Thompson, Spieth advance at U.S. Junior

Golf Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke play medalist Curtis Thompson and defending champion Jordan Spieth both won their first-round match play encounters Wednesday at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

Thompson, of Coral Springs, Florida, topped 14-year-old Scottie Scheffler, 3 & 1. Spieth, from Dallas, Texas, cruised past Chelso Barrett, 7 & 5 at Egypt Valley Country Club.

Thompson was actually behind the 64th-seeded Scheffler on three different occasions and was all square after 14 holes. The 17-year-old Thompson won the ensuing three holes to lock up the win.

"On 12 and 13, you could tell that he wasn't hitting as good shots as he was hitting earlier in the round," Thompson said. "I knew when I got to 15 - he's only what 13, 14 [years old] - I knew I could have him there because that hole is 470 [yards] and it was into the wind today. He had 3-wood and I had 8-iron. There's a difference."

Spieth, 16, is attempting to become the second player in history to win multiple Junior Amateur championships after Tiger Woods, who won three in a row from 1991-93.

Next up for Spieth will be Robby Shelton in round two of match play Thursday. Shelton beat Ben Crancer on Wednesday, 3 & 2.

Gavin Hall, the 15-year-old who set a course record with a 62 on Tuesday, beat Brandon Ng, 3 & 2.

There were also a few upsets as Devon Purser beat Shugo Imahira, 1-up; Adam Ball defeated Marcel Puyat, 4 & 3; and Sam Straka got by Brian Jung, 1- up.

The second and third rounds of match play will be Thursday, the quarterfinal and semifinal matches are scheduled for Friday and the 36-hole championship final is slated for Saturday.

Supersportsbook Golf Betting News

<< Pirates C Doumit leaves Wednesday's game
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit left Wednesday's game against Milwaukee after feeling light-headed and nauseous following a first inning collision at home plate. The Brewers loaded the bases for

<< Medalist Kang escapes with narrow victory at U.S. Girls' Junior
Village of Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke play medalist Danielle Kang squeezed past 17-year-old Colombian Alejandra Cangrejo, 1-up, in the first round of match play Wednesday at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. Kang, of Tho

<< Report: Georgia WR Green under investigation
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green is the latest target of an NCAA investigation revolving around a Miami party hosted by sports agents. According to TMZ, Green allegedly attended a party at the Fontai

<< CFL Previews - July 22-24 - Week Four
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (1-2) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (2-1) DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. (et). GAME NOTES: Ranked fifth in the most recent power rankings in the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes

<< Finger injury sidelines David Lee for world championships
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors forward David Lee will miss the upcoming world championships due to an injured middle finger on his right hand. Lee, who was acquired in a sign-and-trade deal from the New York Knicks

Phillies P Moyer to have elbow examined >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer returned to Philadelphia on Wednesday to have his left elbow examined. The 47-year-old Moyer is scheduled to see team doctors Thursday. He threw only 18 pitches before l

Nolasco beats Rockies again >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gaby Sanchez hit a three-run homer and Ricky Nolasco was solid in eight innings on the mound, as the Florida Marlins handled the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, in the third test of a four-game series at Sun Lif

Alvarez homers twice as Pirates crush Brewers >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delwyn Young homered and drove in five runs and Pedro Alvarez went deep twice for a second straight night to power Pittsburgh past Milwaukee, 15-3, in the third meeting of a four-game set. Young fi

Tigers snap seven-game skid behind Scherzer, Laird >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Scherzer turned in seven scoreless innings and Gerald Laird hit an early two-run blast as Detroit snapped a seven-game skid by topping Texas, 4-1, in the finale of a three-game series from Comerica Park.

Former manager Ralph Houk dies >>
Winter Haven, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ralph Houk, who managed the New York Yankees to consecutive World Series championships in 1961-62, passed away Wednesday at the age of 90. Houk, who played as a backup catcher for the Yankees fr

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.