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Bandages and all, Creamer a major championGolf Betting Lines07/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer squeezed one final par out of prickly Oakmont and threw her hands over her face. The left hand was bandaged thumb-to-wrist, something else to absorb the tears. She cried, yes, but this time the source of her waterworks was victory, not defeat. This time the sight of her on-course sighs was endearing, not frustrating. This is the Paula Creamer we've been waiting for all along. And boy did she arrive at the right time. Creamer broke through for her first major championship Sunday, winning the biggest one of them all, the U.S. Women's Open, with a steely two-under 69 in the final round. Just four months after surgery to repair ligament damage in her left thumb -- four months after she wondered if she would ever play golf at a high level again -- Creamer was the only player to finish under par on a course that was built 107 years ago to confound the game's best. Never shooting worse than a 72, Creamer posted a three-under 281 for the championship to beat Suzann Pettersen and Na Yeon Choi by four shots. "It's incredible," Creamer gushed soon after the final round -- and it was. Consider that Creamer played her last 52 holes in under 36 hours after the tournament was suspended early on Friday because of storms. Also consider that long-hitting Argentine Angel Cabrera won the men's U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2007 with a five-over 285. How did Creamer do it? By being the player we all thought she would be five years ago when she became the youngest winner in the history of the LPGA as an 18-year-old who hadn't yet walked in her high school graduation. Down to the last hole, Creamer never buckled. This wasn't the player who huffed and puffed her way to an out-of-sorts 79 in the third round of last year's U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley. Creamer hit out of a bunker on a third of her holes that day, including one shot that sailed over the green and onto the trampled grass of a pedestrian path. She chunked three chip shots and walked off with a triple-bogey, handing her ball to a young girl in the gallery. She sighed her way through the round that day, playing herself out of contention for the second year in a row. There were sighs at Oakmont, too, but of a different kind. Creamer stepped away from an approach shot late in the final round, took a deep breath, then lined it back up and knocked it safely onto the green. A television camera caught her shaking out the jitters and flashing a smile that stretched all the way to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It was in the bag. With no traffic ahead of her on the leaderboard, and no one close in her rearview mirror, Creamer kept her foot on the pedal all the way to the end, making two late birdies and three straight pars to finish off her ninth career LPGA title. It was, finally, the first of what should be a career full of major championships. "I can't even describe what I feel," Creamer said. "It is just amazing to have my name on this trophy with some of the best players that have ever played the game." Creamer's victory gave American women two majors in the same season for the first time in three years. (Cristie Kerr won the LPGA Championship last month to become the No. 1 player in the world.) More important, perhaps, is this: We finally got another glimpse of the Paula Creamer who once dared to challenge Annika Sorenstam on a ruling at the season-ending ADT Championship. That was in 2005, when Creamer was a rookie and Sorenstam was only the best player in the world. Oakmont saw the gutsy, get-out-of-my-way Creamer who won seven titles by the time she was 22 years old. It was the steady, laser-focused player who once shot a 60, the second-lowest score in LPGA history. Her victory on Sunday should finally allow us to forget the gum-snapping Paula Creamer who appeared in those Precept commercials with Nick Price a couple of years ago, blowing bubbles and talking about puppy dogs and crushes. She'll always be the Pink Panther, for sure, but any notion that Creamer is a less-than-serious competitor disappeared with those butterflies in her stomach on Sunday. Creamer is a major champion now, bandages and all.
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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year AwardsOddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite. Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award. Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1. Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award. Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1. All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY. A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks. For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided. 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1 Ron Brace (NE) 25/1 Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1 Darius Butler (NE) 40/1 Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1 Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1 Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1 Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1 Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1 Larry English (SD) 15/1 Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1 Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1 Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1 Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1 James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1 Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1 Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1 Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1 Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1 Roy Miller (TB) 20/1 Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1 Fili Moala (IND) 30/1 Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1 Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1 B J Raji (GB) 7/1 Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1 Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1 David Verkune (CLE) 20/1 Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1 Field (Any Other Player) 6/1 To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. |
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