02/26/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With his win Sunday at the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship, Henrik Stenson climbed three places to No. 5 in this week's official world golf rankings.
That marks a career-high ranking for Stenson, who also won the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour earlier this season. He is the first Swedish-born golfer to reach the top five in the world rankings.
Ahead of Stenson, the top four remained unchanged with Tiger Woods followed by Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott.
Stenson's move to No. 5 bumped Ernie Els down one to sixth. Geoff Ogilvy, who lost to Stenson in the Match Play final, jumped four notches to seventh.
Retief Goosen was down two to eighth, while Vijay Singh and Luke Donald each slipped one place to ninth and 10th respectively. Trevor Immelman, who took third at the Match Play, exchanged places with Sergio Garcia, with Immelman up to 12th and Garcia down one to 13th.
Paul Casey held steady at 14, while Charles Howell III was up one to 15. Nick O'Hern, who knocked off Tiger Woods in the Match Play event, was up two places to 16.
Davis Love III fell two spots to 17 and David Howell was down one to 18. David Toms and Colin Montgomerie remained 19th and 20th this week.
Fred Funk won the PGA Tour event in Mexico and jumped 29 places to No. 69 in the world.
<< Hantuchova, Schiavone win Doha openers
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeded women Daniela Hantuchova of the Slovak
Republic and Francesca Schiavone of Italy were a pair of first-round winners
Monday at the $1.34 million Qatar Open.
The sixth-seeded Hantuchova drilled Colombi
<< Federer sets No. 1 mark, wins Dubai opener
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing for the first time
since capturing the Australian Open title last month, Swiss superstar Roger
Federer was a hard-fought first-round winner at the $1.5 million Dubai Tennis
Champio
<< Ohio State tops men's hoops poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ohio State is the No. 1 team in men's college
basketball, ascending to the top spot of the Associated Press poll for the
first time in 45 years.
The Buckeyes (26-3) pulled out a 49-48 victory over previou
<< Backstrom, Savard and Richards earn NHL weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom,
Boston Bruins center Marc Savard and Tampa Bay Lightning center Brad Richards
have been the NHL's Three Stars for the week ending February 25.
Backstrom was na
Duke still No. 1, though not unanimous >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Duke remained the top-ranked team in the
latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll, but the Blue Devils
are no longer a unanimous choice.
The Blue Devils (29-0) finished the regular seaso
Prammanasudh enters top 20 in Rolex Rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stacy Prammanasudh won for the second
time on the LPGA Tour on Saturday, helping her jump 11 places to No. 19 in the
latest Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
There was no change in the top 10, but ev
Islanders acquire Zednik from Caps >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders have acquired left
wing Richard Zednik from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a second-
round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Zednik is having one of his worst offensive
Bills re-sign Chris Kelsay >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills re-signed defensive
end Chris Kelsay on Monday to a multi-year contract.
Eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday, Kelsay recorded a
career-high 5 1/2 sacks, whi
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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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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