This Week in Golf - June 7th through June 10th

Golf Betting Lines

06/05/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LPGA TOUR - MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Maryland - Last year, Se Ri Pak knocked her approach shot within inches on the first playoff hole to set up a birdie that beat Karrie Webb at the McDonald's LPGA Championship.

It was Pak's fifth major championship -- and the second consecutive thrilling finish to a women's major after Webb holed out for eagle on the 72nd hole of the Kraft Nabisco Championship and then beat Lorena Ochoa in a playoff.

A year later, the women's golf landscape looks a little different.

Ochoa, with eight wins over the last 14 months, has overtaken Annika Sorenstam for the world's No. 1 ranking. With Sorenstam battling back and neck injuries, the Mexican star has even cemented her spot at the top.

But one thing Ochoa doesn't have -- something Sorenstam has 10 times over -- is a major championship. Her previous No. 1 goal was overtaking Sorenstam. Now, it has got to be to win a major.

Pak, Webb, Sorenstam and Ochoa will be joined in the field this week by the usual LPGA stars, including 17-year-old Michelle Wie, who will be looking to bounce back from her disastrous return -- and withdrawal -- at last week's Ginn Tribute.

The Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of all four rounds this week, beginning at 12:30 p.m. (et) on Thursday and Friday and at 4:00 p.m. on both weekend days.

The tour's next stop is in two weeks at the Wegman's LPGA, where Jeong Jang won last year.

PGA TOUR

STANFORD ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee - When he won last year, Jeff Maggert became the first champion of the Stanford St. Jude Classic not to reach double digits under par since the tournament moved to TPC Southwind in 1989.

Maggert shot a five-under 65 Sunday to beat Tom Pernice, Jr. by two shots at nine-under 271.

The PGA Tour's Memphis stop was pushed back two weeks this year in a schedule re-shuffle ahead of the U.S. Open. It may have taken a hit already after Phil Mickelson withdrew from last week's Memorial with a left wrist injury.

As of Monday, Mickelson's name was still listed in the field. But in a release posted on his Web site last Friday, he said his chances of playing this week were "50-50."

Without Mickelson, the highest-ranked player in the field this week would be No. 4 Adam Scott, who was one of a handful of players edged by K.J. Choi at the Memorial on Sunday.

The Golf Channel will have live coverage and replays of the first two rounds, and CBS will broadcast the weekend action.

Next week is the season's second major, the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Geoff Ogilvy won last year's U.S. Open after Mickelson's now-infamous collapse on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot.

EUROPEAN TOUR

BA-CA GOLF OPEN, Fontana Golf Club, Vienna, Austria - Ireland's Padraig Harrington won the Irish Open. Welshman Bradley Dredge nearly claimed his own national title at the Wales Open. This week, Markus Brier will be attempting to accomplish something a little different.

The Austrian will be looking to defend a history-making title he won last year.

"I had tears in my eyes on the 18th green," Brier gushed after last season's BA-CA Open, where he beat Soren Hansen by three shots with a three-under 68 on Sunday.

Not only was it Brier's first European Tour win -- he had won the event twice when it was part of the Challenge Tour -- but it was also the first win of any kind by an Austrian on the circuit's international schedule.

Since then, Brier has won the Volvo China Open (in April) and posted a handful of other top finishes to make a berth in the next Ryder Cup a real possibility.

He would be the first-ever Austrian member of the Ryder Cup.

"To play in The Ryder Cup would be a dream come true and the wins have brought me nearer to believing I can do it," he told the European Tour. "When I came on tour seven years ago I was far away from even winning a tournament, but you have to keep believing in yourself and that is what I have done."

This week, he will be joined in the field by three members of the last European Ryder Cup team: Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

The Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds. Next week, the European Tour schedule has two official events: the U.S. Open and the Aa St. Omer Open.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

PRINCIPLE CHARITY CLASSIC, Glen Oaks Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa - The Principle Charity Classic is a new event on the Champions Tour schedule this year. It replaces the old Allianz Championship, which relocated to Boca Raton, Florida.

Gil Morgan won the Allianz last year with rounds of 66-64-67 at Glen Oaks, beating Loren Roberts by one shot for his 24th Champions Tour title and first victory in two years.

Only Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino have won more times on the Champions Tour.

The Golf Channel will have two hours of coverage Friday, then three hours on both weekend days. Next up for the Champions Tour is the Bank of America Championship in two weeks. That event was cancelled last year because of flooding.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

REX HOSPITAL OPEN, TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, North Carolina - Brendan Pappas will return to defend his first Nationwide Tour win this week at the Rex Hospital Open.

Pappas had three runner-up finishes on the Nationwide Tour before he broke through at this event last year. He fired four rounds in the 60s to edge Charlie Wi by one shot.

This is the 14th year for this tournament and its seventh straight at the TPC Wakefield Plantation.

Next for the Nationwide Tour is the Showdown at Somerby.

Vegaas Golf Betting News

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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicole Castrale defeated Lorena Ochoa in a playoff Sunday to win the Ginn Tribute and moved up 20 places to No. 22 in the latest Rolex Rankings for women's golf. Ochoa remained No. 1, trailed again by

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Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy McDonald scored a pair of goals separated by one minute in the second period, but Dany Heatley lit the lamp with two minutes left in the second as the Ducks and Senators are tied at 2-2 two periods of Game 4 o

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AAtlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Obermueller outpitched Tim Hudson and Aaron Boone knocked in a pair of runs as Florida downed Atlanta, 6-4, in the first of a four-game series at Turner Field. Looking 5 1/2 games up to Atlan

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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Garland pitched into the ninth inning and the White Sox got homers from Jim Thome and Paul Konerko in a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game series. Garland (4-3) won for the

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Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Lowe no-hit the Pirates through six innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held off a late rally to take a 6-5 win over Pittsburgh, winning three of four over the Bucs. Lowe (6-5) finished up allo

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Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Penner scored the game-winning goal early in the third period and Andy McDonald added two goals and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks are one win away from their first championship after a 3-2 win over t

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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