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09/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A week after Jim Furyk overslept and missed his pro-am tee time, the PGA Tour suspended its own rule that disqualifies a player for missing a pro-am.
But has the damage been done? Furyk would probably argue that it has.
We have all been there before. You wake up a few minutes after a final started, or 10 minutes before a job interview, or five minutes before you are supposed to be at work and the office is 20 minutes away.
It happened to Furyk last week. He was doomed by a dead cell phone battery and woke up less than 10 minutes before his scheduled pro-am tee time.
Furyk raced to the course and got there no more than five minutes after he was scheduled to tee off, but was deemed to have missed his tee time and disqualified.
"I overslept. I always use my phone as an alarm and it had no power this morning," Furyk explained.
After plenty of criticism over Furyk's disqualification, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem suspended the rule for the remainder of the year. The rule that says players must compete in the pro-am to play in the tournament was originally put into place so that players couldn't just skip the pro-am for no reason.
But, as Phil Mickelson pointed out, the rule applies to only some of those entered in each week's tournament.
"The rule itself applies to only half the field. So if you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because not everybody played the pro- am, you cannot have it affect the competition," explained Mickelson. "It's got to be a different penalty. It can't be disqualification if it only applies to half the field.
"I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It's ridiculous. I made my viewpoint very clear to him."
Strong words from the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, who previously had a run-in with this rule himself. In 2007, Mickelson was stuck in Arkansas due to heavy rain and flooding. The airports around him were closed and he was unable to get to Texas for his pro-am tee time.
The tour made an accommodation for that, but if you're 10 minutes away catching some extra shut-eye as Furyk was, no dice. Not only are you out of the pro-am, you are disqualified from the tournament.
Furyk has made nearly $50 million in his career on the course. Being kicked out of an event with a $1.35 million first-place paycheck might not be a big deal for him. At the same time, missing the tournament did drop Furyk from third to eighth in the FedExCup playoff points standings. Entering this week's second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, Furyk is 2,246 points behind points-leader Matt Kuchar. If the disqualification ends up costing Furyk the top spot at the end of the FedExCup points race, there will be even more consternation, not least due to the $10 million first-place paycheck that comes with winning the trophy.
To his credit, Finchem heard the complaints and responded quickly. In a statement on Tuesday, Finchem called for the Player Advisory Council to evaluate the current pro-am regulations.
"Hereafter, should a player be late for his pro-am starting time, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct," said the commissioner's statement. "Such player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity. A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations."
The players realize the importance of the pro-ams. They get paired with three players that forked over a nice chunk of change - $8,500 or more in some cases - to have the chance to compete alongside the best players in the world.
No one ever knows what opportunities could arise from these pro-ams. There's a chance that a tour player could find a new sponsor for himself through a pro- am.
Mickelson had this one right. If the rule only applies to half the field, change it or get rid of it.
GOLF EN FUEGO
I've been golfing for nearly 25 years and have caddied for over 10. Suffice it to say, I've seen a lot of things on a golf course.
However, one thing happened last week that most people have never seen before. A golfer at Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Cal. sparked a fire with a single swing.
The poor soul has remained nameless, and who would want to be connected with that? Said player was hitting a shot out of the rough and clipped a rock with his swing.
The golf club/rock connection created a spark which lit the rough on fire.
Nearly 150 firefighters and 12 burned acres later, the fire was finally extinguished.
Who knows, maybe someone yelled 'Noonan' while the guy was swinging. Though in this case, he didn't hit his ball into the lumber yard - he burned it down.
MINI-TIDBITS
- At one point in his career, Matt Kuchar had just 10 top-10s in 149 starts. This year, he has 10 top-10s in 22 starts. He should be under consideration for PGA Tour player of the year.
- People always talk about golf being a gentlemen's sport which polices itself. Junior golfers are taught the rules growing up, and start policing themselves at a young age. Zach Nash, a 14-year-old in Wisconsin, disqualified himself after winning a recent tournament because he had too many clubs in his bag. He realized the mistake after the tournament and turned in his winning medal. He could have gotten away with it, but showed maturity beyond his years in giving up the victory.
<< Sharks sign G Antti Niemi
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -The San Jose Sharks have signed the goalie who helped knock them out of the playoffs, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million deal with Antti Niemi.The team announced the deal Thursday.Niemi stopped 129 of 136 shots in the Western
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 2nd
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Group C: Puerto Rico vs. Ivory Coast, 9 a.m. (Kayseri)
Group D: Spain vs. Canada, 9 a.m. (Izmir)
Group A: Angola vs. Australia, 9:30 a.m. (Kayseri)
Group B: USA vs. Tunisia, 9:30 a.m. (Istanbul)
Group C: Greece v
<< Buffalo Bills 2010 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills and Chan Gailey have both been absent from
the NFL playoffs for a long time. Almost exactly the same amount of time,
actually.
The Bills' last playoff foray came on Jan. 8, 2000, when they were 22-16 lose
<< Players move on after Hofstra dumps football
NEW YORK (AP) -For 84 former players at Hofstra, the start of this football season is bound to come with some mixed emotions.Last December, the school abruptly announced it was eliminating football, leaving players with eligibility scrambling.Some t
Twins seek to sweep Tigers out of Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins will
continue their homestand tonight and try for a second sweep of the Detroit
Tigers this season in the finale of a three-game series at Target Field.
The Twins have wo
Skidding Indians head out west to battle Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will take their four-game losing
streak out west for seven straight games starting with tonight's opener of a
four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.
The Indians are coming off
LPGA Taiwan to start in 2011 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LPGA Tour announced Thursday that the
LPGA Taiwan has been scheduled for October 2011 at Sunrise Golf & Country
Club.
The LPGA-sanctioned event will be co-sponsored by the Golf Associati
Mound Presence: A's lefty Braden faces Yankees again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Dallas Braden won't have to worry
about Alex Rodriguez running across his pitching mound this afternoon due to
the slugging third baseman currently being on the disabled list.
Braden, making hi
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back
With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.
"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."
Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .
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