Iles in front at Players Cup
Golf Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Bridgeport, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bradley Iles of New Zealand fired a seven- under-par 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup.
Canadian Brad Fritsch posted a six-under 66 at Pete Dye Golf Club and is alone in second place, followed by Ron Whittaker, Steve Wheatcroft and Brian Stuard in a tie for third at minus-five.
They are all looking up at Iles, who lost a playoff only two weeks ago at the Knoxville Open.
Iles began on the 10th tee Thursday and quickly went into red figures with a birdie at No. 10. His next birdie came at the par-five 14th, then he closed his opening nine with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18.
Things didn't go so well on the second nine for Iles. He bogeyed the first hole to fall back to three-under par for the championship.
That was the final miscue for Iles.
He birdied the third and fourth holes to move into a group tied for the lead at minus-five. Iles birdied the par-five sixth to keep pace with Fritsch atop the leaderboard.
Iles birdied the par-four eighth to grab sole possession of the first-round lead. This is a place he believes he should be, thanks to more toughness.
"My coach, my manager, several players all told me I had the shots and I had the talent but I wasn't aggressive enough," Iles said. "I didn't have enough mongrel in me."
Brad Elder, Andrew Johnson, Brendan Steele and Tom Scherrer share sixth place at four-under 68.
Roger Tambellini, Tjaart van der Walt, Jon Mills, Chris Anderson, Jim Herman, Jin Park, Scott Gardiner, Fabian Gomez, Bob May, Esteban Toledo, Jeff Gove, David Peoples, Jonas Blixt, Jose Teater and John Kimbell are knotted in 10th at minus-three.
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Magnitogorsk, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Fedorov has decided to leave
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<< A-Rod ties Mr. October for 11th place all-time
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez hit his 563rd career home run
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<< Perry's 61 good for Travelers lead
Cromwell, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Perry had chance at the magical 59 on
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Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League on Thursday announced its final roster cutdowns before the start of the regular season. Below is a list of players released, sorted by team and position: The B
Gal leads suspended Wegmans LPGA >>
Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sandra Gal fired an eight-under 64 and held a
one-shot lead Thursday when the rain-delayed first round of the Wegmans LPGA
was suspended due to darkness.
Jiyai Shin stood alone in second place at seven-un
Ramirez slams Marlins past Orioles >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and
five total runs batted in, as the Florida Marlins completed a three-game sweep
of Baltimore with an 11-3 victory.
Rookie Sean West (3-2) tossed six shutout inni
Smoltz struggles in Red Sox debut as Nationals cruise to win >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris and Josh Bard each finished
with three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Washington spoiled the Red Sox
debut of John Smoltz with a 9-3 thrashing in the finale of a three-game
interle
Votto helps Reds down Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with a double, homer
and three runs batted in as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Toronto Blue Jays,
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Jay Bruce
Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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