11/17/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LPGA TOUR - ADT CHAMPIONSHIP, Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, Florida - This week's ADT Championship marks the end of a season -- and, more importantly perhaps, the possible end of an era.
Although she has left the door open for a comeback, Annika Sorenstam is still set to retire at the end of the year and this week's event could mark her last appearance on the LPGA Tour.
Sorenstam has won 72 titles on the LPGA Tour, including three this season. The Hall of Fame Swede, who turned 38 last month, has won this tournament four times (1997, 2002, '04, '05).
The LPGA Tour will spend the week looking back at her 15-year career on the circuit while following her final rounds. The dream scenario, of course, would end with Sorenstam challenging for one final win on Sunday.
But she must run a gauntlet of cuts to get there.
The tournament whittles the field of 32 down to just eight players by the final round based on a progressive cut, with those eight players beginning Sunday with a fresh scorecard. The player among the eight finalists who posts the best score on Sunday will win the $1 million first-place prize.
Lorena Ochoa, the world No. 1 and two-time defending Player of the Year, fired a final-round 68 last year to beat Natalie Gulbis by a shot for her first ADT Championship victory.
Sorenstam and Ochoa lead a field of players who qualified based on the LPGA Tour's playoff system, which splits the season into two parts. Fifteen players qualify from each half, and two wild cards are added before the tournament.
The Golf Channel will have coverage of the first three rounds beginning at 2 p.m. (et) each day. NBC will broadcast three hours of coverage for the final round Sunday.
EUROPEAN TOUR
HONG KONG OPEN, Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong - This week marks the 50th anniversary of the oldest sporting event in Hong Kong and the second event on the new European Tour season.
The 51st playing of the tournament will take place next November, one week before the 2009 season-ending $10 million Dubai World Championship.
Although the event was first played in 1959, it didn't become part of the European Tour schedule until 2002, the year Jose Maria Olazabal won. Olazabal will be joined in the field this week by fellow major champions Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, John Daly, Michael Campbell and Paul Lawrie. Langer won the tournament in 1991, before it was an official European Tour event.
Miguel Angel Jimenez beat K.J. Choi, Robert Karlsson and Thongchai Jaidee by a shot last year to win the title -- his second at the event since 2005. Jose Manuel Lara and Colin Montgomerie, the 2005 and '06 champions will also be on hand this week.
The Golf Channel will have very early morning coverage (et) for all four rounds, and also a re-broadcast later in the morning. Next week is the Australian Masters, where Aaron Baddeley won last year.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
NATIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT FINALS, TPC Eagle Trace, Coral Springs, Florida - Champions Tour Q-School ends this week with 78 players vying for playing privileges next season.
Last year, former major league pitcher Rick Rhoden shared medalist honors with Thomas E. Jones, with both players earning about $25,000.
The 2007 co-medalists had different levels of success in 2008: Jones finished 19th on the money list with more than $1 million, while Rhoden played in only one event while battling a neck injury.
This year, the qualifying tournament finals return to the TPC at Eagle Trace for the third year in a row. It is the 18th time the event has been played in Florida.
The top 30 players and ties will have a chance to Monday qualify for nine spots in full-field Champions Tour events next season. The top 30 and ties will also receive a portion of the $200,000 prize money.
The tournament begins on Tuesday and ends with the fourth and final round on Friday.
<< FCS weekly honors go to Gowins, Barnes, Parent and Warner
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Gowins, Ryan Barnes, Matt Parent and
Larry Warner have been named The Sportsbook Betting Lines's FCS national players of the
week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Edwin Gowins, Stony Brook, 5-10, 220, Freshman
<< Falcons' Dubnyk named AHL Player of the Week
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Springfield Falcons goaltender Devan
Dubnyk has been named the American Hockey League Player of the Week for the
period ending on Sunday, it was announced on Monday.
In three starts this week, Du
<< Pair of Capitals lead list of NHL's Three Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forwards Nicklas Backstrom
and Alexander Ovechkin, along with Nashville Predators goaltender Dan Ellis,
were selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending November 16.
Backstrom
<< Pujols named NL MVP
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert
Pujols has been named the National League's Most Valuable Player, as voted on
by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Pujols, who won this award in 2005
Bucs RB Graham likely done for season >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest
Graham is likely done for the season with a right ankle injury suffered in
Sunday's 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Bucs head coach Jon Gruden addressed
Huskies are unanimous No. 1; LSU unranked >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained the top team in the
latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll, but LSU's lengthy
streak in the rankings came to an end.
The Huskies (1-0) are a unanimous pick this
Runners-up Harrington and Els get bump in rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els got bumps
in the world rankings this week after they tied for second place behind Jeev
Milkha Singh at the Singapore Masters on Sunday.
Tiger Woods remained No. 1, of c
Pro Bowl safety John Lynch retires >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pro Bowl safety John Lynch announced his
retirement at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Lynch was selected to nine Pro Bowls at the safety position during his 15-year
career with Tampa Bay and Denver.
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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