This Week in Golf - February 11th through February 14th
Golf Betting Lines
02/08/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO- AM, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, California - It's one of most popular events on the schedule at one of the most storied places.
Pebble Beach, with all of the celebrities and amateurs, hosts this week's PGA Tour stop. That venue will play host to the final round after three days on three courses. The Monetery Course was added back into the mix for 2010, replacing Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Bill Murray headlines the celebrity group as always. From there, it's a host of quarterbacks and television personalities with insanely long rounds mixed in.
Last year, Dustin Johnson, who was a factor at Riviera last week, was declared the winner some 40 hours after he hit his last shot. Due to rain and wind that was strong enough to topple a 40-foot tree, play was called on Sunday. When they went out for the Monday finish, streams replaced fairways and ponds formed on greens.
For Johnson, it was his second PGA Tour victory and he became the youngest player to win the title.
This could be considered the test run for a bigger event at Pebble Beach later in 2010. The U.S. Open returns to the storied course in June with Lucas Glover the defending champion.
Maybe it'll be there when Tiger Woods comes back. In 2000, when Pebble Beach last hosted the U.S. Open, Woods won by about 45 strokes in what some consider his most impressive victory.
The Golf Channel has the action on Thursday and Friday and CBS takes over on Saturday and Sunday.
Next week there will be two events on the PGA Tour.
First is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, won last year by Geoff Ogilvy. Some thought this would be where Tiger returned, but his caddy Stevie shot that down.
For those not lucky enough to be in the top 64 (technically 66 because of the absence of both Woods and Phil Mickelson), there's the Mayakoba Golf Classic, which was won last year by Mark Wilson.
EUROPEAN TOUR
AVANTHA MASTERS, DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi, India - European Tour golf heads to the second-most populated country.
Tri-sanctioned between the European Tour, Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India, the Avantha Masters boasts a decent field. Darren Clarke and David Howell are on hand and the field is filled with Indian players.
Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur are the outstanding Indian players in the field.
The Golf Channel has the tape-delayed action.
DLF Golf and Country Club hosted the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic, which was won by Mark Brown of New Zealand.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
THE ACE GROUP CLASSIC - The Quarry, Naples, Florida - After a long absence and two events in Hawaii, the Champions Tour returns and is in the continental United States.
Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus teamed to win the Champions Skins Game and Watson trumped Champions Tour rookie Fred Couples to win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
Last year, Loren Roberts made a three-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to beat Gene Jones by a stroke.
Couples is in the field this week, but the bigger name for a week anyway is Paul Azinger. The former U.S. Ryder Cup captain is debuting on the Champions Tour this week.
The Golf Channel will air all of the action.
Next week is the Allianz Championship, which Mike Goodes won in 2009.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana Pacers forward/center Jeff Foster will undergo season-ending surgery for lower back pain following the All-Star break. Foster is expected to make a full recovery and participate in training camp
<< Clippers' Kaman to replace injured Roy in All-Star Game
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman
was named the replacement for injured Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy
Monday for the NBA All-Star Game to be held February 14 in Dallas.
Kaman, a sevent
<< Vesnina, Szavay advance in France
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Elena Vesnina and Hungarian
Agnes Szavay were Monday's first-round winners at the $700,000 Open GDF Suez
tennis tournament.
The Russian Vesnina vaulted past Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6
<< Stricker up to second in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker's victory on Sunday at the
Northern Trust Open moved the American to second in this week's world
rankings.
Tiger Woods remained in first, followed by Stricker, who was third last
<< Gainey stepping down as Canadiens GM
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey
will reportedly step down from his post, as the team has scheduled a press
conference for 4 p.m. (et).
According to a report by TSN Canada, assistant general
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers announced Monday that they will honor former owner and current baseball commissioner Bud Selig with a statue at Miller Park. It will be the third statue built at Miller Park, joining
Gainey steps down as Canadiens GM, Gauthier takes over >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey
has decided to step down from his post and hand the reins over to Pierre
Gauthier, the club announced on Monday.
"After a long and difficult period of
Yankees add Thames to outfield mix >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have reportedly added
Marcus Thames with a one-year contract worth $900,000 if he makes the team.
SI.com and the New York Post reported the signing. Thames is expected to
compete
Rachel Alexandra staying loose in Big Easy >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 12 hours after the New Orleans
Saints captured Super Bowl XLIV, the other champion residing in the Big Easy
took to the track for a jog.
Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra took a jog aroun
Blue Bombers sign RB Marc >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Monday
that they have agreed to terms with running back Emmanuel Marc.
Marc participated in Winnipeg's training camp in 2009 and graduated from
Delaware State in
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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