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02/09/2012 - Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stacy Lewis and Sarah Kemp both posted four-under 69s on Thursday as the 2012 LPGA season kicked off with the first round of the Women's Australian Open.
This season also began much like last season went -- with Yani Tseng in contention for the win.
The world's top-ranked player, Tseng posted a three-under 70 on Thursday at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. She is tied for third with Brittany Lincicome and Julieta Granada.
Melissa Reid, reigning U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu, Sandra Gal, Jessica Speechley and Sarah Oh are tied for sixth, two shots behind the leaders after posting 71s.
It's no surprise for Tseng to be near the top of the leaderboard. Last season, she won seven times on the LPGA Tour and 12 times worldwide, and ran away with the tour's money title.
It's also no surprise to see her near the top of the leaderboard at this event, which she won in 2010 and 2011. This is the first year that the Women's Australian Open is being held as an LPGA event.
Lewis posted her round of four-under after overcoming several mistakes. She started from the 10th tee and posted a bogey on No. 11, but then immediately got the stroke back with a birdie at the par-five 12th.
That birdie began a stellar run for Lewis, who also birdied the 13th, 15th and 17th. A bogey at No. 18 sent her around the turn at two-under, but Lewis settled down. She made at least par at every hole on the front nine, with birdies at six and eight.
"Early on it was about as easy as it could play," Lewis said. "Towards the end there, when the wind started blowing, nine and 18, the greens were really firm."
Kemp, on the other hand, played a bogey-free round while also starting at No. 10. She had just one birdie through her first 11 holes, but another at the par-three third help kick-start her move up the leaderboard. She also birdied the fourth and seventh to reach minus-four.
Tseng bogeyed her first hole Thursday, but birdied four of the next eight holes to make the turn at three-under. She ran off seven consecutive pars before a birdie at the par-five No. 8, but she bogeyed her final hole to end the first round outside of the lead.
"It was disappointing to finish with a three-putt on the last hole," Tseng said. "It is probably the toughest hole on the course. But I am still very happy shooting three under today."
American teenage sensation Lexi Thompson, who will turn 17 years old on Friday, shot a 74. She is the youngest winner in LPGA and Ladies European Tour history, having won the LPGA Classic in September and Dubai Ladies Masters in December.
NOTES: Three of the top four players in the world are in the field - Tseng, second-ranked Suzann Pettersen and fourth-ranked Cristie Kerr. The Norwegian Pettersen posted a seven-over 80, while the American Kerr had a two-over 75...This is the first time that the LPGA Tour has played in Australia in over a decade...Christel Boeljon, who won the Australian Ladies Masters last week, also posted 74 on Thursday.
<< Rockets hold off Blazers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goran Dragic filled in for an injured Kyle
Lowry and scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Houston
Rockets downed the Portland Trail Blazers, 103-96.
Lowry, who left the game late
<< Henrik Sedin may miss Thursday's game with ankle injury
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin may
miss Thursday's game against the Minnesota Wild after injuring his right ankle
on Tuesday.
Sedin took a shot off his right ankle early in the first period of Tu
<< Perry lifts Ducks past Hurricanes in overtime
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry scored the game-winning goal at
2:14 of the overtime period, sending the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 win over the
Carolina Hurricanes at Honda Center.
The deciding play began with a little luck f
<< Jokinen's hat trick leads Flames over Sharks
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen capped his seventh career hat
trick with the winner in the third period as the Calgary Flames took a 4-3 win
over the San Jose Sharks.
Jokinen also had an assist while Jarome Iginla added a g
Cabrera-Bello fires 63 to lead by 2 in Dubai >>
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Cabrera-Bello fired a
nine-under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the
Dubai Desert Classic.
Cabrera-Bello, whose lone tour title was at the 2009 Aus
Bills release Corto >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have released safety Jon
Corto, who missed the entire 2011 season with a shoulder injury.
Corto, who had signed a two-year contract extension prior to the 2011
campaign, was a s
Ferrero will open for Nadal-less Spain >>
Oviedo, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Spain will begin defense of
its Davis Cup title with a 2012 opening-round tie against Kazakhstan this
week, as the festivities will get underway Friday with a singles rubber
between
Devils hope to stay on a roll versus the Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New Jersey Devils will try to extend their
longest winning streak of the season to six games tonight, when they host the
St. Louis Blues at the Prudential Center.
The Devils, who are coming off Tuesday's contro
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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