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12/26/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2011 season in professional golf could be known for a few different things.
First, Tiger Woods won again.
Granted, it was his own unofficial event with 17 other players in the field, but a win is a win. Woods' Chevron World Challenge title was his first victory since the 2009 car accident that derailed his personal and professional life.
Ever since Woods lost his No. 1 world ranking, no one really claimed it as his own. Lee Westwood test-drove it. Martin Kaymer hung on for a time, but Luke Donald made it his own.
We had Rory McIlroy blow the Masters in epic fashion, then come back and win the U.S. Open so convincingly that the final round was less exciting than a tepid bath.
The team international events were excellent, as always.
Most of the majors on most tours were thrilling.
With some of the stars of the game on the downswing of their careers, new blood stepped up and performed.
But when it came to performance, the 2011 season belonged to one young lady.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - The Year of Yani
All of 22 years old, Yani Tseng continued an old tradition on the LPGA Tour -- dominance.
First, it was Annika Sorenstam in the early '00s. Then, Lorena Ochoa owned women's golf until her retirement.
With both gone, Tseng, who bought Sorenstam's old house and must be inhabited with the Swede's presence, has risen to the top of the sport.
Tseng won 11 times worldwide, including seven events on the LPGA Tour, and two of the victories were majors. When she captured the LPGA Championship (by 10 shots), Tseng became the youngest golfer -- male or female -- to win four majors.
When she successfully defended her title at the Women's British Open, the same record applied -- youngest to five majors.
For a point of comparison, Tiger Woods collected his fifth major title at the age of 24. Sorenstam didn't win a tournament -- any tournament -- until she was 24.
Tseng almost had a third major of 2011, but finished as the runner-up to Stacy Lewis at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Tseng squandered that title in the season's first major and didn't do that again.
She made 21 cuts in 22 events, finishing in the top five in 12 of them and the top 10 in two more.
She led the tour in scoring average by almost a FULL stroke and was the only player who averaged under 70 strokes per round. Tseng had almost 60 more birdies than anyone on tour and to top it off, she led the tour in driving distance.
Tseng is the No. 1 player in the Rolex Rankings and the No. 1 golfer in the world for 2011.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - The major rookie
This was a tough call considering two rookies won majors on the PGA Tour in 2011.
Charl Schwartzel took home the Masters in thrilling fashion, making birdie at the final four holes to don the green jacket. But Schwartzel was an established European Tour competitor, so this honor goes to a more conventional rookie.
Keegan Bradley earned his PGA Tour card in 2011 thanks to his finish on the Nationwide Tour in 2010. He first broke into the winner's circle with a playoff victory over Ryan Palmer at the Byron Nelson Championship, but cemented his awesome rookie campaign at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Bradley overcame a five-stroke deficit with three to play in regulation to tie Jason Dufner, who limped into the clubhouse with three bogeys in his last four holes.
Bradley played the three-hole extra session in one-under par. He needed a two- putt par at the 18th and got it to become the third player in history to win in his major championship debut.
The nephew of Hall of Famer Pat Bradley became the first PGA Tour rookie to win twice in his first season since Todd Hamilton seven years ago. He should have been a pick for Fred Couples' American Presidents Cup team, but Bradley shouldn't have any trouble making next year's U.S. Ryder Cup team for Davis Love III.
SHOT OF THE YEAR - "I mean, he spun it. That's all you need to know."
There are few scenarios that offer more pressure than being in a playoff for the Tour Championship.
First, the victory itself is important. PGA Tour wins don't grow on trees. First place at the Tour Championship was worth $1.44 million and that doesn't grow on trees, either.
But there's money and there's obscene, silly amounts of money and the latter was the case at the Tour Championship. In addition to the $1.44 million, which is nothing to sneeze at, the winner of sudden death on this particular Sunday in September was going to walk off with $10 million more for winning the FedEx Cup.
Bill Haas and Hunter Mahan parred the first playoff hole, then Haas appeared to be in trouble at the second, the par-four 17th. Haas' approach landed in a pond next to the green, while Mahan was safely on with 25 feet for birdie.
Haas' ball was only in the water halfway, so he elected play his third from the edge of the lake. He blasted out, got the ball to check somehow and stopped it two feet from the cup.
Mahan missed his birdie putt and Haas tapped in for par.
They went one more hole before Haas won the playoff, the Tour Championship and $11.44 million.
"There was quite a bit of room there. His ball was maybe half in," Mahan said in a televised interview after the loss. "I mean, he spun it. That's all you need to know."
TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR - The Masters
A beautiful spring Sunday in Augusta started with the promise of golf's best young player winning a major pretty early in his career.
Rory McIlroy was one shot clear after the front nine of the final round, then hit one of the worst tee shots in recent memory: At the 10th, his ball landed near someone's day room.
McIlroy finished with an 80 and became a non-factor on the back nine -- which is, after all, where the Masters really begins.
First came Tiger Woods' run.
He made the turn in 31 thanks to a 10-foot eagle putt at eight and found himself tied for the lead, but came up a little too short. Woods didn't birdie the par-five 13th and hit an amazing second to four feet at the par-five 15th, but lipped out the eagle putt.
