This Week in Golf - September 2nd through September 5th

Golf Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts - Remember everyone, the second leg of the PGA Tour Playoffs starts on Friday to accommodate the American Labor Day holiday.

The new FedEx Cup points leader is Matt Kuchar, fresh off his victory at The Barclays on Sunday. Kuchar hit one of the best shots of the season in the playoff against Martin Laird. Kuchar's seven-iron from the rough, under a tree to two feet was as clutch a shot as you'll see.

That gave Kuchar his third PGA Tour victory and first since last year. He now stands atop the FedEx Cup points list, with three more playoff events to go in pursuit of that really large check.

Laird, who hit a darn good shot himself from the rough in the playoff, but nowhere near as good as Kuchar's, moved to third on the points list.

The man in second is the upcoming event's defending champion, Steve Stricker.

One year ago, Stricker birdied his final two holes on Monday to come from behind to win this title. He finished one stroke better than Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner and two better than Dustin Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington.

Stricker ended up on top, but it was a mess through most of Monday. Eight different players owned at least a piece of the lead in the final round, but it came down to Stricker, Dufner and Verplank.

Dufner first got into the clubhouse at 16-under par, followed by Verplank, but Stricker was still on the course. Stricker drained a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th and kicked in a two-foot birdie putt on the par-five closing hole to get the win.

Stricker continued his spectacular golf in the playoffs Sunday. He shot a five-under 66 on Sunday at The Barclays and shared third place with Kevin Streelman.

Last week's field included the top 125 on the FedEx Cup list, but that number was shrunk down to the top 100.

Tiger Woods was on the outside looking in last week. He was 112th, but his tie for 12th at The Barclays moved him to 65th. Woods won here in 2006, so maybe this is the week he breaks that winless streak of 2010.

This is the final week for Corey Pavin to make his decision on his four captain's picks for the American Ryder Cup team. Woods is certainly under consideration, as is Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover. All are in the field this week.

Colin Montgomerie rounded out his team on Sunday with Edoardo Molinari, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald. Harrington and Donald are in the field on Friday. So too are Paul Casey and Justin Rose, the two biggest names snubbed by Monty.

Golf Channel has the action on Friday and Saturday before NBC takes over on Sunday and Monday.

Next week is the third playoff event, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Ill. Woods hoisted the trophy last year en route to his second FedEx Cup in three years.

EUROPEAN TOUR

EUROPEAN MASTERS, Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland - The first event since the European Ryder Cup was finalized and exactly one member of Monty's team is in the field.

Miguel Angel Jimenez will tee it up in Switzerland, but no one else from the European team is heading to the mountains. In fact, more vice-captains are in the field than team members. Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn are in the field.

One of the other big names scheduled to play is Greg Norman. The two-time major winner hasn't played a competitive round anywhere in almost 12 months after shoulder surgery.

Louis Oosthuizen, the reigning British Open champion, has also committed to the field.

Alexander Noren took home the title last year when he shot a five-under 66 on Sunday. The victory was Noren's first on the European Tour, and his only one to date. Noren has one top 10 in 2010 and that came at the China Open.

Golf Channel has the telecast all four rounds.

Next week is the KLM Open in the Netherlands, which was won by Simon Dyson last year.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

FIRST TEE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH, Pebble Beach Golf Links & Del Monte Golf Club, Monterey, California - Jeff Sluman goes for a third consecutive win at this championship this week.

Sluman has one other Champions Tour victory besides the two at Pebble Beach, and he hasn't enjoyed the greatest season in tour history. He has five top 10s in 2010, but two of them came in his last two starts.

Sluman aced the fifth hole and shot a four-under 68. He was the only player under par in the final three groups on Sunday, as the winds hit the California coast.

The last six players on the course last year (Sluman, Mark McNulty, Tom Lehman, Bob Gilder, Loren Roberts and Mark O'Meara) combined to shoot 14-over par on Sunday.

Play rotates over the two courses for the first two rounds, then Pebble Beach hosts on Sunday. Golfers compete with junior players and amateurs, with the top 22 juniors and top 10 amateur teams advancing to the final round.

Sluman and the other players in the field might have a fighting chance this week. Bernhard Langer, who collected his fifth Champions Tour title of the year on Sunday at the Boeing Classic, is not in the field.

Those final six players on the course last year are all in the field this year, with the exception of McNulty.

Fred Couples is scheduled to be on hand to see if he can get back into the winner's circle. Couples hasn't won since the Cap Cana Championship in late March.

Golf Channel will carry all three rounds.

Next week is the Songdo Championship, which is a new event on the Champions Tour.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

MYLAN CLASSIC, Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania - There's a new event on the Nationwide Tour and it's situated the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Arnold Palmer was named the honorary chairman of the tournament. Palmer's grandson Sam Saunders is in the field.

With nine tournaments left on the schedule, players are jockeying for position to get into the top 25 on the money list. That's the magic number for a PGA Tour card in 2011.

Chris Kirk took the money list lead on Sunday with his second victory of the year at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. He's not in the field this week, so maybe Jamie Lovemark can reclaim his spot on the top.

Golf Channel has all four rounds.

Next week is the Utah Championship, which was won last year by Josh Teater.

Wwwsupanet Golf Betting News

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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