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08/07/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite the fact they share a surname, there is no relation, whatsoever, between Jeev Milkha Singh and Vijay Singh.
"In the practice rounds I can hear a lot of people say, 'Oh, I think he's Vijay's son or he's Vijay's brother.' I heard that many times," admitted Jeev Milkha. "I just say I'm the other Singh."
On Thursday, he was the superior Singh.
He posted a two-under 69, while Vijay, a two-time champion and the winner of last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, struggled to a six-over-par 76 on Thursday.
"My short game was sharp," said Jeev Milkha Singh. "Didn't drive the ball that good, but any time you shoot under par in a major championship, I think you got to take it and put it deep down in your pocket and I've done that today."
While most casual fans don't know, the younger Singh is one of the hottest players in the field. He has won two of his last four starts - one in Austria, one in Japan - and has done so in some substantial pain.
"I had been suffering with a little tendon running through the ankle on my right foot. It's got a lot of pain," acknowledged Singh. "I've been wearing a brace for the last four weeks. I did injure it just before the French Open, that was about seven, eight weeks ago. I've been getting a lot of physio done and it gets better, but you hit one of those shots out of the rough and I'm back to square one."
Singh complained that using the driver hurts a little more than other clubs. His doctor told him he needed four weeks rest. Singh told his doctor he couldn't do it.
"I decided if I'm going to play the PGA Championship I'm going to push myself through to this week and next week and after that I'm surely going to be taking two weeks off, maybe I'm going to extend it to four," he said.
One positive Singh can take from the ankle injury is that he hasn't been able to practice much at all. Remember, he's got two victories in the last seven weeks.
"I haven't played any practice rounds for the last seven weeks in the tournaments I've played and it's worked for me pretty good," said Singh, whose father was a world-class sprinter.
Since Singh played nine holes each of the last two days, things might not look great for him come Sunday.
NOT A FAN
"The Monster," the ominous nickname of the South Course at Oakland Hills, may have lost a fan.
"I was happy to break 80 after being seven-over after 12 holes," said Lee Westwood, who finished with a seven-over-par 77. "Standing on the 17th tee, I asked my caddie if he could hear the sea as well as I am sure I could hear my holiday calling. But I dug in there. I didn't do a lot wrong."
Westwood finished as a runner-up last week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He went 4-0-1 in the 2004 Ryder Cup, the last big event staged at Oakland Hills.
But Westwood was not a happy camper after his terrible round.
"The fairways are narrow and unfortunately if you miss the semi (rough) by a foot you are worse off than if you miss by 20 yards, which you need to take different people's opinions as the whether that is fair," he said.
Next up was the PGA of America's setup at Oakland Hills versus the USGA's layout at Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open, an event, Westwood coincidentally finished one shot out of the Tiger Woods/Rocco Mediate playoff.
"Cut all the rough out. I think the U.S. Open was set up perfectly," said Westwood. "It rewards accuracy and penalizes you if you are off liner. I didn't see that today. I asked my partners if I was out of order and they said 'No, if you are slightly off line you are crucified'."
Moving on to the rough around the greens...
"In my opinion, it is too thick around the greens as well," he said. "It takes the skill away from chipping."
The par threes?
"If the wind gets up you won't get there. I hit a three-iron and Zach Johnson hit five-wood and on 17."
And in conclusion, Westwood felt like the set up took away from a great venue and a great championship.
"I sound as if I am moaning, which I am, but it is a great shame as it is a fantastic golf course, they are great greens and they are playable, but there is no need to play it as it is," said Westwood. "They are sucking the fun out of the Major Championships when you set it up like that."
* Kenny Perry, a pre-tournament favorite thanks to a three-win 2008 PGA Tour season, made it through the first round, but withdrew after his round. The Golf Channel reported Perry injured his eye earlier in the week and he eventually withdrew.
* Padraig Harrington, the winner of the last two British Opens, including last month's, started wonderfully with three consecutive birdies. Unfortunately, Harrington finished at one-over 71 in the opening round.
* Frank Esposito, Jr. leads the race for lowest club professional after his one-over 71 on Thursday. Esposito, playing in his first PGA Championship, works out of Brooklake Country Club in Florham, New Jersey.
* According to pga.com and Dave Shedloski, Paul Goydos, who lost the playoff to Sergio Garcia at The Players Championship, was the first player drug tested at a major championship. Goydos shot a four-over 74 in round one.
* There was a tie for easiest hole on Thursday. The two par-fives, Nos. 2 and 12, both played to an average of 4.7115. They were the only two holes that played to par or better.
* The hardest hole on Thursday was the 498-yard, par-four 18th. It played to an average of 4.6122. The 257-yard, par-three ninth also played a half-shot over par with an average of 3.5238.
<< Karlsson, Jeev Milkha Singh and Romero lead suspended PGA
Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Karlsson of Sweden and
India's Jeev Milkha Singh both posted rounds of two-under 68 on Thursday and
share the lead with Andres Romero during the suspended first round of the PGA
Champio
<< Clippers add veteran Williams
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers signed veteran
guard Jason Williams, who had been with the Miami Heat. Per team policy,
terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 32-year-old Williams joins his fourth
<< Report: Florida TE Ingram has torn ACL
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Florida senior tight end
Cornelius Ingram has reportedly torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his
left knee, effectively ending his 2008 season.
According to Sporting News, Ingra
<< Red Sox minor leaguer suspended
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red
Sox minor leaguer Victor De La Cruz 50 games after the pitcher tested positive
for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor
League
Lions upend Giants with late field goal >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Kitna threw for 106 yards on 6-of-7 passing
with a 20-yard touchdown strike to Roy Williams on Detroit's first series, as
the Lions used a late 41-yard Eddie Johnson field goal to down the defending
Super B
Tolles fires 62 to lead Wichita Open >>
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Tolles fired a nine-under-par 62 Thursday
to grab a one-stroke lead with the first round of the Wichita Open suspended
due to darkness.
Tolles' 62 missed both the course record and the 18-hole tourname
Oswalt continues to stymie Reds in Houston victory >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt dominated the Cincinnati hitters
to help the Houston Astros win a 7-4 decision in the first of four games at
Great American Ball Park.
Oswalt (9-8) improved his career record against the R
Blue Jays send Athletics to 10th consecutive defeat >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Rolen and John McDonald drove in two
runs apiece to lead the Blue Jays over the Oakland Athletics, 6-4, to
secure a sweep of the four-game set in Toronto.
A.J. Burnett (14-9) gave up four
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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