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06/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To quote The Guess Who, "American woman gonna mess your mind."
The LPGA Tour is one-third of the way through its season, and there has only been one American winner, with that lone victory coming in an unofficial event.
The perception is that there are more quality American women golfers then ever, yet a quick glance at the top of the Women's World Golf Rankings, and you will find just 20 Americans among the top-100.
In that group are Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis - huge names to be sure - but that fame hasn't translated to a lot of titles lately.
Wie owns the last win by an American, last November, which was 10 official tour events ago.
Creamer is easily the most accomplished of the above trio, with eight LPGA Tour titles, but has basically missed the entire season after withdrawing from the first event with an injury.
In the midst of her ninth season, Gulbis has been the poster girl for the tour since her first appearance. However, she has won just one event thus far.
This season's drought follows a campaign in which the American women as a group were victorious in only five events, although the Americans did win the Solheim Cup last year.
The main cause for this lack of success? How about the explosion of young talent arriving on the tour, largely from Asia, which has taken control.
A look at the rankings bears that out, and also raises questions about the relative strength of the Americans in that group.
Cristie Kerr, the second-most accomplished active American woman, owns 12 LPGA Tour victories, including one in each of the last three years. At 32, she is at a crossroads in her career. Currently ranked No. 5 in the world, Kerr got married last year and the questions about starting a family are swirling.
Wie is next in the rankings at No. 7. Her well-documented career has yielded two wins, one as an amateur and one as a professional.
Angela Stanford, ranked ninth, might be playing better than any of her countrywomen. She won twice in 2008 and once last year. Stanford has tallied 15 top-10 finishes since the start of the '09 season, including six top-three finishes.
In addition to the players mentioned above, the group of Americans in the running to snap the losing streak includes two-time winner Morgan Pressel, three-time champ Brittany Lincicome, Stacy Lewis, who has an unofficial win in a rain-shortened LPGA event as an amateur, and 2009 Q-school winner Amanda Blumenherst. Lewis is the oldest of the group at 25.
Other Americans that are among the top-100 in the rankings are three women on the downside of their careers - Juli Inkster, Pay Hurst and Michele Redman. Not to demean anything those three have accomplished, but they're not the future.
Inkster was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 10 years ago and has won 31 times on the LPGA Tour. Recently named as an assistant captain for the U.S. Solheim Cup team, Inkster could qualify for next year's team on points, and if she does, it would be her eighth straight appearance on the U.S. team.
Hurst, nine years younger than Inkster, claimed her sixth tour win last year, but has only two top-20s this year. She made five Solheim Cup squads.
Redman made more Solheim Cup teams (3) than she owns wins (2). Dating to the 2008 season, she has finished inside the top-20 only eight times.
Overall, in the last two seasons, the Americans have six wins, one of which was unofficial, and 19 runner-up finishes.
You could say they are right there on the verge of success, but there is also plenty of talent they'll have to overcome. Team success in the Solheim Cup is fine, but the American women need to get back in the winners circle quickly.
DONALD, ALLENBY, AND THE WORLD RANKINGS
Luke Donald, world No. 9, and Robert Allenby, world No. 13, unquestionably are two of the better players in golf, but are their world rankings skewed?
There has been plenty of debate this week over whether Donald is the ninth-best player in the world. Most feel that he isn't, though according to the world ranking system, his win last week at the Madrid Masters gave him enough points to move up four places to No. 9 in the world.
The win also knocked Allenby down a notch to 13th this week.
The world ranking system is difficult to understand, but basically it is a two- year points system where more points are available at the better tournaments, i.e. majors and World Golf Championships.
If you break down their finishes, Allenby has slightly better stats, but Donald has the most recent win. From the start of the 2008 season, Donald owns 13 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour and five more in Europe.
That is two less than Allenby, who has 16 top-10s on the PGA Tour and four more worldwide. Outside of his win at the 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge, which was a 12-player field, Allenby's last worldwide title was back in 2005, when he swept the three major Australian events -- Aussie Open, Aussie PGA and Aussie Masters.
Donald has won once on the PGA Tour, at the 2006 Honda Classic, and once in Europe last week, since Allenby's last visit to the winner's circle in a full- field event.
Are they both among the best players in the game? No doubt. I have a hard time saying they are the ninth and 13th best players in the game though. I would take No. 14 Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, ahead of either Donald or Allenby if I had to choose.
MINI-TIDBITS
- The United States Golf Association bailed out Vijay Singh on Wednesday. The USGA granted Singh an exemption into the U.S. Open, meaning his streak of consecutive majors played will move to 64. That is the longest active streak.
- The PGA Tour is losing one of its best characters this week as Mark Calcavecchia is making his final PGA Tour start. The 1989 British Open champion collected 13 PGA Tour wins and was always won of the best quotes on tour.
<< Chris Wood takes Wales Open lead
Newport, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Chris Wood shot a six-under 65 to
take the first-round lead Thursday at the Wales Open.
Wood collected six birdies in a bogey-free round on the Celtic Manor course to
finish with a one-shot lead
<< Anybody's choice in 142nd Belmont Stakes
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pick the horses out of a hat for Saturday's
running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes. Any of the 12 horses has a good
chance of winning the third jewel of racing's Triple Crown.
The two second-place
<< In the FCS Huddle: Top 10 FCS Receivers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The dry erase board hanging in Tysson
Poots' apartment lists his receptions, receiving yards and touchdown
receptions during his first three seasons as a wide receiver at Southern Utah:
- Freshman: 29, 433
<< Oakland P Anderson leaves game
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Brett Anderson left
Thursday's game against the Red Sox with an undisclosed injury.
Anderson had allowed two runs and five hits in two full innings before
leaving. Vin Mazzaro took ove
Benitez leaves Liverpool >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool has confirmed that manager
Rafael Benitez will leave the club by mutual consent following a disappointing
seventh-place Premier League finish last season.
The club lost 11 league games
Wade given temporary custody of sons >>
MIAMI (AP) -Dwyane Wade has gotten temporary custody of his two young sons, ordered by a court in Chicago after ongoing issues regarding visitation schedules between the Miami Heat star and his estranged wife.It's a significant step for Wade, who is
Bulls fans to Lebron: Come to Chicago >>
CHICAGO (AP) -Bulls fans are taking their sales pitch to LeBron James to another level - like 30 feet off the ground.The group behind the Web site SendLeBrontoChicago.com has paid for a billboard in downtown Chicago pleading with ``King James'' to l
Hannover signs defender Pogatetz, goalie Miller >>
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover has completed a double swoop
after landing defender Emanuel Pogatetz and goalkeeper Markus Miller.
Austria international Pogatetz has joined the Bundesliga outfit from
Middlesbrough
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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