Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/04/2009 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Overnight leader Rafa Echenique birdied the last hole Saturday to hold on to his spot atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Open de France.
Echenique shot a one-under 70 and finished 54 holes at 11-under 202 and is one clear of first-round leader Martin Kaymer, who managed a 69, at Le Golf National.
Paul Waring posted a three-under 68 and is alone in third at minus-nine.
Seve Benson (68), Richard Green (70) and Peter Hanson (70) are knotted in fourth place at eight-under 205.
Echenique began the third round with a two-shot cushion, but a bogey at the first hole hurt him out of the gate. He atoned for the error with a birdie at the fourth and made it two in a row with a 12-footer for birdie at the par- four fifth.
Echenique dropped a shot at the par-three eighth hole and fell to 10-under par for the championship.
Kaymer, Waring and Charl Schwartzel all eventually tied Echenique atop the leaderboard. Schwartzel bogeyed 12, 14 and 15 to fall down the board, then Waring bogeyed 14.
Kaymer kept pace with Echenique thanks to smart, even-par golf. Kaymer, the German who matched the course record on Thursday, birdied six and seven and parred nine straight around the turn.
At the 17th, Kaymer holed a tricky, multi-breaking 25-footer for birdie to match Echenique atop the leaderboard at minus-10.
Echenique, playing in the final group, narrowly missed the fairway at the par- four closing hole. He knocked his approach to six feet and drained the birdie putt to take sole possession of first.
"That last birdie was very good because the putter just didn't work for me today," acknowledged Echenique. "When you are playing in the last group in these conditions then you are always going to be a little nervous, but after the first three holes I realized that I should calm down and try to play my game."
Echenique will be in search of his first European Tour victory on Sunday. He has two Challenge Tour titles, but never broke through on the big circuit.
It certainly looked like Echenique had a good chance at that first win last week at the BMW International Open. The Argentine holed his second shot at the par-five 18th on Sunday to scare eventual winner Nick Dougherty.
"This is one of the biggest and best events on the European Tour and I believe that I can do it," said Echenique. "I did it in the Argentinean Open, so why not here? I will try to keep the same strategy as I have all week -- try and take irons off of most of the tees and get the putter working again because it wasn't working great today. It would be very big for me to win here."
Schwartzel finished with a one-over 72 and is tied for seventh place with Lee Westwood (70) and Robert-Jan Derksen (68). The trio is knotted at seven-under 206.
Ian Poulter carded a five-under 66 and is alone in 10th at minus-six.
<< Floyd attempts to slow down White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gavin Floyd will try to keep the good times rolling when
he takes the mound this afternoon for the Chicago White Sox in the second
meeting
of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Floyd
<< Rockies resume homestand with last-place Diamondbacks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Streaking Colorado right-hander Aaron Cook makes his 20th
career appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, when the Rockies
host their National League West Division foes at Coors Field for the middle
test of a thre
<< Braves send Hanson to hill against Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie phenom Tommy Hanson looks for a fifth straight
victory today when the Atlanta Braves visit our nation's capital for a holiday
afternoon game with the host Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Hanson, who'll tur
<< Reds, Owings seek to slow down Pujols
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Brad Thompson starts against the Cincinnati
Reds for the second time this season today when the St. Louis Cardinals head
to Great American Ball Park for the middle test of a three-game series with
their Nationa
D'Backs activate Petit off DL for Saturday start >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have activated
right-hander Yusmeiro Petit from the 15-day disabled list to start Saturday's
game versus Colorado.
Petit has been shelved since May 9 with a right shoulde
New jockey for Mine That Bird on the horizon >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Woolley, trainer of Kentucky Derby
winner Mine That Bird, indicated Saturday that an announcement on a new rider
for the three-year-old could come as soon as Sunday morning. Earlier in the
week Ca
Nats rally in the eighth off Braves bullpen >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit his 300th career home run and
drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single during a four-run eighth, as
Washington topped Atlanta, 5-3, halting the Braves' season-high win streak at
five ga
McGehee misses cycle, but his big day helps Brewers crush Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee finished with four hits, a double
short of a cycle, and drove in five to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to an 11-2
win over the Chicago Cubs.
Mike Cameron was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting