10/30/2008 - San Roque, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Soren Kjeldsen fired a six-under 65 on Thursday to take a three-shot lead at the Volvo Masters.
Sergio Garcia, coming off a win at his tournament last week, shot a three- under 68 to stand alone in second place as the European Tour's season-ending tournament got underway at historic Valderrama.
David Lynn and Anthony Wall are another stroke further back at two-under 69, while Lee Westwood and Hennie Otto both opened with 70s. Darren Clarke, Peter Hedblom and Thomas Levet were the only other players at even-par or better.
With the season coming to an end this weekend, the drama doesn't just lie in the tournament itself.
Money leader Robert Karlsson opened with a two-under 73 and is now just three rounds from wrapping up his first Order of Merit crown as the European Tour's leading money winner.
It was a lukewarm start for the lanky Swede -- he was tied for 16th in a field of 57 -- but there are only three players at Valderrama who can mathematically catch him for the money title.
Padraig Harrington, the reigning British and PGA champion who sits nearly 300,000 euros behind Karlsson on the money list, was three shots worse at five-over 76.
Meanwhile, Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez (73) remained longshots for the crown.
Further down the leaderboard -- all the way down, in fact -- defending champion Justin Rose was in last place following a nine-over 80. Rose clinched last year's Order of Merit title with his victory at this tournament.
Kjeldsen, the one-time European Tour winner from Denmark, traversed a windy Valderrama with few mistakes on Thursday. He made eight birdies against just two bogeys to take the lead.
And he did it mostly with accurate work on the greens, cruising through the round with just 21 putts.
"It seems like pretty much every shot I hit today came up sort of the way I saw it before hitting it," said Kjeldsen, who won the 2003 Diageo Championship at Gleneagles. "So you've got to take advantage of those days, and I did."
Kjeldsen made the field this week based on his 28th-place standing on the money list. He tied for fourth place at Garcia's tournament last week -- his 13th top-20 finish of the season.
But it's been five years since Kjeldsen claimed his only victory, and he knows there still a long way to go.
He's hoping to build on his second-place tie at this event last season.
"My priority is to hit a good tee shot on the first tomorrow, and that's as far as it goes really," said Kjeldsen. "You never know with this game, especially on this course, but playing well last year and playing well last week, I felt good coming into today. But to do six-under today, I couldn't have predicted that."
<< Report: Brewers set to name Macha new manager
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly set to
name Ken Macha their new manager.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that an official announcement could
come as early as Thursday. The paper said Brewer
<< Paybacks, Streaks and Sandwiches
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three angles that bettors love to follow
are revenge games, winning streaks and sandwich scenarios, and all three will
play a huge part in gambling circles this week.
The first of the three trends revolv
<< Sens visit Panthers gunning for back-to-back wins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators will get a chance to win back-to-back
games for the first time this season when they visit the Florida Panthers
tonight at BankAtlantic Center.
Ottawa is just 3-5-1 so far in the 2008-09 campaign and is
<< Wild, Canadiens collide in Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the best teams in the early part of the 2008-09
season will meet tonight in St. Paul, as the Minnesota Wild welcome the
Montreal Canadiens for an interconference battle at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild were the only
Johnson, Porter, Gostkowski capture AFC monthly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson,
Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter and New England Patriots kicker Stephen
Gostkowski have been selected as the AFC's top players for the month of
October
Ryan, Mayo earn rookie honors for September >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan
and New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo have been selected as the NFL's
top rookies for the month of October.
Ryan, who the Falcons selected third overall
Ryan, Mayo earn rookie honors for October >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan
and New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo have been selected as the NFL's
top rookies for the month of October.
Ryan, who the Falcons selected third overall
Portis, Beason, Brown capture NFC monthly awards >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins running back Clinton
Portis, Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason and St. Louis Rams kicker Josh
Brown were chosen as the NFC's top players for the month of October.
Portis rushed
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 SPORTS TRASH TALK
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.
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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