Thompson claims first Nationwide win

Golf Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson shot a one-under 70 on Sunday to win the Rex Hospital Open, holding off a charging Bob Burns to claim his first Nationwide Tour victory in wire-to-wire fashion.

Thompson finished at 16-under 268, good enough for a two-shot win after Burns bogeyed the 18th hole. It was Thompson's first win in six chances as the 54- hole leader on the Nationwide Tour.

"It is hard to put into words," said Thompson, who claimed $81,000 for the win. "It has always been a dream of mine to win on the Nationwide Tour. To finally get this win is huge."

Burns took a penalty on the final hole and made bogey when a birdie could have sent the tournament into a playoff.

Looking for his third Nationwide Tour win and first since 1998, the onetime PGA Tour winner closed with a three-under 68 to take second place alone at 14- under 270.

"I had risk or reward on that last shot," said Burns, who went for the green with a five-wood from 240 yards out at the 18th, putting it into the water.

"I had second place wrapped up. But from the tenth hole on, I knew if I got close I was going for it on the last hole."

Rick Price had a four-under 67 and finished in third place at 12-under 272.

Garrett Willis shot the round of the day by two strokes with a bogey-free, seven-under 64 that vaulted him from a tie for 26th place overnight into fourth place at 11-under 273.

Marc Turnesa (67), D.A. Points (67) and Tommy Biershenk (69) shared fifth place one shot further back at 274.

Thompson opened with rounds of 64 and 65 this week, then cooled off on the weekend with a 69-70. He came within two shots of tying the tournament scoring record.

Prior to this week, his best finish this season was a tie for fifth place at the Melwood Prince George's County Open last month.

"I wouldn't say it has been a struggle, but it has been a journey to get to this point and finally win," said Thompson, who was making his 120th career Tour start. "Every time I've been in contention I've played pretty solid, but I've never had that five- or six-under round to finish up with."

Sunday, he didn't either. But 70 was good enough.

Casinoplauer Golf Betting News

<< Woody Austin wins St. Jude
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Woody Austin was so good, it didn't matter what anyone else did. The way he played the final round of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, no one was beating him. "That was a true round of golf. It was one of

<< Twins top Nats
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bartlett was 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs as Minnesota doubled up Washington, 6-3, to salvage the finale of a three-game set at the Metrodome. Torii Hunter finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and th

<< Royals rout Phillies
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Grudzielanek homered and finished with five RBI, as the Kansas City Royals pounded the Philadelphia Phillies, 17-5, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set at Kauffman Stadium. Tony Pena

<< Buehrle finally gets 100th win as Sox salvage finale with Astros
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Konerko homered and Mark Buehrle finally earned his 100th career victory, as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros, 6-3, to salvage the finale of a three-game set at U.S. Cellular Field. Kone

<< Gonzalez's hit in 12th gives Reds win over Tribe
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gonzalez's run-scoring single with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning lifted Cincinnati over Cleveland, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel at Great American Ball Park. Pinch hitter Chad Moeller rippe

Bloomquist, Mariners edge Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Bloomquist scored the go-ahead run on a Jose Lopez ground out in the ninth inning, as the Seattle Mariners won 4-3 and completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park. Ichiro Suz

Pettersen wins LPGA Championship >>
Havre de Grace, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suzann Pettersen waited two months for another chance. This time, she wouldn't let it get away. The intense, long-hitting Norwegian won her first major Sunday by edging out Karrie Webb at the McDonald's

DiNardo, A's blank Giants, complete sweep >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lenny DiNardo tossed six scoreless innings and the bullpen did the rest, as the Oakland Athletics completed the sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 2-0 win at AT&T Park. Santiago Casilla (2

Dynamo win 3rd straight as Crew remain winless in six >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A little over a week ago, Major League Soccer's defending cup holder, Houston, looked like it was heading for a rough stretch. The Dynamo were preparing for a three-games-in-eight-days stretch after

Mets' activate Green >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets activated outfielder Shawn Green from the 15-day disabled list following Sunday's 15-7 setback to the Detroit Tigers. Green has been out since suffering a chip fracture on the base o

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

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.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting