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09/03/2010 - Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nationwide Insurance has closed one door and opened another.
The company said Friday it will no longer sponsor the PGA Tour's developmental circuit when its contract runs out after the 2012 season. But it also announced a six-year deal to become the presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament beginning in 2011.
The insurance giant has been the title sponsor of the Nationwide Tour since 2003, when it took over for Buy.com, and is currently in the eighth year of a 10-year deal.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said he doesn't anticipate any problems finding another company to sign on as a sponsor for the 2013 season and beyond.
"Some people view it as maybe the best branding opportunity in sports because of the overall exposure," Finchem said.
He said the tour wants to find a company "that's active, engaged (and) wants to build something."
"And if we can manage that," Finchem said, "we'll be just fine."
Nationwide executive Jim Lyski said the company has been happy to be the namesake of the developmental tour, but jumped at the opportunity to sponsor the Memorial.
Jack Nicklaus' tournament -- a top draw on the PGA Tour -- is held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, close to Nationwide's headquarters in Columbus.
"We have been very, very happy over the last several years with the Nationwide Tour, but when we had an opportunity to step up and sponsor or present the Memorial, it was too good of an opportunity to pass," Lyski said.
<< Newton set to debut as No. 22 Auburn's QB
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -Quarterback Cameron Newton has been the talk of Auburn since his arrival on campus. He's big, he's mobile and he's a skilled leader who can direct Gus Malzahn's offense to even bigger numbers.That's the buzz, at least.Really, the
<< No. 7 Sooners seek entry into 800-win club
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -The pictures on the walls and the old videos Bob Stoops shows to his players serve as a reminder that Oklahoma's program has been thriving for decades, since long before any of them were around.On Saturday night, Oklahoma can add
<< Penguins sign F Mike Comrie to $500,000 contract
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Mike Comrie to a $500,000, one-year contract, giving them a proven scorer who might be capable of playing on one of their top three lines.The Penguins, looking for affordable scoring help
<< It's Darron Thomas time for the No. 11 Ducks
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -Darron Thomas seems to have it easy, making his debut as Oregon's starting quarterback at home and with the No. 11 Ducks heavily favored.But it's quite the contrary.When Thomas takes the field on Saturday against New Mexico, all e
Surging Wizards seek more road success at Union >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said last week's
2-0 win at the Los Angeles Galaxy was "probably our best 90-minute performance
of the whole season," but the surging Wizards still have work to do to qualify
for the
Stosur, Dementieva first into U.S. Open fourth round >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Stosur of Australia and
Russia's Elena Dementieva were third-round winners Friday at the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Stosur thumped Italy's Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-3, while the 12th-
seeded Dement
Maple Leafs' stock slowly rising >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is guarded optimism surrounding the
Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the 2010-11 NHL season, much of that due to
the astute moves made this offseason by general manager Brian Burke.
Through trade
Morgan gets eight games, Volstad six after Nats/Marlins brawl >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan
was suspended for eight games and Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad was
given a six-game penalty for their roles in Wednesday's benches-clearing
inciden
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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.
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