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07/03/2009 - Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Laura Diaz birdied four of the last six holes Friday to remain tied for the lead after two rounds of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Diaz carded a four-under 67 to complete two rounds at 11-under-par 131, where she shared the lead with Sarah Kemp, who fired an eight-under 63 Friday.
Morgan Pressel, who shared the first-round lead with Diaz and Song-Hee Kim, shot three-under 68 to complete two rounds at minus-10.
Seon Hwa Lee also fired a 63 to move into a share of fourth at nine-under-par 133. She was joined there by Jiyai Shin (67) and Natalie Gulbis (65).
Michelle Wie remains close to the lead after posting a two-under 69. She shares seventh at minus-eight, while women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa (68) is tied for 13th at seven-under-par 135.
Diaz played a steady round starting on No. 10 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. She parred her first 12 holes before making birdie on the par-four fourth for the second day in a row.
After a par on five, Diaz birdied six and seven, from 15 feet and three feet respectively, to get within one of the lead. She closed with a 12-foot birdie putt at the last to join Kemp at 11-under.
"I didn't make any birdies on my front side, but I just tried to stay patient out there," said Diaz, whose last win was at the 2002 Corning Classic. "I haven't been in place to be looking at the scoreboard in the last several months, so I really just was trying to stay in my own world."
Kemp also started on the back nine and birdied the 10th from 12 feet out. She gave that stroke back with a bogey on the par-four 12th. Kemp bounced back with a six-foot birdie putt on the 14th and made the turn at minus-five thanks to a birdie on No. 18.
The Australian, who was in the third group out in the morning wave, dropped in back-to-back birdies from the second. After a par on the third, Kemp poured in four consecutive birdies from the fifth, all from inside 12 feet, to jump to 11-under.
"I just tried to stay in the moment. I knew I was playing good," Kemp admitted. "My putter was amazing. I don't know how many putts I had, but I don't think it was many. I just tried to have fun, and tried not to think about how many birdies I was making."
Wie was joined in seventh at eight-under-par 134 by Eunjung Yi (66), Kyeong Bae (64), Lindsey Wright (68), Kris Tschetter (67) and Suzann Pettersen (69).
Ochoa shares 13th with Hee-Won Han (66), Soo-Yun Kang (66), Jane Park (66), Allison Hanna-Williams (68), Jee Young Lee (69), Jin Joo Hong (67) and Kim (71).
The cut line fell at two-under-par 140 with 83 players moving on to the weekend. Among those who missed the cut were Stacy Lewis (141), Stacy Prammanasudh (142) and In-Kyung Kim (142).
<< Ramirez apologizes on night of return to Dodgers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny
Ramirez spoke to the media Friday, prior to making his scheduled return to the
majors following his 50-game suspension.
Ramirez is expected to be in the starting
<< Woods shoots 66 to lead AT&T National
Bethesda, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods nourished his momentum with a
handful of scrambling par saves, shooting a four-under 66 on Friday to take
the second-round lead at the AT&T National.
Woods finished two trips around Con
<< Bases-loaded walk sends Cubs over Brewers in 10 innings
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Fox drew a bases loaded walk, scoring
Ryan Theriot in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Chicago Cubs edged the
Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, in the second of a four-game set at Wrigley Field.
Theriot
<< Daytona qualifying rained out, Stewart awarded pole
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain washed out Friday's qualifying
session for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
A thundershower moved over the 2.5-mile track shortly before the start of
qualifying. Track
Nash gets huge deal from Blue Jackets >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash was
reportedly signed to an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension.
The Columbus Dispatch reports Nash's deal means an annual salary cap hit of
$7.8 million
Wizards will try to make move vs. powerful Houston club >>
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards face a tough task
on Saturday when they host the Major League Soccer leading Houston Dynamo at
CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The Wizards (5-5-4) are keen on making a move up the Eas
Lopez solid on the mound as Phils handle Mets >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies recalled Rodrigo Lopez from
Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start the opener of a three-game series with the
rival Mets, and the right-hander responded with a quality outing in a 7-2
Philade
Leaving a trail: Turkoglu breaks off talks with Blazers >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared
headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall
those talks apparently broke off.
The Oregonian newspaper originally reported Tu
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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