10/26/2008 - Castellon, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia made his first tournament as a host a memorable one.
Garcia posted a four-under 67 on Sunday to win the inaugural Castello Masters Costa Azahar. He finished at 20-under 264 and won by three at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo, his home course and the site of his first tournament in the role of host.
"It means so much," said Garcia, who won this year's Players Championship on the PGA Tour. "It was something extremely special for me and my family. To come out on top, and do it playing well like I did, it was awesome."
Garcia first played this course when he was three years old. He is now the tournament's first winner and dedicated the victory to his ailing fellow countryman, Seve Ballesteros.
"I can't help myself but think of Seve," admitted Garcia. "Obviously he's going through tough times. We're all there with him and hopefully this helps him get a little better."
Garcia won by three shots, but the tournament was much closer.
Peter Hedblom birdied the first four holes on Sunday, but a bogey at 17 derailed his chances. Hedblom shot a five-under 66 and took second place at 17-under 267.
Alexander Noren fired a six-under 65 in the final round and moved into third place at minus-15.
Garcia began the final round with a four-shot lead and the margin stayed at four after both he and Hedblom birdied the first. Hedblom birdied the next three in a row and suddenly this was a competitive tournament.
Garcia bogeyed the par-three sixth after he missed the green and the pair was knotted.
The world No. 5 responded. Garcia rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at the seventh and made it two in a row with a birdie at eight. Hedblom made pars and Garcia was two ahead after the turn.
Both players birdied the par-five 13th, then Garcia ran home an eight-footer for birdie at the par-three 16th. Hedblom converted a birdie try of his own from closer at 16 and Garcia walked to 17 with a two-shot lead and two to play.
The 17th hole is where Garcia iced the victory.
He found a bunker with his second shot, but played a brilliant long bunker shot inside three feet. Hedblom reached the back fringe with a three-iron second shot. Hedblom tried to apply pressure to Garcia, but his long birdie effort ran six feet by the hole. Hedblom missed the par putt and Garcia saved his to take a three-shot cushion to the last.
Garcia made a safe par at the closing hole for his seventh European Tour victory and his first since hoisting the trophy at the 2005 European Masters.
"Peter played amazing," acknowledged Garcia. "The back nine I felt like I was pretty much under control. I had a lot of good chances. I hit a lot of good putts. Unfortunately, I didn't make many - just enough."
Simon Dyson shot a two-under 69 and tied for fourth place with David Lynn and Soren Kjeldsen, both of whom also managed 69s on Sunday. The group came in at 14-under 270, but Dyson's finish got him much more.
Dyson's fourth-place tie earned him enough money to move into the top 60 for next week's Volvo Masters.
Richard Finch (69) and Peter Hanson (66) shared seventh at minus-13.
Paul Casey (67), Stephen Gallacher (70), Mikael Lundberg (69) and Rory McIlroy (68) tied for ninth place at 12-under 272.
<< Pats' Morris, Jordan inactive against Rams
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots will be missing
a pair of running backs, as Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan are inactive for
Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams.
Morris injured his knee during New En
<< Rams RB Jackson inactive
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson is
inactive for Sunday's contest against the New England Patriots with a strained
right thigh muscle.
Jackson had missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but
<< Federer captures crown in Basel
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Roger Federer knocked off
second seed David Nalbandian, 6-3, 6-4, in the final at Swiss Indoors
tournament.
Federer, who cruised past Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in straight sets
<< Soderling ousts Benneteau in final in Lyon
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded Robin Soderling needed three
sets to defeat France's Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7 ), 6-1, in the final
at the Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.
Soderling captured his second title in Lyon, as he a
Oakland's McFadden out against Ravens >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Raiders running back Darren
McFadden is inactive for today's game against the Baltimore Ravens.
McFadden, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, is hampered
by a turf toe i
Ajax doubles up on NEC >>
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax handed NEC its second defeat of
the Eredivisie season on Sunday at Amsterdam Arena as the club recorded a 2-0
win to keep their home record perfect.
Klass Jan Huntelaar scored his third goa
Longhorns remain unanimous No. 1 in AP Poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Longhorns remained the unanimous
choice as the top ranked team in the Associated Press poll, receiving all 65
first-place votes after a 28-24 victory over then-seventh ranked Oklahoma
State.
Giants WR Burress will not start against former club >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico
Burress will not start in Sunday's game against his former team, the
Pittsburgh Steelers, after missing a mandatory treatment session for his neck
Saturda
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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