This Week in Golf -- February 22nd through February 26th

Golf Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - EUROPEAN TOUR - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (Saguaro/Tortolita Nines), Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona - Professional golf's version of March Madness hits in February.

The top 64 players in the world rankings are eligible to tee it up this week, although two backed out. Phil Mickelson, a playoff loser at Riviera, announced weeks ago that he had a family vacation scheduled, so he's out.

Paul Casey, a two-time runner-up, is still out with injury. The benefactors of those withdrawals are George Coetzee and Ernie Els, who, surprisingly, will be the No. 64 seed.

That means Els drew world No. 1 and defending champion Luke Donald in Wednesday's first round.

Donald's ascension to the No. 1 ranking began in a lot of ways at this time last year. He bested Martin Kaymer in, 3 & 2 in the final. The loss pushed Kaymer to first in the rankings, but Donald used the victory, where none of his matches made it to the 18th hole, as a springboard.

He won the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour and then became No. 1. Donald captured the Scottish Open and, needing a victory to win the money title on the PGA Tour, took home the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.

All totaled, Donald won the money title on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, becoming the first player in history to accomplish the feat.

Donald is No. 1 overall and tops the Bobby Jones bracket. Kaymer is first in the Ben Hogan bracket, while U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy is highest-ranked in the Gary Player bracket. Lee Westwood is the final No. 1 seed and he heads up the Sam Snead bracket.

There will be 32 first-round matches on Wednesday, followed by 16 second-round matches on Thursday, eight third-round matches on Friday, with the quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals are Sunday morning, while the championship and consolation matches will be held Sunday afternoon.

Could this be the week Tiger Woods finally wins again on the PGA Tour? He's a three-time champion, a match-play wizard and owner of impressive tournament records.

Woods trounced Stewart Cink, 8 & 7, to win in 2008. That is the largest margin of victory in a championship and Woods' owns the biggest winning margin in tournament history with a 9 & 8, drubbing of Stephen Ames in 2006.

Golf Channel has the broadcast for the first three rounds and early coverage on Saturday and Sunday. NBC has the end of the action on the weekend.

The PGA Tour travels to Florida next week for The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, where Rory Sabbatini is the defending champion. The European Tour and PGA Tour will be in Florida in two weeks for the WGC - Cadillac Championship in Miami, where Nick Watney will defend his title.

PGA TOUR

MAYAKOBA GOLF CLASSIC - El Camaleon, Riviera Maya, Mexico - With the world's best at the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship, the rest of the PGA Tour can tee it up down in Mexico.

Last year, Johnson Wagner downed Spencer Levin in a playoff to earn his second PGA Tour title. This year, these two have had major roles in the 2012 PGA Tour season.

Wagner won the Sony Open in Hawaii, after a top 10 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He tied for second at the Humana Challenge and won January's PGA Tour Player of the Month.

Levin squandered a six-shot lead during the final round of the Phoenix Open.

Greg Norman is the course designer and will be playing in his second PGA Tour event of the season. Norman teed it up in the Humana Challenge at the behest of his friend and tournament host, President Bill Clinton.

John Cook, a Champions Tour standout, joins fellow elder circuit players, 2007 winner Fred Funk, Nick Price and Tom Lehman in the field. Funk became the second golfer in history to win on the Champions Tour, then go back and win on the PGA Tour when he titled here in 2007.

Golf Channel has tape-delayed coverage all week.

Next week, the PGA Tour travels to Florida for The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, where Sabbatini is the defending champion.

LPGA TOUR

HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS 2012 - Tanah Merah Country Club, Garden Course, Singapore - The LPGA Tour ends its Asian swing with a stop in Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions.

A select field will be on hand, including last week's winner in Thailand, world No. 1 Yani Tseng. European Solheim Cuppers Melissa Reid and Laura Davies were given sponsor's exemptions.

Last year, Karrie Webb shot a three-under 69 in Sunday's final round to overcome leader Chie Arimura. It was the 37th career LPGA Tour victory for Webb, who picked up win No. 38 in her very next start, the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.

Arimura had led after each of the first three rounds, but the Hall-of-Famer snuck by in the final round. With Webb's first-place check for $210,000, she became the second player after Annika Sorenstam to surpass $16 million in career earnings.

The HSBC Women's Champions was the first official stroke-play event that the LPGA Tour has played in Singapore. Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore is the site of this week's event and has hosted the Singapore Open, the Johnnie Walker Classic on the European Tour and the Lexus Cup on the LPGA Tour.

Golf Channel will handle the broadcast.

In three weeks, the LPGA Tour returns for the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup with Webb as its defending champion.

Wwwalltracks Golf Betting News

<< Stoppage Time: Next few months crucial for Arsenal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the wake of Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Sunderland over the weekend there are two things that are near certainties. The first is that the Gunners will extend their run of seasons without a trophy to a sevent

<< Spurs sign Dawson to 10-day contract
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward Eric Dawson to a 10-day contract. Dawson has appeared in 18 games for Austin of the NBA Development League and is averaging 15.9 points with 10.1 rebounds and

<< Brewers sign five to one-year contracts
Maryvale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pitchers Marco Estrada, Mike McClendon and Tim Dillard were among five players the Milwaukee Brewers signed to one-year contracts on Monday. Estrada went 4-8 with a 4.08 earned run average in 43 games

<< Hiller, Wheeler and Spezza named NHL's 'Three Stars'
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler and Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza have been selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending February 19. Hill

<< Raonic on the rise
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you're trying to find young tennis stars from Canada (or anywhere else for that matter), look no further than Milos Raonic. Okay, Raonic (pronounced Rau-nitch) plays under the Canadian flag o

Haas jumps to 12th in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Haas knocked off Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a playoff at the Northern Trust Open on Sunday and that helped Haas move to a career-best spot of No. 12 in this week's world ranking

Rangers don't need to make a big move >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York fans made it clear on Sunday just how much they want the Rangers to pursue Columbus Blue Jackets superstar Rick Nash. After Nash scored a game-tying goal with 1:33 left in Sunday's game at Madiso

Baylor remains undisputed No. 1; Stanford moves to second >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baylor remained an undisputed choice as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll. The undefeated Lady Bears again received all 40 first-place votes and a total of 1,000 point

Bolts' Ohlund to have knee surgery >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Monday that defenseman Mattias Ohlund will have left knee surgery later in the week. The 35-year-old Swede hasn't played a game this season because of the troublesom

Golf Rantings: February Madness! >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite the efforts of Golf Channel and its bracket announcement special Monday morning, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship pales a wee bit in comparison to the Selection Sunday you'll see in a little

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.