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05/21/2010 - Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameron Beckman and Blake Adams are tied atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the Byron Nelson Championship
Beckman matched the course record with a nine-under 61 on Friday. He was one- over through 14 holes when play was called on Thursday for darkness, but went 11-under in the 22 holes he played Friday.
Adams, a 34-year-old PGA Tour rookie, carded a six-under 64 to join Beckman in the lead at 10-under 130 at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.
Adams is a co-leader, but he was involved in Friday's biggest story.
Jordan Spieth, a 16-year-old high-school sophomore, posted a one-under 69 on Friday to finish at three-under 137 and made the cut. The amateur is the sixth-youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
"I'm in shock right now," said Spieth, the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion. "Looking back I'm extremely pleased with how the week has gone so far, and hopefully I can make a run at the top of the leaderboard the next two days, but we'll see."
Adams was impressed with his younger playing partner.
"Yesterday he obviously had some nerves on the first hole and he had said that was the most nervous he's ever been over a golf ball, and I told him to relax, breathe, the first shot is over, just have fun from here," said Adams, who was one of seven first-round co-leaders. "Great kid. He's 16 years old playing in front of his home crowd. There is so much expectation and pressure, and he played solid."
Jason Day, one of the first-round leaders, shot a five-under 65 and is alone in second place at minus-nine.
A three-hour weather delay on Thursday forced the completion of the first round on Friday. The most impressive display of golf on Friday belonged to Beckman, a three-time PGA Tour winner, who hoisted the trophy at this year's Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Beckman birdied the 16th and 18th holes of round one and he continued the spectacular play in his second round.
He started on the 10th tee and birdied that hole and the 11th. Beckman added two birdies on his opening nine to make the turn at five-under par for the championship.
Beckman birdied the first and fourth holes, but it was his play late in the second nine that gave him a piece of first place. He birdied three holes in a row from the sixth to get to nine-under on his round and parred the last for his share of the lead.
"I didn't know you could shoot 61 on this golf course to be honest with you, but obviously I did and I'm thrilled to death," said Beckman, who matched Billy Mayfair's 1993 course record. "I liked how I was hitting yesterday, I was excited to play this morning."
Adams also finished his first round Friday morning and birdied the seventh, his 16th, to join the lead. He parred his first four holes of round two, but broke into red figures with a birdie at the par-three fifth.
Adams birdied three straight from the seventh to get to eight-under par. Two back-nine birdies moved Adams into a tie for the lead.
"It was a solid round, I had a lot of holes," said Adams, who has battled countless injuries in his career. "But it was a good day all in all."
Former PGA Champion Steve Elkington (66) and Jeff Overton (65) share fourth place at eight-under 132.
Marc Leishman (67), Ben Crane (64), Robert Garrigus (65), D.A. Points (66) and 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel (66) are knotted in sixth place at six-under 134.
NOTES: Defending champion Rory Sabbatini shot a three-under 67 and is tied for 12th place at minus-five...The 36-hole cut fell at even-par 140 and Vijay Singh and Rickie Fowler both missed the cut. Both players needed strong finishes to get into the top 50 in the world rankings and be automatically qualified for the U.S. Open, but that didn't happen.
<< Phillies' Rollins leaves game
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy
Rollins left Friday's game against the Boston Red Sox with an apparent leg
injury.
Rollins singled with one out in the sixth, then appeared to pull up lame
<< Cardinals starter removed after 3 innings
ST. LOUIS (AP) -St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Brad Penny has been taken out, only minutes after hitting a grand slam. The reason had not been announced.Penny threw a few warmup tosses before the top of the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels
<< Rollins leaves with injury in sixth
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Jimmy Rollins has left Philadelphia's game against Boston in the sixth inning after it appeared he re-injured his right calf.Rollins, the three-time All-Star shortstop and 2007 NL MVP, missed 29 games with the injury before return
<< Report: Kings assistant coach Hardy charged with sex abuse
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Kings assistant coach Mark Hardy
has reportedly been charged with fourth-degree sexual abuse.
WJLA-TV is reporting that Hardy appeared before a judge in Washington D.C.
Superior Court on Fri
Nix homers, drives in three as Reds down Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Laynce Nix homered among three hits, leading
the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians to begin a
cross-state three-game interleague series at Progressive Field.
Nix finished with
Hudson leads Braves in blanking of Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hudson spun eight strong innings and
Jason Heyward homered and drove in three runs to lead Atlanta to a convincing
7-0 win over the Pirates in the opener of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Hudson (5-
Homers, Hamels lead Phillies past Red Sox >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer, and Ryan
Howard finished 2-for-3 with a solo shot, two RBI and two runs scored,
as Philadelphia downed Boston, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game
interle
Russo, Vazquez supply spark as Yanks clip Mets >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Javier Vazquez threw six brilliant innings
before leaving with a finger injury, and Kevin Russo drove in two with his
second career hit, as the New York Yankees edged the Mets, 2-1, in the opener
of this
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
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