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03/22/2009 - Porto Santo, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Estanislao Goya held off Callum Macaulay to win the Madeira Islands Open on Sunday, closing with a two-over 73 in the final round to claim his first European Tour victory.
Goya, a 20-year-old Argentine who was the top money winner on the Latin American tour last year, escaped with a one-shot win over a hard-charging Macaulay despite making a double-bogey on the 16th hole.
The young winner finished four rounds at Porto Santo Golfe at six-under 278 -- one of just eight players to finish under-par on the tough Seve Ballesteros- designed course.
"I am so happy to have made one of my dreams come true," Goya said.
Macaulay fired a seven-under 64 to climb from a tie for 10th into solo second place at five-under 279. His final-round score was almost 10 shots better than the day's average -- due almost entirely to a stunning back-nine finish.
The 25-year-old Scotsman birdied eight of his last nine holes -- including six in a row to end the round -- to shoot a 28 on the back side.
Amazingly, Macaulay was 11 shots off the lead when reached the No. 10 tee.
"I'm over the moon with [the finish]," he said. "I certainly couldn't do any more than I did over the back because it's not an easy golf course."
Wil Besseling (69) and Damien McGrane (72) shared third place at four-under 280, while Anthony Wall (67) finished fifth at three-under 281 and Michael Hoey (72) took sixth at two-under 282.
Thomas Aiken (71) and Joakim Haeggman (72) were the only other players to shoot under-par, finishing at one-under 283.
Goya, making just his sixth European Tour start, carried a three-shot lead into the final round and looked to be in charge of the tournament after he birdied No. 1 on Sunday.
A double-bogey at the third hole gave him a wake-up call, but Goya birdied the sixth and then strung together a series of pars that left him even-par for the round through 12 holes.
Goya's bogey at the 13th was offset by a birdie at the 14th, and he still appeared in control despite Macaulay's birdie streak. But a double-bogey at the 16th left Goya with only a one-shot lead.
Luckily for the youngster, Goya managed to par his remaining two holes for the win and a two-year exemption on tour.
"I want to be one of the best players in the world and this is one of the steps that I have to take to do that," said Goya. "It's amazing that I have my tour card for the next two years and a win here in Madeira. It was just over a year ago that I was thinking how much I would love to play in Europe and here I am now having won -- it has happened so quickly."
Macaulay, making only his fifth start after earning a tour card at Q-school, tied the course record with his 64. His back-nine 28 was one stroke shy of the tour record.
"To come back in 28 is unbelievable, really. I don't think I have ever done that at my home course, never mind here on The European Tour," said Macaulay.
"It's a great result for me, and it will certainly help the confidence. I always felt that I could compete out here if I played my best and I suppose this just confirms that. It's brilliant to have finished second and I can go to the next two tournaments with a lot of belief in myself."
<< Blackhawks activate RW Sharp
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right
wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve.
Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt
in a February 14 game against San Jose a
<< BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
<< Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash
today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
showdown at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con
<< No. 1 Louisville to try and avoid upset at hands of Siena
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Midwest Regional was full of upsets on the
first day and the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will try to avoid one
themselves against the ninth-seeded Siena Saints in second-round play at UD
Arena this evening.
Twente closes gap to nine points >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twente revived its fading title hopes
on Sunday with a 2-1 win over 10-man Groningen at Arke Stadion, while leaders
AZ Alkmaar finished 0-0 with Feyenoord.
Groningen was reduced to 10 men just 12
Not So Hard: Syracuse advances to Sweet 16 >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins
added 17, as Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a
78-67 victory over Arizona State at American Airlines Arena.
Rick Jackson chipped
Top-seeded Huskies cruise into second round >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles piled up 32 points and 11
rebounds, leading the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to a 104-65 rout over the
16th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charles
Guerrero's double helps Hamburg keep pace >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Paolo Guerrero scored two goals
in a four-minute span in the second half to lead Hamburg to a 2-1 win over
Schalke at Veltins Arena on Sunday.
Guerrero didn't crack the scoreboard until th
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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