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05/14/2009 - Clifton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was only the first round, but Helen Alfredsson was still nervous standing over her last putt.
"I never shot 62 before," she said.
Until now.
Alfredsson, an 18-year veteran of the LPGA Tour, fired a career-best 10-under 62 in chilly, rainy conditions Thursday to take a two-shot lead at the Sybase Classic.
It was one of those days, the 44-year-old Alfredsson said, when the game seems easy.
"When [you] play good, you wonder why you don't do this all the time because it's so easy," she said. "It's not strenuous, your head is not going crazy, your body doesn't hurt. At my age all that stuff usually comes along with it. So you don't know why."
Alfredsson holed a 70-yard shot for eagle at her second hole -- the par-five 11th -- then collected nine birdies the rest of the way while only making one bogey.
She established a new tournament scoring record, but could have gone even lower. She had a three-putt par at No. 18.
"I was actually pretty close to the pin all day. I hit some good shots, kept myself out of trouble, which is nice for a change," said Alfredsson.
Brittany Lincicome's eight-under 64 was also a career-best, but it left her sitting alone in second place behind Alfredsson.
Suzann Pettersen shot a seven-under 65 for third place and Ji Young Oh had a six-under 66 for fourth.
Alfredsson's low score means many top stars will have to play catch-up over the next three rounds at Upper Montclair Country Club.
Karrie Webb (70), Michelle Wie (70), Natalie Gulbis (70), Paula Creamer (70) and defending champion Lorena Ochoa (71) all posted respectable numbers that paled in comparison to Alfredsson's 62.
"She's a streaky player. When she gets hot, she's hot," said Pettersen. "Obviously she played pretty good today."
Alfredsson followed her eagle at No. 11 with three consecutive birdies, including a chip-in from the edge of the green at the 13th.
She made her only bogey of the round at the 15th, where she three-putted, but followed that with two straight birdies to make the turn in just 30 shots.
At that point, a 59 was not out of the question.
Annika Sorenstam, who announced her retirement ahead of this tournament last year, is the only LPGA Tour player who has ever shot a 59 in competition.
Alfredsson's scoring barrage slowed down on the front nine, however, although she did manage to make four more birdies. A six-foot birdie putt at the par- three eighth -- and that "nervous" par putt on No. 9 -- secured her lowest round in 365 LPGA Tour events.
Last year was a comeback season of sorts for the seven-time LPGA Tour winner from Sweden.
After a herniated disk limited her to just 11 events in 2007 -- she also captained the losing European Solheim Cup team that year -- Alfredsson won twice in 2008, including the lucrative Evian Masters.
"I just wanted to give it two more years," she said. "I felt as good as I've done since I started playing, and it was just fun to get another chance at it.
"It would be nice to do it again."
<< Bourn and Astros run past Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Bourn went 4-for-5 with a double and
stole home, as the Houston Astros topped the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, in the
rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field.
Carlos Lee homered and Hunter P
<< Cats loanees wait on Sbragia
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia will not
discuss the futures of any of the clubs loan players until the season is over.
The Black Cats remained haunted by fears of relegation and until the outcome of
th
<< Santa Cruz still wants Rovers exit
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz has
reiterated his desire to leave Blackburn Rovers at the end of the season.
Santa Cruz, 27, was the subject of several unsuccessful bids from Manchester
City i
<< Lovenkrands eyes Toon stay
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Peter Lovenkrands is the latest
Newcastle United player to reveal his desire to remain at St James' Park beyond
the end of the season.
The Denmark international joined the Magpies on a short-term
Mathis' hit lifts Angels past Red Sox in 12 innings >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Mathis' RBI single in the bottom of the
12th sent the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over Boston, 5-4, in the rubber
match of a three-game series.
Facing Manny Delcarmen (1-1), Juan Rivera began the
Cubs' Bradley has suspension reduced to one game >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley has
had his suspension, which was handed down last month, reduced from two games
to one.
On April 18, Major League Baseball suspended Bradley two games and fined
Leonard, Goydos share Texas Open lead >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Leonard and Paul Goydos both shot
seven-under 63s on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Texas Open.
Leonard, the three-time Texas Open champion, chipped in from 62 feet for a
birdie
Canucks re-sign Bernier; Demitra to have surgery >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forward
Steve Bernier to a contract extension on Thursday and announced that forward
Pavol Demitra will have surgery.
Bernier, who was to become a free agent, tallied 1
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
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