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06/10/2007 - Havre de Grace, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Na On Min was making just her sixth start on the LPGA Tour.
Sunday, she'll carry a lead into the final round at her first major.
Min, a rookie from South Korea, fired a seven-under 65 Saturday at Bulle Rock to take the third-round lead at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, the second women's major of the season.
She was at 10-under 206, one shot ahead of overnight leader Suzann Pettersen.
"Maybe tomorrow I'll be nervous. But I'll just do my best and not think about my position," Min, who has spoken English for less than two years, said in an on-course interview.
Pettersen made a 12-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole and shot a one-under 71 to join Min in the final group Sunday. She is at nine-under 207.
Karrie Webb, the 2001 champion, also had a 71 Saturday and was tied with Angela Park, another rookie, at eight-under 208. Park fired a 68 in the third round.
"I've never experienced anything like this before," the rookie said.
Morgan Pressel, the season's first major winner at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, shot a 70 and was alone in fifth place at seven-under 209.
Kim Saiki-Maloney (70) was a stroke further back at 210.
Behind her, Lorena Ochoa (69) led a group of six players who were knotted in seventh place at five-under 211. The world No. 1 is still looking for her first major championship.
"Hopefully I'm not too far back and I have a chance tomorrow," said Ochoa, who was five back.
Another young star wasn't so lucky.
Michelle Wie, bothered by a left wrist injury that forced her controversial withdraw from the Ginn Tribute last week, shot an 11-over 83 Saturday and was in last place out of 84 players who made the cut.
It was her worst round against the men or women since she shot an 85 in the first round of the LPGA Tour's CJ Nine Bridges Classic in November 2003, just weeks after her 14th birthday.
Wie, now 17, was at 14-over 230 and unsure if she would even play the final round Sunday.
"I really want to play," Wie said, her wrist wrapped in ice. "I think it would be awesome to get another experience, a round under my belt. Just have to see how it goes tonight."
Wie's highest round against the men was an 81 in the second round of last year's 84 Lumber Classic.
Annika Sorenstam, a vocal critic of Wie's withdrawal last week, and her subsequent practice rounds over the weekend at Bulle Rock, shot a one-over 73 and was tied for 13th place at four-under 212.
Sorenstam was one of 16 players within six shots of Min, whose 65 Saturday was the best round by three shots.
Min recovered from an early bogey at No. 2 with eight birdies over the next 14 holes. Her two-putt birdie from the fringe at the par-five 15th moved her into a first-place tie with Birdie Kim.
Pettersen moved one shot ahead of both players when she knocked her second shot at the par-five 11th within 10 feet and made the eagle putt to reach 10- under.
But Min tied her with a 10-foot birdie putt ahead at the 16th, and Pettersen fell two back when she made a sloppy double-bogey at the 13th after missing the fairway and taking a penalty.
That opened the door for Min's surprising overnight lead.
"This is my first major, so I'm nervous," said Min, who hit every green in regulation Saturday until the last two holes. "I will just try to keep my tunnel vision and play steady (on Sunday)."
Pettersen redeemed herself by making the 12-foot birdie try on 17, where her preparations included getting down on her stomach to read the putt.
The often intense Pettersen missed a chance to win her first major when she coughed up four shots in a three-hole stretch at the end of this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship, handing Pressel the victory.
Pettersen finally broke through for her first LPGA win at the Michelob ULTRA Open in May. Sunday, as she makes another run at her first major, she'll be paired in the final twosome with a player she's not sure she has even heard of.
"I'll probably know her when I see her on the first tee," Pettersen said.
Defending champion Se Ri Pak had a 74 Saturday and was 11 shots back at one- over 217.
<< Navarro returns to Devil Rays
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro was back with
the Devil Rays Saturday, a night after being taken off the field on a
stretcher following being hit in the throat by a low pitch.
Navarro was taken to Broward Genera
<< Donovan makes history as U.S. men win
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan moved into sole possession of
first place on United States' all-time points list in a 2-0 win over Trinidad
& Tobago in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday.
Donovan assisted on the second goal
<< Harren sizzles, Zito fizzles against former club
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis homered and
Dan Haren threw seven scoreless innings as the Oakland Athletics shut out
the San Francisco Giants 6-0 in the second of a three-game set at AT&T Park.
Haren (
<< Berkman's timely hit lifts Astros over White Sox
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman had three-hits, including an RBI
single in the top of the ninth to lift the Houston Astros over the Chicago
White Sox, 3-2, in the second of a three-game interleague series at U.S.
Cellula
Phillies top Royals behind Lieber's three-hit shutout >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lieber tossed a three-hit shutout, as
the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Kansas City Royals, 4-0, at Kauffman
Stadium.
Lieber (3-4), who won for the first time since May 18, set a season-high
Shields remains unbeaten as Devil Rays top Marlins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Shields struck out nine batters over seven
innings to remain unbeaten in six decisions this year, and Carlos Pena and
Raul Casanova hit back-to-back homers to highlight Tampa Bay's 7-2 win over
the Flo
Edwards completes three-peat in Nashville >>
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won Saturday night's Federated
Auto Parts 300 Busch race and in the process he collected his third
consecutive win at the Nashville Superspeedway. The No.60 Ford crossed the
finish
Matsui's double in 10th carries Rockies past Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kaz Matsui slapped the go-ahead RBI double
with two outs in the 10th inning, as the Colorado Rockies topped the Baltimore
Orioles, 3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set.
Colorado starter Rodrigo
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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