Mickelson struggling early at Masters
Golf Betting Lines
04/05/2007 - Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Phil Mickelson will have a hard time successfully repeating if he can not rebound from a disastrous front nine Thursday at the Masters.
During the opening round of the 2007 season's first major championship, Mickelson recorded four bogeys, one double-bogey and two birdies for a four- over-par 40 and is six shots behind at Augusta National Golf Club.
The current leaders are 2002 PGA Champion Rich Beem, Englishman Justin Rose and Jeev Milkha Singh. The trio stands at two-under par and all three are still on the course.
Tim Clark, the runner-up last year to Mickelson, Zach Johnson and his American Ryder Cup teammate and local favorite Vaughn Taylor are in the clubhouse at one-under-par 71.
Tiger Woods, who has won the last two majors and will be in search of his fifth green jacket, just teed off and parred the first hole.
Mickelson is certainly not the only big-name player struggling on Thursday.
Colin Montgomerie, Fred Couples and Darren Clarke are on the course at plus- three, while Mickelson is tied with Stuart Appleby and reigning U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy at four-over par.
Ernie Els has been worst than almost everyone on the course. He double-bogeyed his first hole, tallied four bogeys and collected his first birdie at 13. He is five-over par in an effort for a first Masters title.
Lee Westwood, Craig Stadler, Lucas Glover, Thomas Bjorn, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Pernice, Jr., Padraig Harrington and 2000 Masters champion Vijay Singh are at one-under par on the course.
Davis Love III finished his opening round at even-par 72.
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arnold Palmer has not made a start at the Masters since 2004. He has not made a cut since 1983, where he tied for 36th place. He has donned the green jacket four times, although the last one came in 196
<< Arena Football Preview - Week Six
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Here are this week's Arena Football League
match-ups for Week Six.
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
COLUMBUS DESTROYERS (2-2) AT DALLAS DESPERADOS (5-0), 8:30 P.M. ET
DESTROYERS: Looking to defeat two undefeated teams i
<< Goestenkors introduced at Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gail Goestenkors was introduced Thursday as the
new women's basketball coach at Texas.
Goestenkors announced her decision to leave Duke on Tuesday and will replace
the legendary Jody Conradt as the third
<< Donovan staying at Florida
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida men's basketball coach Billy
Donovan will apparently remain just that, after much speculation that he might
be tempted to leave the program he has built into a national power to take
over at
<< Blake will open for U.S. against Spain's Robredo
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American James Blake will take to the
court against Tommy Robredo in Friday's opening singles rubber in the Davis
Cup World Group quarterfinal between the United States and Spain in Winston-
Salem.
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle left the team's game against Cleveland in the top of the second inning with an apparent left arm injury. The game was deadlocked at one when the Indians' Ryan Garko r
O'Neill brings two to Illinois Derby >>
Cicero, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top California trainer Doug O'Neill brings two
colts from the West Coast to head Saturday's $500,000 Illinois Derby at
Hawthorne. The 1 1/8 mile race for three-year-olds has attracted a field of
nine Ke
Osasuna blanks Leverkusen in UEFA Cup quarterfinals >>
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Lopez tallied a goal and an
assist to lead La Liga's Osasuna over Leverkusen, 3-0, in a UEFA Cup
quarterfinal first-leg match at BayArena.
Javier Cuellar and Webo also found the b
Phoenix is getting warmed up for the postseason >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pacific Division champion Suns and their offensive
show is getting tuned up for the postseason. Phoenix has scored 100 or more
points in nine straight games and is 7-2 in that span.
The Suns are the second seed
Hatteberg, Conine lift Reds over Cubs >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Hatteberg finished 2-for-4 with two
runs batted in and scored twice as the Cincinnati Reds came back to beat the
Chicago Cubs, 5-2, to close a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Jeff
NFL Football Betting
BILLS (+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.