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07/23/2010 - Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi took the lead Friday at the Scandinavian Masters with a five-under 67 in the second round.
Choi finished 36 holes on the Stadium Course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club with a nine-under 135, moving one shot ahead of Richard S. Johnson (66).
British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen (70) and Rafa Echenique (69) were another stroke further back at seven-under 137, while Robert-Jan Derksen (67) and Richard Green (71) were tied at 138.
Choi started on the 10th tee and shot a 31 on the back nine, including an eagle at the par-five 15th. He also had three birdies before the turn, then another at the first hole.
But Choi three-putted at No. 4, taking the first of three bogeys he made on the front side of the course. He mixed in two more birdies for a 36 to take the lead.
A seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, Choi remained in Europe after missing the cut last week at the British Open. He said he feels more comfortable with his swing this week, one of the reasons he's scored better on another hard course.
"It was very difficult in the morning against the wind," said Choi, who captured his only European Tour win at the 2003 German Masters. "Today my goal was a couple under par ... because the golf course is very difficult."
Johnson negotiated it without a bogey, picking up two birdies on the front nine and four more on the back to climb within one of the lead.
"Turned out to be a really nice round. I actually struggled off the tee today compared to yesterday, but it really worked out nice. I holed out really well and attacked it when I could," said Johnson, who ended at eight-under 136.
Oosthuizen, of course, is coming off a seven-shot win at St. Andrews for his first major championship. He was one of three 18-hole leaders after shooting a 67 on Thursday despite finding little time to sleep during the week.
On Friday, Oosthuizen was done in by a double-bogey at the par-three 17th -- his eighth hole -- where he hit into the water. He shot a 36 on the back nine, then came away with a 34 on the front side to pull within two shots of Choi.
"I made a few thinking errors, stupid mistakes. I think there was a bit of tiredness showing there," said Oosthuizen. "I just made a few bad putts."
Scottish Open winner Edoardo Molinari (71) shared seventh place with Wilhelm Schauman (66) at five-under 139.
NOTES: The cut line fell at one-over 145. Defending champion Ricardo Gonzalez made the weekend at even-par 144...Choi's last win on the PGA Tour came at the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii.
<< Cavaliers sign 2009 first rounder Eyenga
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed
guard/forward Christian Eyenga.
Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced.
The 21-year-old Eyenga was the Cavs' first-round choice and the 30th o
<< Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla
<< Browns make it official with McCoy
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday
and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract.
Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed,
but the Cleveland Plai
<< Blanc suspends French World Cup squad
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New France manager Laurent Blanc has decided
to suspend the entire 23-man team that took part in this summer's World Cup
for their friendly match against Norway next month.
Under the direction of former
Cowboys ink second-round pick LB Lee >>
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to terms with
linebacker Sean Lee on a four-year contract.
The deal for the second-round draft choice is reportedly worth $1.7 million
guaranteed.
Dallas moved up four
Steelers ink Tomlin to extension >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers extended the
contract of head coach Mike Tomlin through at least 2012, the team announced
on Friday.
In addition, the deal calls for an option year for 2013.
"Mike Tomli
Orioles activate Roberts from DL >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated second
baseman Brian Roberts from the 60-day disabled list.
He had been sidelined since April 10 because of an abdominal strain suffered
while stealing second base in
Reutimann signs contract extension with MWR >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Reutimann has signed a multi-year
contract extension with Michael Waltrip Racing to remain as driver of the
No.00 Toyota through the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season.
Reutimann and team owner
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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