Couples cruises to lead at Toshiba Classic

Golf Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Newport Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fred Couples fired a seven-under 64 on Saturday to move to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds of the Toshiba Classic.

Couples finished 36 holes at 12-under 130 and missed Rodger Davis' 2003 and Jay Haas' 2007 tournament record by a stroke. Couples is two shots ahead at Newport Beach Country Club.

Tom Lehman had a six-under 65 on Saturday and is tied for second place with first-round co-leader Chien Soon Lu, who posted a four-under 67 on Saturday. The pair is knotted at 10-under 132.

There was a small weather delay on Saturday when a storm moved through and poured rain on Newport Beach Country Club. Everyone completed the second round on Saturday and it was someone becoming all too familiar with the top of the leaderboard that emerged on Saturday.

Couples parred the first, then wedged his approach at the second to inches to set up a tap-in birdie. From the left rough, Couples hooked his second to nine feet and rolled in the eagle putt to take the lead.

While Couples struggled hitting fairways, he was able to save par for the most part. He hit another wedge to inches for an easy birdie at seven, then found the right rough off the tee at nine. Couples hit a spectacular second shot to three feet and holed the short birdie putt.

An errant drive at the 10th finally cost Couples. He hit it in the left rough and near a tree. Couples had to pitch out in the fairway left-handed, but his third shot came up 25 feet short and he missed the par putt.

Couples was nine-under par, but still on top of the leaderboard, but with company. A birdied at the par-five 15th got him one ahead, then birdies at 16 and 18 gave him his two-shot cushion.

Couples has been very, very good so far this year on the Champions Tour. In two starts, he has a win and a runner-up and is first on both the money list and the Charles Schwab Cup race.

Loren Roberts and Ronnie Black both carded rounds of four-under 67 on Saturday and share fourth place at eight-under 134.

Mark Wiebe, one of the three first-round co-leaders, managed an even-par 71 and is tied for sixth place with John Cook (66), Bob Gilder (66) and defending champion Eduardo Romero (69). The group finished at six-under 136.

Bob Tway, the final first-round leader, struggled to a one-over 72 in round two and shares 10th with Corey Pavin (69), David Peoples (68) and Gary Hallberg (70) at minus-five.

NOTES: Hale Irwin, who has the most wins in Champions Tour history, shot a four-under 67 and is tied for 14th at minus-four...Bernhard Langer, who holed out from a bunker to win the Allianz Championship in a playoff, had a one-over 72 and fell to a tie for 40th at even-par 142...Andy Bean and Dave Stockton both withdrew.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.