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Jimenez outlasts Westwood for Dubai titleGolf Betting Lines02/07/2010 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Angel Jimenez didn't play great golf in Sunday's playoff, but did enough to defeat Lee Westwood and win the Dubai Desert Classic. Jimenez netted three pars in the extra session and the last one was enough to topple Westwood, last year's Race to Dubai winner. Jimenez and Westwood, two of four third-round co-leaders, headed to the par- four ninth at the Emirates Golf Club for the third playoff hole. Westwood had good looks at victory on both previous holes and Jimenez did his share of scrambling, but they were even on No. 9. Westwood found the fairway off the tee at the ninth, while Jimenez missed the short grass in the left first cut. Jimenez came up short and right with his approach, but Westwood was almost a club short and nearly met a watery problem. Jimenez chipped to four feet and Westwood pitched to six feet. Westwood missed his par putt and Jimenez drained his for his 16th European Tour victory and ninth since he turned 40. "I feel so proud to win this trophy. I like the golf course, I like the ambience and I like the people and I am very happy," said the 46-year-old, who was a runner-up twice in this event. Thongchai Jaidee, the third of four third-round co-leaders, had a one-over 73 and missed the playoff by a single stroke at minus-10. Martin Kaymer, who won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship two weeks ago, posted a two-under 70 and shared fourth place with Edoardo Molinari, who had a 71 on Sunday. The pair finished at nine-under 279. That wasn't quite enough to get into the sudden-death session between Jimenez and Westwood. Both playoff combatants had even-par 72s on Sunday and finished regulation tied at 11-under 277. Jimenez birdied the 17th and Westwood the 18th to put the two into a sudden-death playoff. Westwood appeared to have the advantage on the first playoff trip through the par-five 18th. Jimenez laid up short of the water, while Westwood knocked it just left of the green. Jimenez nearly rolled into the pond with his third, but was safe and actually got up and down for par. Westwood had 10 feet for the birdie and the win, but played too much break and it was back to the tee for the second playoff hole. If the first extra hole was advantage Westwood, the second time around in sudden death it was absolutely his for the taking. Jimenez drove into the rough and once again had to lay up, only this time he had 200 yards for his third. Westwood's fairway-metal second rolled over the back and Jimenez' third found a bunker. Westwood hit an average chip and left himself with 15 feet downhill for birdie. Jimenez blasted out to 12 feet, so Westwood stepped over his putt in great shape. He missed, but tapped in for par and had to wait for Jimenez to make his to extend the playoff. "The Mechanic" poured his par save into the middle of the cup and it was off to the par-four ninth and eventually the winner's circle for the 46-year-old Spaniard. "I made a very good putt on the second hole of the playoff on the 18th that kept me going then I had a putt to win," said Jimenez. "My last win was in 2008 in the PGA (BMW PGA Championship) and it proves the old guys like me can win." Jimenez had an average day in windy conditions on Sunday. With several players, including Westwood, Jaidee and Alvaro Quiros, on top of the leaderboard, Jimenez plodded along. He made bogey at the sixth, then went birdie-bogey immediately after the turn. Jimenez still trailed and didn't move in front until his third birdie in four rounds at the 17th. Westwood caught him with a birdie on the 18th in the final group. The final 54-hole leader to finish on Sunday was Quiros, a runner-up last week in Qatar. Quiros owned the lead for a good portion of the back nine until three late bogeys led him to a three-over 75. Quiros shared sixth place with last year's winner Rory McIlroy, who managed a one-over 73 in the final round. McIlroy and Quiros came in at eight-under-par 280. Tom Watson, 60, played his first European Tour event since 1993 and was brilliant on Sunday. He shot a four-under 68 and tied for eighth with world No. 10 Henrik Stenson and Gregory Bourdy. Both Stenson and Bourdy had 68s as well on Sunday and the trio was knotted at minus-six. "I'm obviously very happy with how I played today," said Watson. "It was a good week. I've enjoyed it very much. It was a learning experience here in Dubai. NOTES: Amateur Matteo Manassero had a one-under 71 on Sunday and tied for 31st at minus-one...Last week's winner in Qatar, Robert Karlsson, struggled to a four-over 76 and fell into a tie for 44th at plus-one...Next week is a new event on tour, the Avantha Masters in India.
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Bangkok, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gaganjeet Bhullar fired an eight-under 64 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Asian Tour International event on the Asian Tour. Bhullar finished the championship at 11-under 277 and won by a si
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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.
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
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.
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. 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. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards. |
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