Oosthuizen five clear with 2nd round completed

Golf Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A wind delay Friday forced the completion of the second round of the British Open into Saturday morning.

Louis Oosthuizen remained atop the leaderboard as he finished his five-under 67 on Friday.

Oosthuizen completed two rounds at 12-under-par 132, which matched the low 36- hole score for an Open Championship at St. Andrews. Nick Faldo and Greg Norman both posted 132 in 1990.

Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 Open champion at Royal Troon, also carded a 67 to move into second place at seven-under-par 137.

Englishmen Paul Casey (69) and Lee Westwood (71) share third place at minus- six. They were joined there by Alejandro Canizares (71) and amateur Jin Jeong (70). Jeong was the only amateur to make the cut.

Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods birdied the 18th hole Friday to finish off a one-over 73. He shares 14th place at four-under-par 140.

First-round leader Rory McIlory stumbled to an eight-over 80 to drop into a tie for 38th at one-under-par 143. McIlroy opened with a 63 on Thursday, matching the lowest score in major championship history.

World No. 2 Phil Mickelson shot a 71 that left him at even-par 144 and tied for 43rd.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (67), 1996 British Open champion Tom Lehman (68), Ricky Barnes (71), Peter Hanson (73), U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell (68), Retief Goosen (70) and Sean O'Hair (72) share seventh place at five-under-par 139. O'Hair was the only player to shoot par after the wind delay.

Stephen Tiley, who was in the last group out off the first tee Friday, stood at minus-six through 10 holes when play was stopped Friday evening. He returned Saturday morning and dropped seven strokes over his final eight holes to tumble to plus-one.

Tom Watson, who nearly won his sixth Open Championship last year, closed with a birdie at the 18th Friday in the final group to complete their round. However, his three-over 75 left him two strokes over the cut line.

NOTES: The cut line fell at two-over-par 146 and 77 players moved on to the weekend...Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler, who came back from a first-round 79 to shoot five-under 67 in the second round, made the cut on the number...Among those that missed the final two rounds were Justin Rose, Mike Weir, 2002 Open champion Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Angel Cabrera, 2003 winner Ben Curtis, 2004 champ Todd Hamilton, K.J. Choi, Jim Furyk, two-time champion Padraig Harrington, three-time winner and six-time major titlist Faldo and 2001 champion David Duval.

Blackjakc Golf Betting News

<< Former Penn St. RB Warner set to rush into Hall
Curt Warner stopped when he came across his shiny new plaque during a tour of the College Football Hall of Fame.Opposing linebackers rarely had such luck halting the tailback during his record-setting career at Penn State.Those achievements in Happy

<< Headley, Padres crush Diamondbacks
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Headley went 3-for-4 with a double and home run, helping the San Diego Padres to a 12-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the teams' second-half opener. Jon Garland (9-6) gave up just one

<< Calvillo leads Als to win at BC
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Calvillo completed 30-of-46 passes for 297 yards to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 16-12 victory over the British Columbia Lions at Empire Field in Vancouver. Avon Cobourne finished with 1

<< Weaver helps Angels edge Hernandez, Mariners
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver pitched seven innings of two-run ball, as the Angels held off the Mariners, 3-2, in the second test of a four- game series. Weaver (9-5), who gave up six hits, snapped a two-start skid. The righ

<< Zito sparkles, Giants blank Mets again
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Giants starter Barry Zito tossed eight brilliant innings to outduel fellow southpaw Jonathan Niese, as San Francisco blanked the light-hitting New York Mets again, 1-0, at AT&T Park. Zito (8-4)

Szavay, Zahlavova Strycova advance to Prague final >>
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Agnes Szavay and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova were both easy semifinal winners Saturday at the $220,000 Prague Open tennis event. Szavay, last week's Budapest titlist, downed unseeded Czech Lucie

Mets try to rebound against homestanding Giants >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets are hoping something will give when they take on the San Francisco Giants Saturday night in the third installment of a four-game set at AT&T Park. New York has lost the first two games of this set

Richard, Padres resume series vs. D'Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard was bailed out by his offense the last time he took the mound. The San Diego Padres hope that Richard won't need the help when he gets the nod tonight in the second installment of a three-game series versus

Cards send Wainwright to hill vs. Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright will try to become just the second 14-game winner in the major leagues and remain perfect at home when he leads the St. Louis Cardinals into the third test of a four-game series tonight versus the Los Ang

Braves aim to bounce back against Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves can't afford to lose any ground in the competitive National League East Division. Tonight they have a good shot at bouncing back with Tim Hudson on the mound in the third test of a four-game series

How to bet pro football

There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.

These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.

Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.

Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.

Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.

Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.

The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?

To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.

Home vs. Away Teams

Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.

Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.

Price ranges

Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.

The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.

Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.

Playoff teams

It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.

Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.

This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.

Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.

Scoring defense and scoring offense

Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.

Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.

There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.

The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.

Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.

Scoring margin

An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.

In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.

Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.

In sum

Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.

The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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