Awesome final round gives Stenson Players Championship

Golf Betting Lines

05/10/2009 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Stenson sucked all of the drama out of an interesting final pairing between Tiger Woods and Alex Cejka on Sunday.

With the final twosome struggling in the final round, Stenson fired a flawless, six-under 66 to become the first Swede to win The Players Championship.

Stenson finished at 12-under 276 and won the title by four strokes over Ian Poulter, who managed a two-under 70, at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

"It was a nice day's work," said Stenson, who collected his second PGA Tour win after the 2007 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. "I played well all week and managed my game really well and myself more than anything. Obviously, it pays off."

Woods never mounted any kind of charge in the final round and bogeyed two of his first four holes to immediately drop out of contention. He netted three birdies and two bogeys the rest of the way.

Woods equaled his worst score when playing in the final pairing on Sunday with a one-over 73. The difference was, in the three previous occasions Woods shot a 73 in the final round, he still won the championship.

Not on Sunday.

Woods took eighth alone at minus-five.

"Just a long, frustrating day," said Woods. "I thought I was doing a pretty good job of getting it around."

Stenson, who was ranked ninth in the world before the start of the tournament, completed an epic turnaround on Sunday.

His five-stroke comeback in the final round matched Justin Leonard's record from 1998 and all totaled, Stenson completed a 13-shot overall difference between himself and the third-round leader.

Cejka took a five-shot advantage into Sunday and fell apart quickly. He finished with a disappointing seven-over 79.

"I think I played a little better than my score showed today," said Cejka. "I was doing my thing. The iron play was a little too aggressive. Maybe a little patient next time."

John Mallinger and Kevin Na both posted two-under 70s on Sunday to share third at seven-under 281. Jim Furyk (69), Brian Davis (71) and Ben Crane (72) tied for fifth at minus-six.

With no one really playing well on Sunday, it left the door open for Stenson.

Cejka struggled immediately. Through his first six holes, the German had three bogeys and a double-bogey and surrendered the lead to Crane, who was two-under thanks to back-to-back birdies at one and two.

Woods was one-over through six and showed he'd be no serious final-round threat.

Stenson sat patiently and waited for his opportunity. He parred his first six holes, then ran home a 16-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the seventh. That birdie got Stenson within one of Crane's lead, but trouble loomed for Crane.

At the eighth, Crane missed the green with his tee ball and ran his second shot five feet past the stick. He missed that par save coming back and fell into a tie for first with Stenson.

The tie didn't last long.

Stenson reached the green in two at the par-five ninth. He lagged his 50- footer inside three feet and tapped in for birdie and the outright lead. That was an advantage Stenson never relinquished the rest of the way.

The Swede recorded his next birdie at the next par five, the 11th. His second fell into a greenside bunker, but he blasted out to six feet and made the birdie try. Stenson was nine-under for the championship and two clear of the field.

Stenson sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th and Crane made bogey. That bogey knocked Crane out of contention, but several players were three back at minus-seven.

Poulter converted a six-footer for birdie at the 15th to close the gap to two. Stenson, in the group behind Poulter, hit a nine-iron approach to two feet and kicked in the short putt to reclaim his three-stroke cushion.

One hole later, Stenson landed on the putting surface in two and rolled his eagle try down to two feet. He holed the birdie putt for a four-shot lead with two to play.

Those two, however, are the island 17th and the demanding 18th with water down the left.

Stenson played safely away from the flag at 17 and two-putted for par. At the last, he hammered a drive down the middle and knocked his second 20 feet shy of the flagstick.

Stenson hit a safe putt to a foot. He tapped in for the par and his second win in the U.S.

"It's an honor to win it," said Stenson. "It feels like a major championship. I'm going to take a lot of good things with me into the majors this year."

Stenson became the first champion to card a bogey-free round on Sunday since Davis Love III in 2003. One other stat to illustrate Stenson's path to victory was that he missed only two fairways on the weekend.

Cejka's 79 dropped him into a tie for ninth at minus-four. The first players out on Sunday, Aaron Baddeley (66), Vijay Singh (67), Tim Clark (69) and David Toms (70) joined Cejka eight off the lead.

Sergio Garcia, the 2008 champion, shot a three-under 69 and tied for 22nd at minus-two.

Phil Mickelson, who won two years ago, finished with a double-bogey and a bogey for a four-over 76. He finished in a group tied for 55th at three-over 291.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    		 7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  		 Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.