11/20/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every sport has its rules. How often people break them depends on the sport. How frequently people call themselves for breaking said rules is a different story.
Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire all had a chance to admit to authorities that they used some sort of performance-enhancing drug, but none did so.
Offensive linemen in the NFL could be called for holding on every play. When was the last time a player told a referee he held someone? Never, and don't hold your breath waiting for it.
In the NHL and NBA, players that get called for penalties or fouls sometimes look like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Who me? I didn't do anything!
None of those leagues can be confused with the PGA Tour, or golf in general, where players police themselves and penalize themselves even when millions of dollars are on the line.
Roberto de Vicenzo is famous for signing an incorrect scorecard at the Masters costing himself a chance at the title. Afterwards, he said, "What a stupid I am!"
Recently, at the second stage of the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, J.P. Hayes turned himself in for playing the wrong ball.
Sure, that doesn't seem like much, but you must start and finish rounds using the same type of golf ball. Well, Hayes was playing a Titleist and his caddie did not realize there were two different types of Titleist in Hayes' bag.
Hayes asked for a new ball on the tee at a par three, and played away. After his tee shot and following chip, Hayes marked his ball and picked up it.
Immediately, he realized the difference in the ball and called a penalty on himself. After consulting an official, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty.
End of story, right? Not so fast my friend!
After playing another round and thinking about it some more, Hayes realized the ball was a prototype and may be non-conforming or not on the list of approved golf balls as posted by the United States Golf Association.
The 43-year-old called an official after realizing this and was told that officials would touch base with Titleist the following day.
At that point, he figured he would be disqualified. And he was right.
Disqualified from the second stage at Q-School, Hayes will have to rely on his Past Champion/Veteran Member status and hope to get into a few more events via sponsor exemptions.
You may think, who cares? The PGA Tour will have purses totaling nearly $223 million in 2009. Toss an extra $28 million or so on there for the majors, and PGA Tour players will be competing for over $250 million next year.
One might think that all PGA Tour players are millionaires since 104 players did earn over $1 million in 2008. But that isn't the case.
Hayes has made over $7 million during his 14-year career. Given today's economic climate, the more than $500,000 a year he averages is great, but it doesn't guarantee him a job anymore.
He would have needed to earn just under $853,000 in '08 to keep his card, but 'only' made $312,152. So calling this penalty on himself could cost him hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
His response as told to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It's not the end of the world. It will be fine. It is fine."
Golf still is, and continues to be a gentleman's game.
GREGORY'S INSPIRATIONAL STORY WRAPS UP
Throughout the 2008 season, fans may have seen a man walking the course with the aid of a cane. That man, D.J. Gregory, was born with cerebral palsy.
Through 45 weeks, Gregory traveled to 44 events and walked all 72 holes at every event. He chose a different golfer every week and followed that player all week.
Gregory blogged about his experience on PGATour.com, revealing that he walked 988 miles over 3,256 holes. Oh, and he fell 29 times. Remember, he has cerebral palsy.
As I said, you can read his blog on the PGA Tour's website. Or, if you want to watch highlights of his story, ESPN's E:60 did a feature piece on him this week. The video can be found on both ESPN and the PGA Tour's websites.
At the end of his journey, which was completed at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, several players waited for Gregory behind the 18th green to congratulate him on his travels and work.
Kenny Perry told ESPN producers this, "How can you see a kid struggle around the golf course, and then you're out there complaining about playing golf? It just really changed my perspective about my life and about my golf game and about what I was doing."
MINI-TIDBITS
- The proof is in the numbers. The old adage of "drive for show and putt for dough" is real, at least according to numbers released by the PGA Tour earlier this week. In 2008, Jason Gore became the sixth player in the last seven years to lead the tour in total driving (distance and accuracy combined) and still finish outside the top 125 on the money list.
- Furthering that note, if you combine the PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours, 16 players who led the field in putting went on to win, while only two players to lead in driving distance were winners.
- Winning on the Nationwide Tour does not guarantee you a PGA Tour card for the following season. That was evident this year, as eight players who didn't win finished inside the top 25 to earn their PGA Tour cards, while eight players who did win failed to earn their PGA Tour cards for next year.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The worst-kept secret in baseball started to leak out on
Wednesday, when it was revealed that right-hander Mike Mussina was indeed
going to hang up his spikes after 18 seasons.
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The Flames h
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to remain above the fray
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struggling Cincinnati Bengals to Heinz Field.
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Phils' Utley, Feliz need surgery >>
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Utley and third baseman Pedro Feliz -- will undergo surgery.
Utley will have surg
Browns QB Quinn to play despite broken finger >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn has
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Quinn, who has started the last two games for the Browns, has
Arsenal's Walcott out at least three months >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger confirmed that
Theo Walcott was forced to have surgery on his dislocated shoulder on Thursday
morning.
The 19-year-old suffered the injury on Tuesday during training in the b
Atletico forced to play PSV behind closed doors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid has been told it will have to
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The Spanish side partially lost their appeal to the Court of Arbitratio
Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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