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08/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts - Remember everyone, the second leg of the PGA Tour Playoffs starts on Friday to accommodate the American Labor Day holiday.
The new FedEx Cup points leader is Matt Kuchar, fresh off his victory at The Barclays on Sunday. Kuchar hit one of the best shots of the season in the playoff against Martin Laird. Kuchar's seven-iron from the rough, under a tree to two feet was as clutch a shot as you'll see.
That gave Kuchar his third PGA Tour victory and first since last year. He now stands atop the FedEx Cup points list, with three more playoff events to go in pursuit of that really large check.
Laird, who hit a darn good shot himself from the rough in the playoff, but nowhere near as good as Kuchar's, moved to third on the points list.
The man in second is the upcoming event's defending champion, Steve Stricker.
One year ago, Stricker birdied his final two holes on Monday to come from behind to win this title. He finished one stroke better than Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner and two better than Dustin Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington.
Stricker ended up on top, but it was a mess through most of Monday. Eight different players owned at least a piece of the lead in the final round, but it came down to Stricker, Dufner and Verplank.
Dufner first got into the clubhouse at 16-under par, followed by Verplank, but Stricker was still on the course. Stricker drained a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th and kicked in a two-foot birdie putt on the par-five closing hole to get the win.
Stricker continued his spectacular golf in the playoffs Sunday. He shot a five-under 66 on Sunday at The Barclays and shared third place with Kevin Streelman.
Last week's field included the top 125 on the FedEx Cup list, but that number was shrunk down to the top 100.
Tiger Woods was on the outside looking in last week. He was 112th, but his tie for 12th at The Barclays moved him to 65th. Woods won here in 2006, so maybe this is the week he breaks that winless streak of 2010.
This is the final week for Corey Pavin to make his decision on his four captain's picks for the American Ryder Cup team. Woods is certainly under consideration, as is Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover. All are in the field this week.
Colin Montgomerie rounded out his team on Sunday with Edoardo Molinari, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald. Harrington and Donald are in the field on Friday. So too are Paul Casey and Justin Rose, the two biggest names snubbed by Monty.
Golf Channel has the action on Friday and Saturday before NBC takes over on Sunday and Monday.
Next week is the third playoff event, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Ill. Woods hoisted the trophy last year en route to his second FedEx Cup in three years.
EUROPEAN TOUR
EUROPEAN MASTERS, Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland - The first event since the European Ryder Cup was finalized and exactly one member of Monty's team is in the field.
Miguel Angel Jimenez will tee it up in Switzerland, but no one else from the European team is heading to the mountains. In fact, more vice-captains are in the field than team members. Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn are in the field.
One of the other big names scheduled to play is Greg Norman. The two-time major winner hasn't played a competitive round anywhere in almost 12 months after shoulder surgery.
Louis Oosthuizen, the reigning British Open champion, has also committed to the field.
Alexander Noren took home the title last year when he shot a five-under 66 on Sunday. The victory was Noren's first on the European Tour, and his only one to date. Noren has one top 10 in 2010 and that came at the China Open.
Golf Channel has the telecast all four rounds.
Next week is the KLM Open in the Netherlands, which was won by Simon Dyson last year.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
FIRST TEE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH, Pebble Beach Golf Links & Del Monte Golf Club, Monterey, California - Jeff Sluman goes for a third consecutive win at this championship this week.
Sluman has one other Champions Tour victory besides the two at Pebble Beach, and he hasn't enjoyed the greatest season in tour history. He has five top 10s in 2010, but two of them came in his last two starts.
Sluman aced the fifth hole and shot a four-under 68. He was the only player under par in the final three groups on Sunday, as the winds hit the California coast.
The last six players on the course last year (Sluman, Mark McNulty, Tom Lehman, Bob Gilder, Loren Roberts and Mark O'Meara) combined to shoot 14-over par on Sunday.
Play rotates over the two courses for the first two rounds, then Pebble Beach hosts on Sunday. Golfers compete with junior players and amateurs, with the top 22 juniors and top 10 amateur teams advancing to the final round.
Sluman and the other players in the field might have a fighting chance this week. Bernhard Langer, who collected his fifth Champions Tour title of the year on Sunday at the Boeing Classic, is not in the field.
Those final six players on the course last year are all in the field this year, with the exception of McNulty.
Fred Couples is scheduled to be on hand to see if he can get back into the winner's circle. Couples hasn't won since the Cap Cana Championship in late March.
Golf Channel will carry all three rounds.
Next week is the Songdo Championship, which is a new event on the Champions Tour.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
MYLAN CLASSIC, Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania - There's a new event on the Nationwide Tour and it's situated the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Arnold Palmer was named the honorary chairman of the tournament. Palmer's grandson Sam Saunders is in the field.
With nine tournaments left on the schedule, players are jockeying for position to get into the top 25 on the money list. That's the magic number for a PGA Tour card in 2011.
Chris Kirk took the money list lead on Sunday with his second victory of the year at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. He's not in the field this week, so maybe Jamie Lovemark can reclaim his spot on the top.
Golf Channel has all four rounds.
Next week is the Utah Championship, which was won last year by Josh Teater.
<< Dolphins waive/injured TE Haynos
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins placed tight end Joey
Haynos on the waived/injured list Monday.
Haynos suffered a serious foot injury during last Friday's 16-6 exhibition
loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Maryl
<< Manny awarded to White Sox through waiver claim
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Monday
that outfielder Manny Ramirez has been awarded to the Chicago White Sox
through a waiver claim.
The Dominican native has been limited to 66 games for LA t
<< Bautista named AL Player of the Week
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista has
been named the Player of the Week for the American League for the period
ending August 29.
In seven games last week, Bautista led the American League with a
<< Montero earns MLS Player of the Week award
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero was
voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 22 of the 2010 MLS
season on Monday.
Montero scored both of Seattle's goals in a 2-1 comeback win ove
McMurray feeling little pressure on making the Chase >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With two races to go before the "Chase for
the Sprint Cup" begins at New Hampshire, Daytona 500 champion and Brickyard
400 winner Jamie McMurray says he won't be disappointed if he doesn't qualify
for the playof
Mascherano completes Barca switch >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona announced on Monday that the
club has completed the signing of Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.
Mascherano, 26, signed a four-year deal with the Catalan side on Monday after
completin
Shunted aside by Sabres, Kennedy signs with Rangers >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers agreed to terms with
free-agent forward Tim Kennedy on Monday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but multiple outlets revealed it is for
one year.
The Buffalo Sabres waived
Roddick rolls at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birthday boy and former champion Andy
Roddick was an easy opening-round winner Monday at the U.S. Open.
The ninth-seeded former world No. 1 Roddick, celebrating his 28th birthday on
Monday, blasted hel
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting