This Week in Golf -- February 16th through February 19th

Golf Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - NORTHERN TRUST OPEN - Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California - A week after crushing the field in the final round at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson heads to Hogan's Alley to see if he can keep the momentum going.

Mickelson fired an eight-under 64, while paired alongside Tiger Woods, to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by two strokes.

The victory was his 40th on PGA Tour and two of those have come at the Northern Trust Open. Mickelson beat Jeff Quinney by two strokes in 2008 and fended off Steve Stricker by a shot the following year.

Stricker came back to win the title in 2010, but neither he nor Mickelson contended last year.

Aaron Baddeley was one of five players to break par in every round last year, but was the only one to card all four rounds in the 60s en route to a two- stroke win over Vijay Singh.

For Baddeley, it was his third PGA Tour victory, but by far his biggest. The win came four years after his previous tour title.

Baddeley is coming off a fourth place finish at Pebble Beach, and has three top-30 finishes in four starts this year. He'll have plenty of competition this week in his title defense.

World No. 1 Luke Donald will make his first PGA Tour start of the season, and just his second start worldwide.

Along with Mickelson and Donald, two-time winner Fred Couples will be making his 30th appearance at this event and is one of eight former champions playing this week.

Six of the last seven winners are competing this week, including a pair of Australians -- Rory Sabbatini and Adam Scott, who is making his season-debut at Riviera.

Also in the field this week are a pair of college standouts - Jordan Spieth of Texas and Patrick Cantlay of UCLA. Spieth is currently the second-ranked collegiate player, while Cantlay is the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world.

Golf Channel and CBS will split the broadcast this week.

There are a pair of PGA Tour events next week. Donald will be in Arizona to defend his title at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, while the remainder of the tour will be in Mexico for the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Johnson Wagner won that title last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

AVANTHA MASTERS - DLF Golf & Country Club, New Delhi, India - India native S.S.P. Chowrasia closed with back-to-back 67s last year to earn his second European Tour title.

Chowrasia, whose other tour win was at the 2008 Indian Masters, was in his third campaign on tour and the win was one of just four cuts he made last year. He missed the cut in 16 events and withdrew from two others.

The 33-year-old is off to a better start this season as he has made the cut in three of his four starts. However, his best finish was a share of 24th at the Volvo Golf Champions.

Robert Coles handed Chowrasia the title in regulation last year, as Coles bogeyed the final hole to fall one back.

Chowrasia's countryman Jeev Milkha Singh, who was the first Indian to qualify for the European Tour, will also be in the field.

There will be a trio of Americans in the field as well - former major winners Todd Hamilton and John Daly along with Peter Uihlein, who was the top-ranked amateur in the world before turning pro.

Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds.

The European Tour will be in the United States for its next two events. First up is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where world No. 1 Luke Donald will defend his title. After a week off, Nick Watney will defend his crown at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

LPGA TOUR

HONDA LPGA THAILAND - Siam Country Club (Pattaya Old Course), Chonburi, Thailand - Women's world No. 1 Yani Tseng ran away with this crown last year as she kicked off a run of four top-five finishes in her first five events.

Tseng went on to win six more times, including two more major championships in 2011. She opened and closed the event with 66s en route to an easy five-stroke win over Michelle Wie. Tseng had four birdies on the back nine to pull away.

The 23-year-old from Taiwan entered the event as the new world No. 1 after a pair of wins on the Ladies European Tour.

Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds.

The LPGA will wrap up its three-event Asian swing next week with the HSBC Women's Champions, Karrie Webb won by two strokes over Chie Arimura last year, while Tseng took third.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

ACE GROUP CLASSIC - TwinEagles Golf Club (Talon Course) Naples, Florida - Bernhard Langer cruised to victory at this event last year, but it was one of just three top-10 finishes on the season.

Langer injured his thumb a couple weeks after this win and missed significant time. He played the following week at the Toshiba Classic, then didn't return to the tour until the U.S. Senior Open, which was the last weekend in July.

The German opened with a 64, then carded consecutive 66s on the weekend to win by four strokes over Fred Funk. Langer has finished in the top four in all three of his starts at this tournament.

The field includes 10 of the last 14 champions, including two-time winners Loren Roberts and Hale Irwin.

Golf Channel has tape-delayed coverage all week.

After a three-week break, the Champions Tour will return to action in California for the Toshiba Classic. Nick Price held off Mark Wiebe to win by a single stroke last year.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

PACIFIC RUBIALES COLOMBIA - Country Club de Bogota, Bogota, Colombia - The Nationwide Tour opens its 2012 season in Colombia this week and the event has a big name helping the cause.

Former President Bill Clinton will be at the event on Tuesday and Wednesday and will play in the Pro-Am to boost the stature of the tournament. The Tuesday evening charity gala will support Clinton's foundation.

The weather was the real winner last year. With bad weather the first couple days, the first round was not completed until Saturday morning. Brendan Pappas took the lead after round two and the third round started Sunday afternoon.

More than two hours into the third round, more inclement weather moved in and the tournament was shortened to 36 holes.

Pappas was declared the winner. It was his second tour victory. He will be on hand to defend his title.

There is no television this week.

The tour heads to Panama next week for the Panama Claro Championship, where Mathew Goggin won by two shots last year.

Spotrszone Golf Betting News

<< Ivanovic, Kuznetsova among first-day winners in Doha
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia were among the winners Monday on the first day of main draw action at the Qatar Open. The 13th-seeded Ivanovic was ahead 6-1, 4-1 when Spain's Carla

<< Van Basten to take charge of Heerenveen
Heerenveen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Netherlands international Marco van Basten has agreed to take over as manager of Heerenveen in the summer after agreeing to a two-year contract. Van Basten will take over for Ron Jan

<< Korda cracks top 100 in women's rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following her playoff victory at the Women's Australian Open on Sunday, Jessica Korda jumped 203 places in this week's women's world rankings. Korda, who birdied the second playoff hole to def

<< Sa Pinto replaces Paciencia at Sporting
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Lisbon fired manager Domingos Paciencia on Monday and has replaced him with Ricardo Sa Pinto. Sa Pinto has been promoted to manager from his role in Sporting's youth setup, and the 39-year-ol

<< Tretschok, Covic take charge of Hertha temporarily
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Hertha Berlin players Rene Tretschok and Ante Covic have been named caretaker managers of the club following the departure of manager Michael Skibbe on Sunday. Skibbe took charge over the winte

The Sixth Man: Lin proving the skeptics wrong >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If an unproven scriptwriter took Jeremy Lin's story to Hollywood a month ago, he would have probably been thrown out on his ear. "Too unrealistic, kid," a jaded Tinseltown exec likely would have told the

Smith, Malkin, Perron named NHL's 'Three Stars' >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin and St. Louis left wing David Perron have been selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending February 12. Smith won eac

Baylor still women's No. 1, UConn second >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor is again a unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll. The undefeated Lady Bears received all 40 first-place votes and a total of 1,000 points from

Oilers ink Sutton to extension >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers agreed to terms with defenseman Andy Sutton on a one-year contract extension Monday. Acquired on July 1 from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Kurtis Foster, the 36-ye

Union adds MLS veteran Albright >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union has signed MLS veteran defender Chris Albright, the club announced on Monday. Albright is a three-time MLS All-Star and has spent 13 seasons in the league with four teams. The 33-

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

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