Trio top crowded leaderboard in France

Golf Betting Lines

07/26/2007 - Evian-les-Bains, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Pat Hurst and Brittany Lincicome posted matching rounds of six-under-par 66 Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Evian Masters with Korea's Eun Hee Ji.

Christina Kim was joined by Jin Joo Hong and Kyeong Bae in a tie for fourth at minus-five. Six more players are tied for seventh at three-under-par 69 at Evian Masters Golf Club.

Defending champion Karrie Webb opened with a two-under-par 70 and is tied for 13th. Annika Sorenstam, a two-time winner here, mixed five birdies and four bogeys in a round of 71. She is tied for 16th with Laura Davies and Rachel Hetherington among others.

"I think I played really well," Sorenstam said. "I had a lot of good chances today and I'm very disappointed because I think I played better than what the score says."

World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa birdied the final two holes to shoot even-par 72, where she was joined by U.S. Women's Open winner Cristie Kerr and nine others.

Michelle Wie returned to action for the first time since withdrawing from the U.S. Women's Open with an injured wrist. The young Hawaiian had a solid front nine with seven pars and two birdies. Around the turn, she struggled with a double-bogey and a bogey to card a 73 that left her tied for 37th.

Hurst, whose best finish here was a tie for 18th in 2004, got her round going with birdies on one and four. She tripped to the only bogey of her round at the par-five ninth. Around the turn, Hurst recovered that lost stroke with a two-foot birdie putt on 11.

After a par at 12, Hurst birdied the 13th to move to three-under. She birdied the 16th, then closed with a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th to jump into a share of the lead.

"I played steady out there," said Hurst. "I started out with a birdie so that got me off on the right foot. I played pretty steady and just kept it down the middle and on the green and made some putts."

Lincicome, who won the Ginn Open earlier this year, parred the first five holes. She caught fire from there with birdies on six and seven before knocking her second within a foot at the par-five ninth. She kicked that in for eagle to turn in four-under.

Around the turn, Lincicome birdied No. 12, but gave that stroke back with a three-putt bogey at the par-three 14th. She came right back to birdie 15 and closed with a birdie at the last.

"I figured if I got it up there somewhere around minus-seven, I would be close," Lincicome stated. "I three-putted on No. 14, but had to wait for like 30 minutes on the tee box, so I was a little out of rhythm. You lose your feel a little faster."

Ji got off to a fast start as she holed a nine-iron from 130 yards out for eagle on the par-four third. She came right back with a birdie No. 4. Birdies on the seventh and ninth gave Ji the lead at minus-five.

She stumbled to a bogey on the par-four 10th. Ji rolled in consecutive birdie putts from the 12th, but faltered to a bogey on 15. Ji gained a share of the first-round lead with a birdie at the 18th.

Mi Hyun Kim, who won the SemGroup Championship earlier this year, is one of the seven players tied for seventh. She stands alongside Diana D'Alessio, Sophie Gustafson, Linda Wessberg, Sun Ju Ahn and Jeong Jang.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

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