Woods, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Charl Schwartzel were the contenders.
Schwartzel, in the group behind Scott on Sunday, got up and down for birdie from behind the green at 15 to match Scott in first at 11-under par. Scott hit his tee ball to two feet at 16 and tapped in for birdie and the lead.
Schwartzel's tee ball at 16 came up 15 feet short of the stick, but he ran home the birdie putt to once again tie Scott. The young Australian hit a terrible drive at 17 and knocked his second into a bunker. His blast from the trap came up 12 feet short, but he made that par putt and stayed tied.
Day birdied 17 to get within one, but Schwartzel continued his incredible run with the putter. He sank a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 17 to move one shot clear.
Ogilvy and Donald got into the clubhouse at 10-under, but it was clear that the pair and Woods would come up a bit short.
It was down to Schwartzel, Scott and Day, but Day needed a birdie at 18. He got it, and Scott two-putted for par.
Schwartzel was one ahead with one to play. He found the fairway at the last, and his approach stopped 18 feet right of the flag. He had two putts to win his first major and didn't need them.
Schwartzel poured in the birdie putt, his fourth in a row, and walked off to Butler Cabin to put on his green jacket.
Needless to say, no one in the history of the Masters finished with four birdies in a row to win the tournament. Schwartzel finished the year ninth in the world.
GOOD YEAR
Donald - Became the world No. 1 with a great playoff victory over then No. 1 Lee Westwood at the BMW PGA Championship in late May. Is the first player in history to win the money title on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour in the same season.
McIlroy - Don't shed too many tears for poor Rory. After the epic collapse at Augusta, McIlroy responded in a big way at the next major -- the U.S. Open at Congressional. He essentially wrapped up the tournament by happy hour on Friday and ended up with an eight-stroke victory.
Day - Runner-up in the first two majors and became a top-10 player in the world.
Fred Couples - Won a major on the Champions Tour and his work as captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team has been sensational. He went out on a big limb and tabbed Woods for the team almost a month before he needed to and Woods delivered. For the second consecutive Presidents Cup -- and second Couples has led the team -- Woods secured the winning point for the American side, but Couples' decision, coupled (pun intended) with his laid-back approach has made the U.S. team a powerhouse.
Suzann Pettersen - Two wins in 2011 propelled her to second in the world, but her role as the leader of the European Solheim Cup team earned her a spot here. After dozens of weather delays, even during the singles, Pettersen led a huge rally for her side by knocking off Michelle Wie in a classic show a gutsy putting. Caroline Hedwall, clearly inspired by Pettersen, overcame a 2-down with two to play deficit, then Azahara Munoz won 17 in the anchor match to give Europe the Cup. This was Pettersen's team.
BAD YEAR
Michelle Wie - Her Solheim Cup loss was understandable, but six top 10s in a season when you're supposed to be a star is unacceptable.
Bernhard Langer - Yes, the German star battled injuries, but he was the 2010 Champions Tour Player of the Year, and, despite a victory, finished 24th on the Charles Schwab Cup race.
Jim Furyk - He won the FedEx Cup in 2010 and fell to 50th in the world rankings by Christmas 2011. Furyk had a great Presidents Cup, but he barely made the team in '11 after being the best American in '10.
<< Wild hope to snap slide against streaking Avs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Northwest Division teams heading in opposite
directions will meet tonight in St. Paul, as the sliding Wild host the surging
Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild have lost their last six games (0-4-2) and ent
<< Marchand highlights NHL's 'Three Stars'
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, New York
Rangers sniper Marian Gaborik and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jean-Sebastien
Giguere have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending December
25.
<< Handing out NFL holiday gifts and grinches
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guess Rex Ryan really has been naughty this
year.
The ever-bombastic Jets head coach's Christmas Eve meal consisted one of one
mighty big helping of humble pie courtesy of the crosstown rival Giants in
Sa
<< Rockets sign C Dalembert to multi-year deal
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets signed veteran center
Samuel Dalembert to a multi-year contract on Monday.
"Samuel is someone we had great interest in signing as a free agent," said
Rockets general manager Daryl
Jaguars place DE Roth, CB Youboty on IR >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars placed defensive
end Matt Roth and cornerback Ashton Youboty on injured reserve Monday.
Roth hadn't played since suffering a concussion at Cleveland on November 20.
The 29-year
Syracuse remains solid No. 1 in AP poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse remained a solid No. 1 Monday in the
Associated Press college basketball poll.
The undefeated Orange (13-0) received 54 first-place votes, up one from last
week, after beating Bucknell and Tulane i
Rangers D Staal cleared for contact >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal
has finally been cleared for contact.
The 24-year-old blueliner is still on the road to recovering from a concussion
he suffered in February after a hit by hi
Vikings RB Peterson has torn ACL and MCL >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vikings running back Adrian Peterson tore
both the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left
knee Saturday, but the team is optimistic he will be back early next season.
Minnes
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)
2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)
MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.
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