Four share lead at delayed Italian Open

Golf Betting Lines

05/06/2010 - Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie posted a five-under 67 Thursday to grab a share of the lead with the first round of the Italian Open suspended due to darkness.

Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, was joined in the lead by Marcus Fraser, Robert Rock and Graeme Storm.

The first round was delayed two hours at the outset as heavy rain over the last few days rendered the course at Royal Park I Roveri unplayable.

Stephen Dodd, David Drysdale, Hennie Otto and Dave Horsey are one stroke out of the lead at minus-four.

Italian teenager Matteo Manassero made his professional debut Thursday with a two-under 70. He was the second youngest ever to play on tour as a pro, as he was nine days older than Seve Ballesteros was when he made his tour debut.

"It was a good round, I played steady for 18 holes," said Manassero, who posted three birdies and a lone bogey.

Lawrie got his round going with a birdie on the fifth. He poured in four consecutive birdie chances from the eighth to jump to five-under.

The Scotsman moved to six-under with a birdie on the 15th, but he gave that shot back as he bogeyed the 17th.

Fraser was the only leader to play the back nine first. After a bogey on 10, he birdied the next three holes. The Australian dropped another stroke on the 16th to slide back to minus-one.

Around the turn, Fraser got one stroke back with a birdie on the first. He parred the next five holes before making birdie on each of the final three holes to finish at minus-five.

Rock bogeyed the third, but came back with three birdies in a four-hole span from the fifth to get to minus-two. He notched three more birdies on the back nine to grab a share of the lead.

Storm had a strong front nine as he birdied the third, then drained three birdies in a row from the fifth to get within one of the lead. However, he stumbled to bogeys on 12 and 14 to slide to minus-two.

The Englishman got one stroke back with a birdie on the 17th and he closed with an eagle at the last to finish at five-under.

"This is the worst start to a season since I came back on tour. I was effectively out for four months with a rotator cuff injury in my left shoulder," Storm explained. "I'm just trying to get some form ahead of the big tournaments this summer."

He almost didn't' start on Thursday for another reason.

"I just sat down for an hour afterwards and then went to see the doctor and he told me I had a viral infection, some fluid in the inner ear," Storm said of Wednesday's pro-am. "To shoot five-under [today] was a great score, I didn't expect it so maybe that's why, maybe I was relaxed."

NOTES: Defending champion Daniel Vancsik was among those that didn't complete the first round...Vancsik finished 16 holes and was at plus-two, which left him tied for 91st...Michael Hoey and Gary Orr both withdrew during the round.

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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. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

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.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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