What happened to the free scorephones?

It was the end of an era on August 15 when the final free scorephone report was filed by Jimmy Ashton. Having been a scorephone announcer for many years, from the Dial Sports 976 days, through the first free scoreboards, to GM of the first toll-free national scorephone, we will miss them.

But technology killed the radio star. The top scores and odds site plus the best betting information and free picks sites, all part of the Offshore Insiders Network has pretty much made the score lines obsolete.

With NFL betting arriving and the majors over, some sharps are turning away from the golf scene, but why? There’s still plenty of money to be won at your sportsbook and the Wyndham Championship odds are no exception .Here are some picks to consider this week.

Compared to the rest of the field, Clark and Glover are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of their general play this season, as each guy has contended fairly regularly from week to week. Some bettors will choose Glover since he has a win this season, and it was a major; others will pick Clark since he ranks in the top five on Tour in scoring average, which is an important stat at a tourney in which five of the last six winners finished 18-under or better. Remember, though, that Clark has choked when contending this season and Glover has cooled off since winning the U.S. Open.

MID-RANGE PICK: K.J. Choi (+2800)

There’s nothing really wrong with adding Choi to your weekly sports picks. He has four top-10s in his last six tournaments and he won the 2005 Wyndham. However, that win came at a different host course, so it doesn’t mean much for Choi’s chances this week.

SLEEPERS: Bubba Watson (+6600), Fred Couples (+8000)

You know it’s an odd week when your favorite picks are both deep sleepers. Bubba Watson is a bomber off the tee who breaks par on 20 percent of his holes in 2009, meaning he could dominate this week if he gets hot. Couples has played well in limited duty this season, ranking high in several useful stat categories like driving distance and proximity to hole. He sure does give you good value.

Best betting management pick: Bubba Watson. He has the length, youth and ability to go low on the scoreboard.

ESPN’s Brett Favre 24-7 coverage can return, because multiple reports say that Brett Favre is coming out of retirement to play for the Minnesota Vikings. “This will effect the NFL futures for sure says Grandmaster NFL handicapper Joe Duffy, CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Phillies get a visit from the D-Backs, the Cardinals take on the Dodgers, and the Twins look for a victory down in Texas.

Other headlines…

The NFL is investigating reports that Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable acted like, well an Oakland Raider and pulverized assistant coach Randy Hanson…Stephen Strasburg, the most highly touted pitcher since Rick Ankiel and Todd Van Poppel signed a record contract with the Washington Nationals…Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb said he and Michael Vick could be on the field at the same time this season…Las Vegas and offshore sportsbooks are bracing not for Hurricane Bill’s projected path, but that superstar sports handicapper Stevie Vincent announced that he will have his first Level 5 side and total this NFL season coming up this weekend.

Baseball betting…

It is literally one of the strongest MLB cards ever says GodsTips, anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com. Get eight winners including the NL Dandy Dog of the Year among two Wise Guys. Dandy dogs are moneyline dogs of 140 or more (includes runline getting back 140 or more). Let’s just say “several” Dandy Dogs win tonight and we tell you why.

Which pitcher shockingly has one of the best road ERAs and WHIPs in the league?

Which team is hitting .098 higher than their opponent over the last 10 games? That mind-boggling system that tells sharp players exactly when to go with a cold pitcher against a hot one is +142 units and applies tonight. We tell you specifically where each angle applies.

By the skin of our teeth, we lost $.06 in MLB last night, but won overall thanks to NFL. We have had winning MLB in 14-of-18, only twice losing at least one unit on a unit per bet. Wow. Click now to purchase

Pedro Martinez (1-0, 5.40 ERA) will make his second start for the Phillies on Tuesday night when they play host to the Diamondbacks and Jon Garland (6-10, 4.28 ERA). Righthander Martinez won his season debut last time out, holding the Cubs to three earned runs on seven hits over his five innings of work. Righthander Garland took a no-decision against the Mets in his last start, allowing two earned runs in six innings. Arizona is 1-5 in Garland‘s last six starts.

Also on the NL schedule for Tuesday: Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, Colorado at Washington, San Francisco at Cincinnati, Atlanta at the Mets, Florida at Houston, the Cubs at San Diego, and St. Louis at the Dodgers. Mitchell Boggs (1-1, 3.78 ERA) will get the ball for the Cards; the righthander gave up four earned runs in six innings in a loss to the Reds last time out. Chad Billingsley (11-6, 3.73 ERA) is tabbed to start for L.A.; Billingsley missed his last outing with a sore hamstring.

Elsewhere, Josh Beckett (14-4, 3.10 ERA) will be gunning for his 15^th victory of the season on Tuesday night when the Red Sox play in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Righthander Beckett cruised to a win over the Tigers in his last trip to the mound, surrendering just two earned runs on three hits over seven innings of work. Boston has won eight of Beckett’s last 10 outings. The Blue Jays will counter with Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.70 ERA); Toronto is 0-2 in his last two starts.

