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04/08/2010 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fred Couples fired his lowest round ever at The Masters, a six-under 66 on Thursday, and earned the first-round lead at The Masters at Augusta National.
Tiger Woods made his return to golf and it was a triumphant one.
Woods posted a four-under 68, which was the lowest opening-round score in his Masters career.
"I expected to go out there and shoot something under par," acknowledged Woods. "It felt normal. The reception was incredible all day. I was pretty calm all day."
Woods received a strong response from the gallery when he marched to the first tee at 1:42 p.m. (et). It was his first round on the PGA Tour since last year's Tour Championship. He missed the last five months in a self-imposed exile as a sex scandal rocked the four-time winner's world.
Woods posted two eagles on Thursday, a first in his Masters career, and mixed three birdies and three bogeys. He is tied for seventh place.
While Woods dominated the headlines, there were some amazing stories ahead of him on the leaderboard, and not just from the 50-year-old Couples.
Sixty-year-old Tom Watson, two-time champion Phil Mickelson, Woods' playing partner K.J. Choi, world No. 4 Lee Westwood and reigning PGA Champion Y.E. Yang are knotted in second place at five-under 67.
But the story, despite the star power atop the leaderboard, was Woods.
He collected his first birdie at the third, but dropped a shot at seven. Woods eagled the eighth from seven feet and birdied the ninth. Woods lost a stroke at 10, but played well on the back nine.
The No. 1 player in the world had nine feet for eagle at 13, but his putt lipped out. Woods settled for birdie, but bogeyed 14 when his approach sailed well left of the green.
Woods responded with a 10-foot eagle putt at the par-five 15th and was four- under for the championship. He could've gotten to five-under, but a short birdie putt at the last stayed above ground.
"It wasn't a day I could slash it all over the place," said Woods. "I'm very pleased. For the most part, I think I hit the ball well. If I putted well, it could've been a very special round."
Woods was joined in seventh by last week's winner in Houston, Anthony Kim, as well as Nick Watney, Ian Poulter and Ricky Barnes.
Woods was upstaged on Thursday by one of his practice-round partners this week.
Couples, who played with Woods on Monday, came into this year's Masters as perhaps the hottest golfer in the world, although it hasn't come on the PGA Tour.
The 50-year-old has dominated the Champions Tour in 2010. He's won his last three starts on the elder circuit and his only non-victory was a second in his debut to none other than Watson.
"The Champions Tour has been a lot of fun, but this is where I really want to play well and today was a very good day for me," said Couples, who has missed the cut the last two years. "The idea that we're all so old, it's also a blessing if you play well."
The 1992 Masters champion started brilliantly on Thursday with back-to-back birdies at one and two. He dropped a shot at five, but Couples reclaimed the lost stroke with a birdie at the par-five eighth.
After the turn, Couples soared up the leaderboard.
He rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the 12th and followed with a five-foot birdie putt at the par-five 13th. Couples parred No. 14, but hit a delicate chip from over the green to four feet at the 15th to set up another birdie.
Couples moved to five-under for the championship and tied for the lead, but a seven-foot birdie putt at the 17th gave him sole possession of first place.
He had a chance to extend the cushion at the last. Couples' approach to the 18th rolled to five feet, but the putt slid by the hole. He tapped in for his 66 and the first-round lead in The Masters for the first time since 1998.
"Today was, I think, as good a round as I've ever played here," said Couples. "I didn't shoot a 66 today because of luck. But tomorrow it's a lot of pressure to be leading and we'll see what happens."
The pressure will come, not just from Woods, but from those a stroke behind.
Watson had a bogey-free round on Thursday with five birdies and no bogeys. He finished in fantastic fashion with three birdies in his last four holes, including a 30-footer at 15, a 12-footer at 16 and a fantastic five-footer at the last.
Watson lost an epic playoff to Stewart Cink at last year's British Open and on Thursday proved that despite being 60, he can still contend for major championships.
"It's a longshot for somebody, still, honestly, of our age to do it. But still, they can do it," said Watson, who hadn't broken 70 at The Masters since 1997. "Over the past several years I've had some issues with my ability to play this golf course. It's a tough golf course for me. Today it was favorable."
It's not a longshot for Mickelson to do it.
The 2004 and 2006 winner also made his move on the back nine.
Mickelson was one-under through 12 holes, then hit a spectacular second shot to 25 feet at the par-five 13th. He ran home the eagle try to kick off a great run for the world No. 3.
Mickelson made a long birdie putt at 14 and two-putted for birdie at the par- five 15th.
"It was a little three-hole stretch that made the whole round," said Mickelson.
He had a seven-foot look at birdie on the last, but his putt snuck past the hole.
Yang, who became the first player to topple Woods when Woods had a third-round lead at a major last year at the PGA, and Choi both mixed six birdies and a bogey on Thursday, while Westwood had seven birdies and two bogeys.
NOTES: There were storms forecast for Thursday and while it did rain some, play never stopped...Thirty-one players broke par on Thursday...Defending champion Angel Cabrera wasn't one of them...He had a one-over 73 in the first round.
<< Bayern Munich switches focus to Leverkusen
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich lost to Manchester United
in the Champions League on Wednesday, but former legend Franz Beckenbauer said
it was "one of the nicest defeats in the history of Bayern."
Bayern lost to United
<< Nationals hold off Phillies to avoid sweep
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris smacked a two-run homer, and
the Washington Nationals held on for a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies
to salvage a game in this season-opening three-game set.
Cristian Guzman and Ryan
<< Woods cheered in return to golf
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods took one last practice putt and
began the short walk to Augusta National's first tee, the most anticipated
golf shot in recent memory just minutes away.
Just 18 days earlier, in one of his televised
<< Vanderbilt C Ogilvy entering NBA Draft
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy has chosen to
forego his senior season of eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA Draft.
Ogilvy also plans to hire an agent, which will officially end his collegiate
career.
"W
MLS increases roster size from 24 to 26 per team >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Thursday it has
added two additional roster slots per club for home grown players identified
and developed by the team.
MLS made the adjustment as part of its ongoing efforts
Real signs Beckerman to four-year deal >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake signed captain Kyle Beckerman to
a new four-year contract Thursday.
Beckerman, an 11-year MLS veteran, has started 83 games since joining Real in
a trade with the Colorado Rapids during the 2007
Chipper leaves Braves-Cubs game, day-to-day with sore side >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones
left Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs with a sore right side.
Jones had walked in the bottom of the third and raced to second on Brian
McCann's gro
Rays P Niemann leaves game >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann left
the game in the second inning of Thursday's game against Baltimore after being
struck in the right shoulder with a batted ball.
Miguel Tejada lined a pitch off
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.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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.
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