Facebook is offline and sportsbooks like Bodog have some odds that are off line as well say the best football betting services.
Here is a Tiger Woods golf preview.
It’s sort of akin to the NFL holding Super Bowl XLII without the 2007 New England Patriots, who were 18-0 heading into that game (only to lose to the Giants). Well, it’s not really the same at all but the PGA Tour is holding its presumed Super Bowl this weekend in the season- and playoff-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. And it doesn’t feel right because Tiger Woods, the world’s No. 1 player, isn’t there.
But in reality Tiger doesn’t deserve to play for the FedEx Cup’s $10 million check, which is the big prize on the line this week. Woods didn’t win a tournament this season and a mediocre finish at the BMW Championship two weeks ago meant he wouldn’t be in the 30-man field at the Tour Championship.
Mathematically, a large chunk of all 30 players in the field can win the FedEx Cup and that nice chunk of change but not realistically. The Top 5 players in the points, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Charley Hoffman, Steve Stricker and Paul Casey, all will get the $10 million by taking this tournament. If Kuchar or Johnson wins, he likely will be named the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year.
The Bodog betting favorite is Phil Mickelson at 7/1 despite the fact he hasn’t come close to a win since the Masters. But Lefty seems to have put some late-season troubles behind him with a T25 at the Deutsche Bank Championship three weeks ago and a T8 at the BMW Championship. Mickelson won this tournament last year with a 9-under 271 total and no player has ever repeated. For Mickelson to win the FedEx Cup, he must win the tournament and have Kuchar finish fifth or worse, Johnson fourth or lower, Hoffman and Stricker third or worse and Casey second or lower. A win or a three-way tie for second would enable Mickelson to overtake Tiger as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time in his career.
Overall there are 10 players competing in the Tour Championship for the first time in their career, including Kuchar, Hoffman and Casey. Kuchar has 11 Top-10 finishes on Tour this year and is probably the leading candidate for Player of the Year.
Mickelson, Camilo Villegas, Adam Scott and Retief Goosen are the only players in the field this week who have won this tournament. Goosen has four top-five finishes in five starts at East Lake.
Now one of the few sportsbooks to get the most prestigious honor of the all, “Sportsbook of the Year” by OffshoreInsiders.com takes a look at today’s top betting action.
Let’s not pretend the preseason hockey is a very big deal –Bodog doesn’t even offer NHL odds on the games because there are simply too many variables. But tonight’s preseason schedule is a bit unique because the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks take to the ice against an opponent for the first time since winning the franchise’s first title since 1951. You may remember the moment: Patrick Kane scoring at 4:06 of the first overtime in Game 6 at Philadelphia last June to give the Hawks a 4-3 win and the series.
Chicago is in Winnipeg on Wednesday to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is our first chance to see the semi-gutted Hawks, who had to trade or release several key players off last year’s team due to salary-cap issues. But the Hawks are still the Stanley Cup favorites on Bodog and while some important players were lost, including Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Antti Niemi, they still bring back the likes of Jonathan Toews, Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Overall five 20-goal scorers return.
Tonight’s game will be the first with Chicago for goalie Marty Turco, the former Dallas Star who signed a one-year contract during the summer to replace Niemi as the Hawks’ No. 1 goaltender. Turco will get the start against the Lightning and likely will play half the game.
This is the first of seven preseason games for Chicago. How much does it matter? Chicago was 2-3-1 last preseason and went on to record a franchise-record 112 regular-season points and of course then winning a certain famous trophy.