I did quite well."

Anthony Wall is third at three-under par, which is one better than Frenchman Thomas Levet.

Martin Kaymer and Darren Clarke share sixth at one-under par.

Justin Rose, who won last year en route to the Order of Merit title, withdrew after the second round to be with his family in South Africa after the death of his grandfather.

Wwwcubs Golf Betting News

<< Hoffe, Ibisevic crush Karlsruhe to reclaim first
Mannheim, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vedad Ibisevic and Chinedu "Edu" Obasi each had two goals and an assist as promoted Hoffenheim defeated Karlsruhe 4-1 on Saturday to reclaim first in Germany's Bundesliga. Ibisevic increased his leag

<< Blue Jackets activate LW Torres
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated left wing Raffi Torres off injured reserve. Torres has been sidelined with a shoulder injury suffered in a preseason game against Chicago on September 29. The Blu

<< Browns place Tucker on IR
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have placed offensive lineman Ryan Tucker on injured reserve because of a knee injury. Tucker played in just one game this season, starting the October 13 contest against the New

<< Nalbandian, Tsonga to meet for Paris Masters crown and more
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentine star David Nalbandian and French crowd favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won semifinal matches Saturday and will play for the title at the Paris Masters. Nalbandian, the defending champion and eight

<< Boyd helps Rangers roll over Inverness
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kris Boyd continued his torrid pace as the former Scotland international scored three times in the opening 28 minutes, leading Rangers to a comfortable 5-0 win over Inverness at the Ibrox Stadium

Packers release Gbaja-Biamila >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have released defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and activated defensive tackle Justin Harrell off the physically unable to perform list. Gbaja-Biamila was in his ninth season with t

Around the CFL: Matthews calls it quits again >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many years, Don Matthews has stepped down as a CFL head coach. Matthews resigned as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, less than a day after completing an 0-8 stre

Stoke stuns Arsenal >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City moved four points clear of the drop zone on Saturday as the team pulled off a stunning 2-1 upset victory over Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium. Long-throw specialist Rory Delap se

Wildcats topple 20th-ranked Gophers >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Smith returned an interception 48 yards for the winning score with 12 seconds to play, lifting Northwestern to a 24-17 victory over 20th-ranked Minnesota at the Metrodome. Minnesota had the ball

UConn tops preseason women's poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut will start the women's basketball season as the top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll. The Huskies received 44 of a possible 45 first-place votes and a total of 1,124 points from a n


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

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.









2007 College Football Betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.