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Els, Love among four leaders at Bay HillGolf Betting Lines03/26/2010 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els, who won two weeks ago, carded a three-under 69 to grab a share of the lead with Davis Love III, Ben Curtis and D.J. Trahan after two rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Love, a three-time runner-up at this event, posted a one-under 71 to remain tied for the lead. He shared the first-round lead with J.B. Holmes. Curtis fired a five-under 67, while Trahan managed a four-under 68. Phil Mickelson, the 1997 champion, and two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen both carded 67s Friday to share fifth place with Kevin Na (70) at minus-six. Els was the last of the four leaders to complete his round. He struggled early with bogeys on one and five. Els rebounded with birdies at the eighth and ninth to turn in four-under. The South African again dropped in back-to-back birdies from the 11th. Els faltered to a bogey on the 15th at Bay Hill, but quickly fought back. Els, who won the WGC-CA Championship two weeks ago, birdied the par-five 16th and had the closest tee shot of the day on the par-three 17th. His tee ball ended inside four feet and he knocked that putt in to share the lead. At the last, Els had 24 feet for birdie and the outright lead, but was unable to convert. For the second straight day, Love had an inconsistent round. He played the back nine first and did not make a single par. After a birdie on 10, Love bogeyed the 11th. He birdied 12 and 13 before giving another stroke back on 14. The 20-time winner on the PGA Tour birdied three in a row from 15 then made bogey on the 18th to turn in nine-under. Love finally steadied himself with four straight pars from the first. He dropped a shot on five, but atoned for that error with a birdie on the seventh. Love led by two at that point, but he bogeyed the final two holes. Curtis faltered out of the gate with bogeys on one and two. He got those strokes back with birdies on six and eight. Around the turn, he birdied five of the first seven holes to fly up the leaderboard and into a share of the lead. The 2003 British Open champion parred the final two holes. Trahan poured in three straight birdie chances from the third to jump to six- under. He joined the leaders at seven-under with a birdie on the 10th. Trahan tripped to a bogey on 14, but he erased that mistake with a birdie on 16. Holmes stumbled to a two-over 74 to slide into a share of eighth at four- under-par 140. He stands alongside K.J. Choi (69), Steve Stricker (71), Mike Weir (73), Chris Couch (70), Steve Marino (70), George McNeill (71) and Edoardo Molinari (70). MORE TO FOLLOW.
<< Suns shoot for sixth straight win; host Knicks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-hopeful Phoenix Suns shoot for their sixth straight win Friday when they host the New York Knicks in the desert. The Suns earned their fifth consecutive triumph on Monday when Amare Stoudemire scored 18 of his
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NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting. |
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