For golf, it's the Summer of Rules

Golf Betting Lines

08/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I know the feeling.

You wake up in the morning and realize one of three things has happened: 1) You have forgotten to set your alarm; 2) You have set your alarm, but woke up and turned it off; or 3) You set your alarm, which for some reason didn't go off.

Immediately you know something is wrong. It's too bright outside for when you were supposed to be awake. Your circadian rhythm is percussing like a drumline.

You sit up and call out loud, "Oh, crap!" Only you probably don't say "crap."

Jim Furyk knows the feeling, too. He woke up at 7:23 on Wednesday morning, seven minutes before he was supposed to be on the tee for his pro-am start at The Barclays. Furyk rushed to the course -- he didn't have time to put on a belt or socks and his shoes weren't tied -- but arrived in the locker room at 7:35, five minutes after his tee time.

He was disqualified from the tournament under the PGA Tour rule that says any player who misses a pro-am time, except for cases involving an injury or family emergency, is ineligible to play in that week's event.

So which situation got Furyk? That would be number 3.

"I overslept. I always use my phone as an alarm and it had no power this morning," Furyk said. "I don't know if something happened with the charger or what but I never got it."

Tour rules official Slugger White said his hands were tied.

"A commitment to play in the tournament is a commitment to play in the pro- am," said White. "It is unfortunate for Jim. It is unfortunate for the tournament. He is a fan favorite and everybody likes him."

Furyk made the PGA Tour playoffs -- which start at The Barclays -- after finishing No. 3 in regular season FedEx Cup points. He should safely make it through to the end -- fields are pared down weekly from 125 to 100 to 70 and then 30 for the finale at the Tour Championship. But he will still miss out on a $7.5 million tournament, and the chance to improve his position, for breaking one of golf's myriad rules.

"I played my heart out all year," said Furyk, who has won twice this season and is ranked No. 6 in the world. "I've got no one to blame but myself."

Of course, Furyk is only the latest in a line of golfers who have had run-ins with the rule book this year.

In April, three LPGA Tour players were disqualified from the season's first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, for missing their pro-am times. Among them was Maria Hjorth, who took to her Twitter account Wednesday to comment on Furyk's ouster.

"So I am not the only one getting dq'd from an event for missing a proam," Hjorth wrote. "Heard Jim F. slept in today and will not be playing. Stupid rule!"

Coincidentally, Furyk was the beneficiary of a rules infraction a couple of weeks later when Brian Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself in a playoff at the Heritage. Davis' club hit a loose impediment in a hazard next to the green and Furyk won the tournament.

"I'm happy I won," Furyk said at the time, "but I feel badly for him."

"Live by the rules," said Davis.

And die by them.

Last Saturday, LPGA player Juli Inkster was disqualified from the Safeway Classic for using a weighted "donut" on her club while she warmed up before hitting her tee shot at the 10th hole.

The same day, Canadian Tour player Jose de Jesus Rodriguez was disqualified after failing to sign his scorecard for the third round of the Seaforth Country Classic. The score? A 10-under 61 that had Rodriguez in the lead by three shots.

"It's harsh," said Darren Griff, who assumed the 54-hole lead. "There's not much you can say."

Inkster was ratted out by a TV viewer who spotted the infraction and e-mailed the tour. The golf Hall of Famer was trying to stay loose during a 30-minute wait at the hole.

"It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is," she said. "I'm very disappointed."

Inkster violated a rule in the USGA book regarding the use of artificial devices or unusual equipment. It's the same rule -- 14-3 -- that got NFL great Jerry Rice disqualified from a Nationwide Tour event in May. Rice's caddie was pinched for using a range-finder to measure distance.

Dustin Johnson's caddie was at least partially to blame when Johnson was disqualified from the PGA Championship two weeks ago for grounding his club in a bunker on the final hole.

Johnson missed out on a playoff that was won by Martin Kaymer after committing one of the biggest rules blunders in golf history. His caddie and the walking rules official shared in the blame, but ultimately the mistake was Johnson's.

"Never once did it cross my mind it was a sand trap," he said.

Sadly, I am also guilty of a rules infraction. I have been disqualified from my 9-hole Tuesday night league for failing to post the minimum number of scores. Seems I was supposed to play at least eight times. I played seven.

Oh, crap.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

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Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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

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.