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01/19/2012 - La Quinta, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Toms and Camilo Villegas carded matching rounds of nine-under 63 Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Humana Challenge.
The leaders played two different courses on Thursday. Toms was at La Quinta Country Club, while Villegas played on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West. Those two courses, along with the Palmer Private course at PGA West, will host the opening three rounds, before the final round is contested on the Palmer course.
Brandt Snedeker headlines a group of four players tied for third place at minus-eight. He stands alongside Bob Estes, Ted Potter, Jr. and Sang-Moon Bae.
Ben Crane is among seven players that share seventh place at seven-under 65.
This is the first time since 1964 that Bob Hope's name isn't associated with the tournament, though his name remains on the trophy. Former President Bill Clinton has added his name to the tournament and brought in a few big names to re-invigorate the event.
Greg Norman and two-time winner Phil Mickelson answered Clinton's call to play this week. Norman managed an even-par 72 at La Quinta, while Mickelson stumbled to a two-over 74, also at La Quinta.
Clinton will play alongside Norman in the pro-am portion of the event on Saturday.
Toms played the front nine first and opened with four straight pars. He turned it on from there as he birdied the next four holes to jump up the leaderboard.
The 45-year-old Toms birdied the 10th, then dropped in back-to-back birdie chances from the 12th to move to minus-seven.
Toms converted birdied chances at 16 and 18 to grab a piece of the lead.
"I struck the ball pretty well all day. I didn't make any putts the first few holes and I had some great looks, then all of a sudden I made a long one, and then I made a couple after that," Toms said in a televised interview. "Then, for the most part, just played solid golf.
"I was never really in trouble off the tee. I hit a lot of greens, had a lot of looks and putted well."
Villegas played the back nine of the Nicklaus course first, and opened with birdies on each of his first two holes. After a pair of pars, he drained three straight birdie chances from the 14th.
The Colombian made the turn at five-under. He birdied three of the first four holes on the front nine. Villegas parred the next three holes, then birdied the par-five eighth to end at minus-nine.
"A great day out there. Obviously, the weather is beautiful, golf course conditions are perfect and I had a great group," Villegas said. "We had some laughs out there and felt pretty relaxed. It's a really nice way to start the year. I kept the ball in play, made a lot of great putts and then again had a lot of fun out there."
Johnson Wagner, last week's winner at the Sony Open, carded a four-under 68 on the Palmer course and is tied for 31st. Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas is tied for 80th at minus-two after a round with five birdies and three bogeys.
NOTES: There 12 former champions in the field including Vegas and Mickelson...Tops among that group is Pat Perez, who opened with a five-under 67 at La Quinta...Toms, who played alongside Mickelson, will shift to the Nicklaus course on Friday, while Villegas will play the Palmer course.
<< AC Milan's Pato to miss 3-4 weeks
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato is expected to
miss three to four weeks with a thigh injury sustained Wednesday in the Coppa
Italia win over Novara.
Pato's extra-time goal helped Milan defeat Novara, 2-1, but
<< Giants' Manning returns to practice
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning
was a full participant in practice on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's
practice with a stomach illness.
"I'm 100 percent. I had a full practice today,
<< DePaul F Freeland intends to transfer
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DePaul junior forward Tony Freeland plans to
transfer due to a family illness, the school announced Thursday.
Freeland, who was already out for the season due to a shoulder injury, said
that he is going h
<< Acclamation's trainer disappointed with Eclipse Award
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may seem funny, but trainer Don Warren
doesn't appear all that enthused with winning a 2011 Eclipse Award. His
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No. 10 Ohio State downs Nebraska >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tayler Hill scored 21 points to go with 10
rebounds and six steals as the 10th-ranked Buckeyes took down Nebraska, 82-68,
on Thursday.
Samantha Prahalis netted 19 points and dished out nine assists, whil
Dawkins sharp as Duke downs Wake Forest >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Dawkins and an official took time to share
a smile of astonishment, the only time the Duke guard wasn't completely locked
in during a first half to behold.
Dawkins scored all 21 of his points on seven fi
Hawkins leads No. 8 Maryland past Wake Forest >>
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tianna Hawkins recorded her ninth double-
double of the year with 18 points and a career-high 24 rebounds to lead
8th-ranked Maryland past Wake Forest, 86-58, on Thursday.
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Malkin, Penguins get the best of Rangers' Lundqvist >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin scored twice in the third period
as the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 4-1 decision over the New York Rangers at
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Richard Park and Chris Kunitz also lit the lamp for Pitts
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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