Rounding out the American League schedule for Tuesday: the Angels at Cleveland, Baltimore at Tampa Bay, Seattle at Detroit, Kansas City at the White Sox, the Yankees at Oakland, and Minnesota at Texas. Carl Pavano (10-9, 5.16 ERA) gets the ball for the Twins on Tuesday; righthander Pavano allowed five runs in seven innings vs. the Royals last time out. The Rangers will go with Scott Feldman (12-4, 3.90 ERA); the righthander has won each of his last three outings.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

Finally, there are three WNBA games on tap for Tuesday, with Seattle at Detroit, Washington at Los Angeles, and Phoenix at Chicago. The Mercury continue to lead the West standings at 17-8 both straight-up and against-the-spread. Phoenix, though, fell 106-89 to San Antonio in their last outing on Saturday. The Sky sit at 13-12 SU and 10-15 ATS through 25 games. Chicago beat Minnesota 79-76 in their Saturday contest, with Candice Dupree scoring 14 points that day.

Entertainment and television proposition bettors unite. BetED has posted the odds to win “Dancing With the Stars” Season 9 as well as updating the Big Brother Season 11 odds following Chima getting kicked off the show.

Sexy swimmer Natalie Coughlin has been published as the favorite at +500. She is followed closely by Joanna Krupa at +550 then Melissa Joan Hart and Mya at +600.

“Why no Gina Carano, Janelle Wang, Maria Belen Chapur, or Mindy McCready,” asks Bill Gould of the online casino site CasinoBettingNews.com

The entertainment and political betting odds at BetUs have pretty much the same numbers though they allow head-to-head props in “Which celebrity will last longer on DWTS?” Will it be Michael Irvin or Chuck Liddell, Macy Gray or Myra, Aaron Carter or Louie Vito, the top sportsbook asks.  

The guy who has had more comebacks than Roger Clemens, former 70s teen idol Donnie Osmond is +650, tied with Mark Dacascos.

Not too surprising, former politician Tom DeLay is +1200 as the long shot.

The Big Brother 11 updated betting line has Jeff Schroeder at +260 making him the co-favorite with Russell Kairouz. Jordan Lloyd and Lydia Tavera are the long shots at +700.

BetED also has prop bets on who wins the 2009 Miss Universe pageant and the 2009 Emmy Awards Vegas odds in virtually every category.

In NFL betting news, superstar Stevie Vincent, founder of the revolutionary forensic sports handicapping announced that this weekend he will have his first Level 5 side and debut Level 5 over/under of the NFL betting season.

These betting picks will be available at OffshoreInsiders.com.  

Sports bettors have already checked out the ESPN Monday Night Football betting preview of the Panthers vs. Giants not to mention the Hollywood odds bettors have scanned the Dancing With the Stars 2009 lineup, but now here is the NFL football handicapping preview of the Jaguars and Dolphins from both the top NFL handicapping picks expert and the leading place to bet the NFL lines and spread.

Let’s start out with Grandmaster Handicapper Joe Duffy’s preview:

Chad Henne is expected to get a lot of playing time in the preseason. He threw only 12 passes during the regular season as Chad Pennington’s backup, but played very well last year in the preseason. He will likely play some in both halves.

Rookie QB Pat White is also expected to play for the Fins, but probably not in the Wildcat formation. However, look for Henne and him to get the bulk of the playing time. White was erratic as the scout team QB Saturday, completing just 11-of-24 passes with two interceptions.

Miami coach Tony Sparano did emphasize the importance of winning, stressing he didn’t want to start out the preseason with a loss as they did last year.

Top expert pick on this game: An attorney/law professor/pro bettor turned pro bettor/professional handicapper out of Tri Cities, TN is best known for being the greatest SEC handicapper of all-time. However, he is also the top NFLX totals handicapper, based on all-time units won. Supreme Selections are his highest rated plays. He is 3-0 in NFLX already: Thursday, Aug 13 it was New England over, Friday the Rams, Saturday the Bears over. He goes to 4-0 with the Jaguars/Dolphins side on the MasterLockLine at OffshoreInsiders.com.

Now to Bodog’s version:

The Jacksonville Jaguars kick off their NFL picks preseason against the Miami Dolphins on August 17 and for the third straight year the Jaguars will utilize the strategy of another defensive coordinator. Mel Tucker is the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars this year, and according to head coach Jack Del Rio he will have a bigger hand in the defense.

David Garrard had a lackluster season last year and will be looking to return to his glory of 2007, but after losing all three receivers, including Reggie Williams, the Jaguars QB will need to find new receiver Torry Holt down field.

The objective last year for the Dolphins was to establish positive vibes and to build momentum for the 2008 regular season. That is not the case this year as backers will have expectations for their club.

How will the Fish handle being the hunted this season as opposed to being the surprise team of the year?

Get your NFL Exhibition Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.