Boyd among three leaders in Scotland

Golf Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five days after losing a playoff, England's Gary Boyd shot a four-under 68 to earn a share of the second-round lead Friday at the Johnnie Walker Championship.

France's Julien Guerrier fired a 67 and Englishman David Lynn had a 68 to join Boyd at nine-under 135.

They shared a two-shot lead over three players on the 7,300-yard PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel.

Boyd was involved in a three-way playoff at last week's Czech Open, losing it when Sweden's Peter Hanson birdied the second extra hole.

But he has bounced back nicely with rounds of 67 and 68 and heads into the weekend in good position to make a charge for his first career win.

"Last week didn't really surprise me. I was doing so well. I started to hole a few more putts and I tried to take that into this week," said Boyd, who had two birdies and an eagle at the 16th hole -- the second time he eagled the hole in as many days.

Trailing the co-leaders by two strokes at seven-under 137 were England's Mark Foster (67), South Africa's George Coetzee (68) and Stephen Gallacher (70), who was the top Scotsman on the board.

Nine players were knotted another shot further back at six-under 138, including Italian brothers Edoardo (68) and Francesco (70) Molinari, Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Hanson (69).

Francesco Molinari has already made the European Ryder Cup team, while his brother hopes to play his way onto captain Colin Montgomerie's side.

At the moment, Jimenez and Hanson hold the last two spots on the team, which will be finalized after Sunday's final round.

England's Simon Dyson, who is also at six-under, is trying to squeeze his way onto the team with a good showing this week.

"If I play the best 36 holes of my life I'll play in the best tournament of my life," said Dyson.

Lynn, the 36-year-old European Tour veteran, captured his only victory at the 2004 KLM Open. He is sharing the 36-hole lead with a pair of tour rookies, hoping to turn around a disappointing season.

"(I've) been staying patient all year, hoping my fortunes are going to change," said Lynn, who had seven birdies and three bogeys Friday. "A couple of good rounds ... sets me up nicely for the weekend."

Guerrier, coming off a tie for fourth place at the Czech Open, collected seven birdies and two bogeys Friday.

NOTES: Defending champion Peter Hedblom posted a 70 and was four shots off the lead...The cut line fell at one-under 143 with 66 players moving on to the weekend. Among the players who missed the cut was Robert Karlsson.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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