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01/26/2012 - La Jolla, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley both fired 10- under 62s on Thursday to grab a share of the lead after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Levin and Stanley are both looking for their first PGA Tour victories. Both also played the easier North Course at Torrey Pines on Thursday and will rotate to the harder South Course on Friday. The South Course will also host the final two rounds.
Despite a double-bogey on his 14th hole, reigning FedExCup champion Bill Haas carded a nine-under 63 on the North Course and is alone in third.
John Huh posted a 64 and was joined in fourth place by Rod Pampling, Josh Teater and Vijay Singh. All four played the North Course. Huh matched a PGA Tour record with three eagles in his round.
Only six of the top-35 players on the leaderboard played the South Course on Friday. The leader of that group is Marc Turnesa, who carded a six-under 66 and is tied for 13th.
Among those that struggled on the South Course were Phil Mickelson and J.B. Holmes. Mickelson, who shared 49th at the Humana Challenge last week, faltered to a five-over 77 and tied for the most bogeys (seven) in the first round.
Holmes is competing for the first time since brain surgery last year. He had four bogeys in a round of four-over 76.
Levin started with a birdie on the first, but his next birdie didn't come until the par-four seventh. After a par at the eighth, he birdied eight of the last 10 holes.
He birdied the ninth and followed with a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 10. The 27-year-old dropped his approach within four feet at the 11th. After knocking that in, he got up and down for par on the par-three 12th.
Levin caught fire from there, At the 13th, he left himself three feet for birdie. On each of the next three holes, he made birdie putts of eight feet on each hole to grab a share of the lead at minus-nine.
Levin, a three-time winner on the Canadian Tour, two-putted for birdie at the last to finish at 10-under.
"It feels great. I drove the ball well today. The first couple weeks I played decent," said Levin, who tied for 23rd and 64th in his first two starts. "In those two tournaments, I didn't drive it particularly good. I drove it well today and kind of set me up because I've been putting pretty good. I had some putts for birdies instead of pars today and kind of added up to a good score."
Stanley did his scoring in bunches. He birdied the first, then parred No. 2. He poured in three consecutive birdie efforts from the third to move to four- under.
After five straight pars, Stanley tripped to a bogey on the 11th. The 24-year- old ran off four birdies in a row from the 12th to jump to minus-seven.
Stanley birdied the 17th to move within two of Levin. He erased that deficit and grabbed a piece of the lead with a three-foot eagle putt at the 18th.
"It was good. I know it was a 62, but it was a pretty boring round of golf," said an understated Stanley. "Hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts."
NOTES: Defending champion Bubba Watson posted a three-under 69 on the North Course and is tied for 37th...Dustin Johnson, who withdrew last week with a sore back and is still recovering from offseason knee surgery, fired a six- under 66 on the North Course and is tied for 13th...The North Course played to an average of 69.244, while the South Course played to an average of 72.846...The last first-time winner of this event was Jay Don Blake in 1991.
<< Timbers name Knowles an assistant coach
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Timbers named Cameron Knowles as
an assistant coach Thursday.
Knowles, 29, played for seven seasons, including four with the Timbers. During
his time with Portland, Knowles was a three-time USL F
<< Pagano: It's going to be a great journey
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts introduced new head
coach Chuck Pagano to the media on Thursday.
It has been a whirlwind week for the former Baltimore Ravens defensive
coordinator who anticipated being in I
<< Penn State pays tribute to Paterno
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there was a common thread for
Thursday's public memorial service for Joe Paterno, it's that he was much more
than a football coach.
He might have recorded 409 victories during a 46-year ten
<< Indians sign Wheeler to minor league deal
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians signed right-handed
pitcher Dan Wheeler to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to
the team's spring training.
Wheeler spent the 2011 campaign with the Boston Red
Reds give P Arredondo 2-year contract >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have avoided arbitration
with Jose Arredondo, signing the reliever to a two-year contract.
Arredondo went 4-4 with a 3.23 earned run average in 53 appearances for the
Reds last season
Brown to stay at Texas through 2020 >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Texas has agreed to a four-
year contract extension with Mack Brown that will keep the head football coach
on the Longhorns' sideline through 2020.
Brown, 60, has been the head coach at T
Zeller, UNC hammer NC State >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller's double-double of 21 points
and 15 rebounds powered seventh-ranked North Carolina to a 74-55 victory over
the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
Harrison Barnes had 15 points and Reggie Bullo
Hurricanes shut down Wake Forest >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riquna Williams and Stefanie Yderstrom
each scored 14 points as the 10th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes extended
their winning streak to seven games with a 64-39 victory over Wake Forest.
Shenise
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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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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