Mickelson bounces back with a 68

Golf Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling to a one-over 73 on Thursday, Phil Mickelson bounced back with a four-under 68 Friday to move into share of 11th at three-under-par 141 after two rounds of the Masters.

Mickelson was well off the pace after opening with that 73. His comeback started with a birdie on the second. He gave that shot back with a bogey on the par-three sixth.

He stumbled to another bogey on the par-four 11th to dip to plus-two and was in danger of missing the cut. However, Mickelson flew up the leaderboard from there.

After making birdie on 12 to get back to the cut line, Mickelson nearly holed his approach at the par-five 13th. He kicked in a short eagle putt to jump to minus-one.

"When that one went in, that gave me a little bit of momentum," said Mickelson of his birdie putt on 12. "I hit a great drive on 13 and knocked down that pin."

Mickelson knocked his second over the green at the par-five 15th. He hit a stellar flop shot within a few feet of the hole. The two-time Masters champion tapped in for birdie.

At the closing hole, Mickelson drained a birdie effort from just inside 20 feet to finish at minus-three, six back of the leaders.

"I feel like I put myself within six shots of the lead, a spot where a good round tomorrow can get me into contention on Sunday," Mickelson said.

Mickelson, who has two wins this season, improved his driving on Friday hitting 10 fairways after only hitting six on Thursday.

Wwpogo Golf Betting News

<< Gilroy wins 2009 Hobey Baker Award
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Executive Committee announced Friday that Boston University senior defenseman Matt Gilroy was named the 29th winner of college hockey's most prestigious individ

<< Weeks leads Brewers' ninth-inning comeback over Cubs
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks doubled home the tying run in the ninth, took third on a ball in the dirt and scored the winning run on an infield hit with a head-first slide just ahead of the tag to give Milwaukee a thrilling 4-3

<< Pirates/Reds postponed
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park was postponed because of rain. A makeup date has not been announced. Pittsburgh's Jeff Karstens and Cincinnati

<< Colorado rocks Hamels, Phils in home opener
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins' first hit of the season -- a two-run homer -- highlighted a five-run third inning, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3, in the home opener at Coors Field. Ryan

<< Pettitte has strong outing as Yanks top Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte scattered three hits and one run through seven innings, as the New York Yankees topped Kansas City, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game set. Pettitte (1-0) held his foes in check with six

Hawks F Marvin Williams returns to lineup >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams returned to the lineup in Friday's game with the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena after missing the last 16 with a lower back injury. The former North Carolina product is

Chase Field to host 2011 MLB All-Star Game >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will host the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. MLB has called a news conference for Saturday afternoon when an official announcement is expected from

Dodgers' Kuroda placed on DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left oblique muscle. Kuroda pitched on Opening Day for the Dodgers, earning the win after allow

Petrova sneaks into MPS semis, Wozniacki breezes in >>
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova barely won her quarterfinal match Friday at the inaugural MPS Group Championships. The world No. 10 Petrova had to come from behind to best seve

Cavs wrap up East's top seed in Philadelphia >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 27, dished out 10 assists and Cleveland hit 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc to help clinch homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 102-92 triumph

Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    		 7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  		 Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.