Hanson leads, but Race to Dubai still up for grabs

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12/08/2011 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only two of the 58 players in this week's field at the Dubai World Championship have a chance to win the money title, but that didn't stop Peter Hanson on Thursday.

Hanson tied a Jumeirah Golf Estates course record with an eight-under 64 and leads by one after the opening 18 holes of the European Tour's season-closing event.

Coming off a third-place finish in Hong Kong and ranked 16th in the Race to Dubai, Hanson had eight birdies -- including six on the back nine -- to grab a one-stroke lead over early leader Paul Lawrie.

"It's one of the best rounds I've ever played, especially feeling-wise," Hanson said. "Everything seemed to be right."

The story of the week, however, centers around the final pairing of Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy, ranked one and two both in the world rankings and Race to Dubai rankings. McIlroy needs to win this event to have any shot at overtaking Donald in the Race to Dubai, and he finished his opening round at six-under 66 to give himself a shot.

"I've given myself a really good start to build on, and there's still a lot of golf to play," McIlroy said. "I'm going to have to play really well the next three days to give myself a chance to win, and that's what I'm focused on."

Donald, however, had a dreadful finish with three straight bogeys from the 14th in a round of even-par 72. He needs a ninth-place finish to win the money crown, but sits in a share of 26th at the moment.

"(I'll) just stick to the process of picking good targets," Donald said. "I'll go work on it on the range and get back at it tomorrow."

Should Donald claim the money title -- still a very likely scenario -- he will become the first player to win it on the European and PGA Tours in the same year. He was close to securing that distinction last week before McIlroy managed to win the Hong Kong Open and keep his hopes alive.

Donald and McIlroy both figure to take home a good chunk of change this week regardless of the result, as the top 15 finishers in the Race to Dubai split a large bonus pool; the winner and runner-up will each take home over $1 million.

Early on, it looked as if Donald would create enough of a cushion that he could cruise to the money title. The world's top player recovered from an opening bogey to post three birdies in four holes, including a 25-footer at the third.

McIlroy, meanwhile, also had three birdies in the first five holes, but a double-bogey at the second left him one behind his playing partner.

"Maybe the two mistakes -- they were more mental mistakes," McIlroy said of the early troubles. "They were maybe something I wouldn't make if I were fresh, but I stuck to the task of shooting the best score I could."

On the eighth, Donald hit a seven-foot birdie putt, while McIlroy missed the green in regulation and settled for bogey to create a three-shot gap. On the back nine, however, the roles reversed.

McIlroy opened the final nine with a birdie at the 10th to get to one-under, and he birdied the par-three 13th to move to within one of Donald. For whatever reason, Donald's driver abandoned him at that point, and he hit drives into the bushes on both the 14th and 15th en route to consecutive bogeys.

"It was a mixture of both halves," Donald said. "I played very nicely in the front nine, thought I was in control, and I just kind of lost it. Poor tee shots on 13, 14 and 15. I think this course can do that to you. The way this course is, there's a lot of hazards in the middle of the fairway."

Donald dropped to minus-one, while McIlroy birdied the 14th to move to three- under for the day.

It continued to get worse for at No. 16 for Donald, who hit his drive into a fairway bunker to lead to another bogey. McIlroy was able to run home a long birdie putt on the same hole to create a four-shot gap at four-under.

The reigning U.S. Open champ continued to put on a display and make his intentions known at No. 17 with a curling 12-foot birdie putt, his fourth in a five-hole span.

He landed in the rough with his tee shot on the last, but recovered to make a 15-footer for birdie and a round of 66. Donald parred the 18th to shoot a 72.

"I holed some really nice putts coming in, which helped," McIlroy said. "I just stayed patient. I hit some good shots. I just kept giving myself chances on the back nine, and, lucky enough, holed some nice putts."

Hanson's front nine was solid, but unspectacular with only a pair of birdies and nary a bogey. On the back nine, though, Hanson looked like the player who contended last week in Hong Kong.

The four-time European Tour champ went six-under on the back nine, including birdies on each of the first four holes, and missed a short birdie putt at the 18th that would have given him the course record.

Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champ, also had a flawless round, and he and Hanson have a small cushion on McIlroy at the moment.

NOTES: Defending champion Robert Karlsson shot a one-over 73...This is the third time this event has been held. Lee Westwood, who also shot a 73, won the inaugural tournament...Ross Fisher, who shot a four-under 68, holed his approach at the par-four 15th for eagle. It was the only eagle all day...Y.E. Yang withdrew after four holes, reducing the field to 57 players.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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