McIlroy, Karlsson lead Abu Dhabi; Tiger 3 back
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01/26/2012 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rory McIlroy and Robert Karlsson both fired rounds of five-under 67 on Thursday to share the opening- round lead of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Tiger Woods made his 2012 debut and played decently enough with a two-under 70. Woods, who ended his 2011 campaign with an unofficial win at the Chevron World Challenge, his first anywhere in two years, hit the ball well on Thursday, but the flat stick let him down.
Woods hit 10 of 14 fairways and 17 greens in regulation, but needed 35 putts in round one.
"I just had a hard time getting a feel for these greens. It was difficult and my speed was off," said Woods, who is tied for ninth place.
Woods, despite a fall in the world rankings to 25th, still made headlines with his season debut, but he was not the only big star to open his season in the Gulf.
World No. 1 Luke Donald had a one-under 71 in his first outing of the year. Donald played with McIlroy, also making his first start of 2012, and Woods in round one and will again on Friday.
World No. 2 Lee Westwood managed an even-par 72.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Thursday's first round was the poor performance of the fourth-ranked player in the world.
Martin Kaymer, the two-time defending champion and three-time winner, struggled badly on Thursday. He went out in 39, came back in 38 and signed for a five-over 77.
The German has won this event three times with a runner-up finish in the last four years.
That's an amazing record, but McIlroy is no slouch at Abu Dhabi. He's tied for fifth, took third and finished second in his last three appearances at this event.
"I feel it suits me really well. Just one problem -- it suits Martin Kaymer even better," said McIlroy.
The reigning U.S. Open champion started on the 10th tee Thursday and went on a great run almost immediately after teeing off. McIlroy ran home a nine-footer for birdie at 11, a 12-footer for birdie at 12 and capped off his run with a three-foot birdie putt at the 13th.
McIlroy dropped a shot at the 14th, then again at No. 17, but rebounded at the par-five 18th, despite hitting a tent with his second shot. The Northern Irishman got back to three-under par thanks to a short birdie putt at the par- five second.
McIlroy inched up the leaderboard late in his second nine. He knocked his tee ball inside four feet to set up a birdie at the par-three seventh, then chipped in for a birdie at the par-five eighth.
It was not a statistically beautiful round for the world No. 3. He missed eight fairways and six greens in regulation, but he scrambled well and is atop the leaderboard.
"It was a good score and a great way to start 2012, but I don't feel I drove the ball particularly well and it's something I've got to work on," said McIlroy. "It was nothing that a good practice session won't fix."
Karlsson also began on the 10th tee in round one, but he endured an up-and- down start. He traded two birdies and two bogeys over his first four holes, then parred his next three.
The tall Swede birdied 17 and 18 to make the turn at two-under par. Karlsson parred his first three holes on his second side, then rattled off three birdies in five holes to join McIlroy in the lead.
Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet are knotted in third place at four-under 68.
Nicolas Colsaerts, Robert Rock and Richie Ramsay share sixth at 69.
Woods was joined in ninth by a large group highlighted by reigning Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and former British Open champion Paul Lawrie.
NOTES: Sergio Garcia recorded his first ace on the European Tour Thursday at the 12th. The Spaniard shot a one-under 71...Branden Grace, who won the last two European Tour events, shot a three-over 75 and shares 89th.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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