11/03/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK CLASSIC, Magnolia Golf Club & Palm Golf Club, Lake Buena Vista, Florida - Stephen Ames closed with a four-under 68 last year to hold off Tim Clark and win the Children's Miracle Network Classic, but he won't be the big story this week.
Erik Compton received one of the four sponsor's exemptions to play this week. Compton, who played several years on the Nationwide Tour, is just five months removed from his second heart transplant.
Compton received his first heart transplant at the age of 12 after he was diagnosed with heart disease. He went on to become one of the top junior golfers in the country and competed on the 2001 U.S. Walker Cup team.
Two weeks ago, Compton carded a four-under 68 in the final round of the first stage of Q-School to move on to the second stage. Just as he did at Q-School, Compton will be allowed to use a golf cart as he recovers from his heart operation.
Ames won for the third time on the PGA Tour. He finished one stroke clear of Tim Clark, who is the PGA Tour's career money leader without a victory.
Ames' winning score of 17-under par last year was five strokes worse than any of the previous seven winning scores. Between 2000 and 2006, the winning scores ranged from 22-under par to 26-under.
With two courses in use this week -- Magnolia & Palm Golf Courses -- professionals will be paired with amateur partners each of the first two days.
The Golf Channel will have coverage of the Fall Series' final event from 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (et) all four days.
The first off-season event for the PGA Tour takes place next Tuesday, November 11, when the PGA, Champions and LPGA Tours get together for the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge.
EUROPEAN TOUR
HSBC CHAMPIONS, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China - The European Tour kicks off the 2009 season with the HSBC Champions just a week after Robert Karlsson won the 2008 Order of Merit title.
Last year, Phil Mickelson and Ross Fisher both double-bogeyed the 18th hole. Those doubles led to a playoff that also included Lee Westwood, who fired a five-under 67 in the final round. Fisher stumbled to a two-over 74 in the final round.
Mickelson, who closed with a four-over 76, claimed the win despite coughing up a five-shot lead with six holes to go. He birdied the second extra hole for the win, his first outside the U.S. since he won the 1993 Perrier Open, a European Challenge Tour event.
The 77-player field has several headliners this week. Joining Mickelson in the field will be world No. 3 Sergio Garcia, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, reigning Masters champ Trevor Immelman, and Karlsson.
This event also kicks off the Race To Dubai, which is modeled after the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs. The final Race to Dubai event will be the inaugural Dubai World Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates next November.
The Golf Channel will have four hours of coverage of all four rounds. After a week off, the European Tour continues the 2009 season with the UBS Hong Kong Open, where Miguel Angel Jimenez won last year.
LPGA TOUR
MIZUNO CLASSIC, Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-shi, Mie, Japan - In just her fifth LPGA Tour start, Momoko Ueda claimed her first LPGA Tour title at this event last year. Her final-round 66 included a rare double-eagle on the par-five seventh.
Ueda was one of 34 players from Japan in the field last year. She closed with rounds of 67-66 to win by two over Reilley Rankin and Maria Hjorth. Ueda was playing this event for the second time in her five LPGA starts.
In 2006, Ueda led after the second round before finishing seven shots behind eventual winner Karrie Webb.
The field this week includes just three of the top 10 players in the world rankings as well as just three players in the top 10 on the money list.
This is the final of three events in Asia.
There is no television coverage this week. Next week, the LPGA remains outside the United States for the inaugural Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
NATIONWIDE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas - The Nationwide Tour wraps up its 2008 season this week with the Nationwide Tour Championship.
The top 25 players on the money list will gain their PGA Tour cards for next season after the completion of this tournament.
The top 60 on the money list got into the field this week, but No. 57 Tee McCabe had to withdraw due to a wrist injury.
Brendon De Jonge, who tops the money list entering the event, could set the Nationwide Tour record for single-season earnings by finishing no worse than a two-way tie for second place. He has made $415,835 this season, while Troy Matteson owns the tour record at $495,009.
The $180,000 first-place check or the $108,000 second-place check would bump anyone in the field this week into the top 25 on the money list, giving them their PGA Tour card for next season.
Richard Johnson won last year with a tournament-record score of 20-under 264.
The Golf Channel has coverage from 4:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (et) all four days.
<< Kjeldsen, Palmer make big gains in rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Soren Kjeldsen and Ryan Palmer won on the
European and PGA Tours respectively over the weekend and made big jumps in
this week Official World Golf Rankings.
Kjeldsen's win jumped him 39 places to 47th
<< Dumars rolls the dice with Iverson
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For some reason Detroit Pistons president
of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been intent on breaking up his team
since his club succumbed to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six
games during t
<< Orton has ankle injury; could be out a month
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith confirmed at
his Monday press conference that quarterback Kyle Orton has a right ankle
injury, but did not elaborate.
"He has an ankle injury and we'll let you know a lit
<< Trio of Ducks highlight NHL's Three Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks forwards Ryan Getzlaf, Corey
Perry and Teemu Selanne shared the top of the list as the NHL's 'Three Stars'
for the week ending November 2.
Getzlaf led the NHL with 10 points on two goals
Nuggets waive Howard >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets waived veteran forward Juwan
Howard on Monday.
The Nuggets added the 35-year-old in training camp. He played sparingly in the
three Nuggets games this season, averaging 0.7 points and 1.3 re
Griffins' Abdelkader earns AHL Rookie of Month >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League announced on
Monday that Grand Rapids Griffins center Justin Abdelkader has been named the
Rookie of the Month for October after scoring a team-high seven goals and two
assists
Bosh, Paul earn NBA weekly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh and New
Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul were named the Eastern and Western Conference
Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending November 2.
Bosh averaged
Wolves goalie Pavelec takes home monthly honor >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec
has been named the AMerican Hockey League's Goaltender of the Month, it was
announced on Monday.
The 21-year-old netminder allowed just 14 goals in an AHL-lea
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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