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.

Snadbox Golf Betting News

<< Pacers' Foster to have season-ending back surgery
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

Brewers to honor Selig with statue >>
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

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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