Baddeley and Byrd lead; Woods one back at Cog Hill

Golf Betting Lines

09/07/2007 - Lemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Overnight leader Jonathan Byrd and Aaron Baddeley are tied atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of the BMW Championship, but three-time winner Tiger Woods lurks only one shot back.

Byrd shot a 69 on Friday, while Baddeley fired a six-under 65 to finish 36 holes at nine-under-par 133.

Woods managed his second consecutive, four-under 67 to come in at minus-eight.

Woods collected his first birdie at the par-three sixth, then hit an amazing hook shot to the ninth to set up another birdie. He took advantage of the next par five, the 11th, with another birdie, but got derailed a bit at the par- three 14th when he left with bogey.

Woods responded with birdies at 15 and 17 to get within one of the lead.

"It was a very interesting round," acknowledged Woods. "I was hitting it close on every hole, then I felt terrible on the greens. Then in the middle of the round, I couldn't hit a shot but felt great on the greens. It was a weird combo."

Woods can move into first on the FedEx Cup Playoff Points race this week. Leader Phil Mickelson took over the top spot after his win last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but took the week off this week.

Steve Stricker is another player that can assume the lead of the Playoff Points race with a good week. He shot a five-under 66 on Friday and is tied with Woods, Justin Rose (69) and Camilo Villegas (69).

This is the third FedEx Cup Playoff event and the winner will be crowned next week at the Tour Championship when the field is cut to the top 30 on the Playoff Points list.

There was a 2 1/2 hour weather delay on Friday, but the entire field finished.

Byrd hit only one shot before the weather, a three-wood off the first tee, and made birdie on the hole. He added another birdie at the third, but bogeyed the eighth and 12th to fall back to even-par for the round.

Later in his round, Byrd got going, but it didn't look that way after an awful tee shot at 15. He had to pitch out and make a four-footer to save par at the par five.

At the 16th, Byrd hit his approach to a foot and tapped in for birdie. His ball landed three feet from the hole at the 17th, but it rolled to 12 feet. No matter for Byrd as he made the birdie putt and nearly chipped in for a birdie at the 18th before settling for par.

"I was kind of struggling in the middle of the round," admitted Byrd. "I was getting a little frustrated. I had two three-putts, which I never like doing that. I just wasn't hitting good putts. I was giving myself chances and giving myself 15- and 20-footers but I was misreading them by a foot."

Byrd has a lot to play for this week. He stands in 30th on the FedEx Cup Playoff points list, which is the cutoff number to get into the field next week at the Tour Championship.

"I don't really like talking about it because it probably puts more pressure on myself," acknowledged Byrd. "But that's just one of the byproducts of playing well; you just keep moving up the list."

Baddeley is all but assured a spot next week, ranking 11th on the list. He is playing well at the moment with 28 of 36 greens in regulation this week and was in the exact same position atop the leaderboard after 36 holes last week.

"I feel like I have very good control over the trajectory and the shape of the shot," said Baddeley. "I feel very comfortable with my golf swing."

Baddeley plodded along with one birdie in his first four holes, but the horn sounded as he was playing the 14th, his fifth hole of the day. After the stoppage, Baddeley birdied three in a row, but dropped a shot at 18.

"I came back and started nicely after the break with three birdies, so that was good," said Baddeley. "I was very pleased to start like that."

Baddeley tallied four birdies and a bogey on his second nine, including a 14- footer at his last to join the lead.

Pat Perez shot a two-under 69 and is alone in seventh place at minus-seven. Stuart Appleby managed a three-under 68 and has eighth at six-under-par 136.

Ryuji Imada (70), Hunter Mahan (68) and Tim Clark (69) are knotted in ninth at five-under 137.

There is no cut at this event.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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