Three share Humana Challenge lead

Golf Betting Lines

01/20/2012 - La Quinta, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Wilson fired a 10-under 62 Friday to join Ben Crane and David Toms atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the Humana Challenge.

Crane posted a nine-under 63. Both he and Wilson played the Palmer Private course at PGA West on Friday. Toms, who shared the first-round lead, posted a seven-under 65 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West.

The three are three strokes clear of the field at 16-under-par 128.

The field plays the two courses at PGA West as well as La Quinta Country Club over the first three days before the Palmer course hosts the final round.

Each professional is paired with an amateur during the first three rounds. Former President Bill Clinton, who lent his name to the event this year, will be among those competing in the third round.

This is the first time since 1964 that Bob Hope's name isn't associated with the tournament, though his name remains on the trophy.

Camilo Villegas, who shared the first-round lead with Toms, shot four-under 68 on the Palmer course to end 36 holes at 13-under-par 131.

He was joined in fourth place by Harris English (62), Chris Kirk (63) and Bobby Gates (63).

Chris DiMarco (64) and Brandt Snedeker (68) are among six players tied for eighth at minus-12.

Wilson got off to a hot start with birdies on his first three holes. Birdies on the sixth and eighth helped him make the turn at 11-under.

The 37-year-old birdied the 10th before converting a 15-footer for eagle on the par-five 11th. Wilson was two off the lead at that point, and he remained there with four straight pars.

Wilson moved into a share of the lead with birdies at 16 and 18.

"I just rolled in some long putts early...and that kind of got me going," said Wilson, whose 62 was a career low. "And I didn't make any bogeys and just did all the things you're supposed to do to shoot a low one."

Crane started his round on No. 10 at the Palmer course and he tripped to a bogey there. He bounced right back with an eagle on No. 11. Crane holed out for birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-three 12th.

The four-time winner on the PGA Tour dropped in back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15. Crane tripped to a bogey at 16, but birdied his next two holes to head to the front side at minus-12.

Crane birdied the second, fourth and sixth to climb up the leaderboard. He finished at 16-under after making a 17-foot birdie effort on the ninth.

"I made a lot of 10- and 15-footers and I made all my kind of close putts for birdie," Crane stated. "I had 22 putts today, so I just putted extremely well and every part of my game felt great. I guess that's how you do it."

Toms birdied the 10th on the Nicklaus course, but gave that right back as he bogeyed the 11th. He carded birdies at the 14th and 16th to get to 11-under.

The 2001 PGA Champion parred five in a row around the turn. Toms ended that run with a birdie on the fourth. Over the last three holes, he picked up four strokes.

Toms birdied the seventh and ninth to go with an eagle on the par-five eighth.

"Tee shots were a little erratic today, I guess you would say. I really didn't do much of anything," Toms admitted. "I started to hit some better shots, hit some good putts that didn't go in, and then made a few and then finished great. I turned just a so-so day into a pretty solid day."

Ryan Moore had the round of the day. Playing on the Nicklaus course, Moore bogeyed the second and third. He erased those mistakes with an eagle on the par-five fourth.

Moore poured in 11 birdies in a 12-hole span from the sixth to soar into a share of 14th at 11-under-par 133. He birdied six in a row from the sixth, then five straight from the 13th.

NOTES: Dustin Johnson and Scott Stallings both withdrew on Friday...Johnson, who is recovering from knee surgery, withdrew due to a stiff back, while Stallings had a rib injury...Villegas in the only non-American among the top 13 on the leaderboard.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.