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07/19/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CANADIAN OPEN, St. George's Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario - From one national championship to another, the PGA Tour moves north of the border this week for the Canadian Open.
Despite its position following the British Open, Canada's national championship has still attracted some top-level talent.
Among those making the trip to Toronto are world No. 8 Paul Casey, No. 9 Luke Donald, No. 16 Retief Goosen and No. 19 Sean O'Hair. All four finished in the top 11 at the British Open and Casey played in the final pairing with winner Louis Oosthuizen.
This week's event also offers an opportunity for the top players from the Canadian Tour to play for a bigger purse than they're accustomed to. Six players were awarded spots in the field, including Aaron Goldberg, who captured the tour's Players Cup on Sunday to earn his berth.
Reno-Tahoe Open champion Matt Bettencourt is also scheduled to play at St. George's, as is his runner-up, Bob Heintz.
At last year's Canadian Open, Nathan Green defeated Goosen with a par on the second playoff hole to win his first PGA Tour title. The tournament was pushed to a Monday finish following four days of rain storms that dumped more than four inches of water on the Glen Abbey course.
Green and 2001 winner Scott Verplank are the only champions from the last 10 years of the event who will be in the field this week.
Golf Channel will have coverage from 3-6 p.m. (et) on the first two days, while CBS will broadcast in the same time slot on the weekend.
Next week is the Greenbrier Classic, a new event on the PGA Tour schedule.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
THE SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland - This week marks the first of two consecutive majors for the Champions Tour.
At last year's Senior British Open, Loren Roberts hit the fairway and green on three consecutive playoff holes and made par at the third to knock off Mark McNulty to win his 10th Champions Tour title and fourth senior major.
Fred Funk, who set two scoring records during the week, also made the playoff but was eliminated on the first hole when he was the only one who didn't make a birdie.
Roberts captured his second Senior British title in four years. He will be joined in the field this week at Carnoustie by some other recent champions, including three-time winner Tom Watson, Bruce Vaughan and Pete Oakley.
ESPN will have coverage of all four rounds this week beginning at 12 p.m. (et) the first two days, at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Next week is the third major of the season, the U.S. Senior Open, which was won by Funk last year.
Tom Lehman won the season's first major, the Senior PGA Championship, in a playoff over Fred Couples and David Frost.
LPGA TOUR
EVIAN MASTERS, Evian Masters Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France - Last year, Ai Miyazato captured the Evian Masters for her first victory in four full seasons on the LPGA Tour.
This week, she returns to the site of that win as the No. 1 player in the world.
What a difference a year makes.
Miyazato beat Sophie Gustafson in a playoff last year to finally break through for her long-awaited maiden title. The talented Japanese star has already won four times this season and is currently the top-ranked women's player by a very slim margin over Cristie Kerr.
Outside of the major championships, the Evian Masters might be the next-best draw on tour, so all of the top names in women's golf will be in the field this week.
Among them are all three of the 2010 major champions -- Yani Tseng (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Kerr (LPGA Championship) and Paula Creamer (U.S. Open) -- as well as top draw Michelle Wie and former winner Natalie Gulbis.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds, including three hours on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. (et).
Next week is the final major of the season, the Women's British Open, which was won by Catriona Matthew last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
SCANDINAVIAN MASTERS, Bro Hof Slott Golf Club (Stadium Course), Stockholm, Sweden - British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen begins his post-St. Andrews schedule at this week's Scandinavian Masters.
The South African is set to lead the field at Bro Hof Slott a week after cruising to a seven-shot victory for his first major championship.
Last year's Scandinavian Masters was won by Ricardo Gonzalez, who closed with a four-under 69 on Sunday to wrap up his fourth career European Tour victory and first since 2004.
Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of all four rounds beginning at 8:30 a.m. (et) the first two days and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Next week is the Irish Open. Last year, Ireland's Shane Lowry became the third amateur in tour history to win an event when he parred the third playoff hole to defeat Robert Rock. Lowry has since turned pro.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INVITATIONAL, The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course), Columbus, Ohio - Coming off a victory at the Chiquita Classic, Tommy Gainey leads the field at this week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.
Gainey became the first two-time winner in 2010 when he rolled to a three-shot victory Sunday at the TPC River's Bend. He headlines a field that includes 19 of the top 20 players on the tour money list.
At last year's event, Derek Lamely defeated then-amateur Rickie Fowler with a par on the second hole of a playoff to capture his first Nationwide Tour win. Both players are competing on the PGA Tour this season.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.
Next week is the Cox Classic, which was won by Rich Barcelo last year.
UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION
U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR, Egypt Valley Country Club (Ridge and Valley Courses), Ada, Michigan - Jordan Spieth is defending his title this week at the U.S. Junior Amateur.
Spieth won the stroke-play portion of last year's event at Trump National, then cruised through match play to become the sixth 15-year-old winner in championship history.
He is trying to become the first back-to-back Junior Amateur champion since Tiger Woods won three in a row from 1991-93.
U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR, The Country Club of North Carolina, Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina - Last year, Amy Anderson was the first stroke-play medalist in five years to win the Girls' Junior.
Anderson rolled to a 6 & 5 victory over decorated USGA player Kimberly Kim in their 36-hole match play final. Neither player is in the field this year.
<< Florida, NCAA looking into possible violations
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Florida has reportedly
informed the NCAA of a possible rules violation involving former football
player Maurkice Pouncey that could wind up costing the Gators their win in the
Sugar B
<< Atlanta's Venters, Cox suspended
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Jonny Venters has
been suspended by Major League Baseball for four games and fined an
undisclosed amount for throwing two straight pitches at Milwaukee first
baseman
<< Mathieu upended on first day in Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul-Henri Mathieu, who was defeated in
the final of last year's event, was upset by qualifier Pere Riba on the first
day of play at the 2010 Hamburg Open.
Mathieu won the first set handily, 6-1,
<< Report: Florida, NCAA probe violation allegations
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -ESPN is reporting that Florida and the NCAA are investigating allegations that former Gators offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey received $100,000 from a representative of a sports agent before last season ended.Florida athlet
Report: Johnson, Titans come to contract agreement >>
Culver City, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL Network is reporting that
running back Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans have agreed to a deal that
will pay him slightly more than $2 million during the 2010 season.
According to T
Edwards, Keselowski feud showing no signs of letting up >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Boom boom boom, now. Boom boom boom, now. Boom
boom pow."
I generally don't like using song lyrics to describe a frantic episode in a
NASCAR race or any other motorsports event, but after last Saturday's night
Dushevina moves on in Slovenia >>
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Russian Vera Dushevina was
a first-round winner Monday at the Slovenia Open.
Dushevina dropped the first set but rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over
fellow countrywoman Anna Lapushch
Jazz sign Bell >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz have signed guard Raja
Bell to a reported three-year contract worth $10 million.
This will be Bell's second stint with Utah after spending two seasons from
2003-05 with the club. He
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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