Baseball Betting

This Week in Golf -- February 22nd through February 26th

Golf Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - EUROPEAN TOUR - WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (Saguaro/Tortolita Nines), Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona - Professional golf's version of March Madness hits in February.

The top 64 players in the world rankings are eligible to tee it up this week, although two backed out. Phil Mickelson, a playoff loser at Riviera, announced weeks ago that he had a family vacation scheduled, so he's out.

Paul Casey, a two-time runner-up, is still out with injury. The benefactors of those withdrawals are George Coetzee and Ernie Els, who, surprisingly, will be the No. 64 seed.

That means Els drew world No. 1 and defending champion Luke Donald in Wednesday's first round.

Donald's ascension to the No. 1 ranking began in a lot of ways at this time last year. He bested Martin Kaymer in, 3 & 2 in the final. The loss pushed Kaymer to first in the rankings, but Donald used the victory, where none of his matches made it to the 18th hole, as a springboard.

He won the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour and then became No. 1. Donald captured the Scottish Open and, needing a victory to win the money title on the PGA Tour, took home the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.

All totaled, Donald won the money title on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, becoming the first player in history to accomplish the feat.

Donald is No. 1 overall and tops the Bobby Jones bracket. Kaymer is first in the Ben Hogan bracket, while U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy is highest-ranked in the Gary Player bracket. Lee Westwood is the final No. 1 seed and he heads up the Sam Snead bracket.

There will be 32 first-round matches on Wednesday, followed by 16 second-round matches on Thursday, eight third-round matches on Friday, with the quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals are Sunday morning, while the championship and consolation matches will be held Sunday afternoon.

Could this be the week Tiger Woods finally wins again on the PGA Tour? He's a three-time champion, a match-play wizard and owner of impressive tournament records.

Woods trounced Stewart Cink, 8 & 7, to win in 2008. That is the largest margin of victory in a championship and Woods' owns the biggest winning margin in tournament history with a 9 & 8, drubbing of Stephen Ames in 2006.

Golf Channel has the broadcast for the first three rounds and early coverage on Saturday and Sunday. NBC has the end of the action on the weekend.

The PGA Tour travels to Florida next week for The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, where Rory Sabbatini is the defending champion. The European Tour and PGA Tour will be in Florida in two weeks for the WGC - Cadillac Championship in Miami, where Nick Watney will defend his title.

PGA TOUR

MAYAKOBA GOLF CLASSIC - El Camaleon, Riviera Maya, Mexico - With the world's best at the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship, the rest of the PGA Tour can tee it up down in Mexico.

Last year, Johnson Wagner downed Spencer Levin in a playoff to earn his second PGA Tour title. This year, these two have had major roles in the 2012 PGA Tour season.

Wagner won the Sony Open in Hawaii, after a top 10 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He tied for second at the Humana Challenge and won January's PGA Tour Player of the Month.

Levin squandered a six-shot lead during the final round of the Phoenix Open.

Greg Norman is the course designer and will be playing in his second PGA Tour event of the season. Norman teed it up in the Humana Challenge at the behest of his friend and tournament host, President Bill Clinton.

John Cook, a Champions Tour standout, joins fellow elder circuit players, 2007 winner Fred Funk, Nick Price and Tom Lehman in the field. Funk became the second golfer in history to win on the Champions Tour, then go back and win on the PGA Tour when he titled here in 2007.

Golf Channel has tape-delayed coverage all week.

Next week, the PGA Tour travels to Florida for The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, where Sabbatini is the defending champion.

LPGA TOUR

HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS 2012 - Tanah Merah Country Club, Garden Course, Singapore - The LPGA Tour ends its Asian swing with a stop in Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions.

A select field will be on hand, including last week's winner in Thailand, world No. 1 Yani Tseng. European Solheim Cuppers Melissa Reid and Laura Davies were given sponsor's exemptions.

Last year, Karrie Webb shot a three-under 69 in Sunday's final round to overcome leader Chie Arimura. It was the 37th career LPGA Tour victory for Webb, who picked up win No. 38 in her very next start, the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.

Arimura had led after each of the first three rounds, but the Hall-of-Famer snuck by in the final round. With Webb's first-place check for $210,000, she became the second player after Annika Sorenstam to surpass $16 million in career earnings.

The HSBC Women's Champions was the first official stroke-play event that the LPGA Tour has played in Singapore. Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore is the site of this week's event and has hosted the Singapore Open, the Johnnie Walker Classic on the European Tour and the Lexus Cup on the LPGA Tour.

Golf Channel will handle the broadcast.

In three weeks, the LPGA Tour returns for the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup with Webb as its defending champion.


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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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