11/21/2008 - Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen fired an eight-under 62 on Friday to spotlight a four-way tie for the lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open.
Oliver Fisher (65), Chawalit Plaphol (66) and European Ryder Cup team member Oliver Wilson (66) shared the lead with Oosthuizen at eight-under-par 132 heading into the weekend at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Colin Montgomerie (65) led a group of five players who stood one shot off the pace at seven-under 133 on a tight leaderboard. He was joined by Johan Edfors (65), Marcus Fraser (66), Francesco Molinari (67) and first round co-leader Richard Sterne (69).
John Daly (136), Bernhard Langer (136) and Jose Maria Olazabal (137) were among the 33 players who were within five shots of the co-leaders after 36 holes.
None of the co-leaders has ever won on the European Tour.
Oosthuizen earned his share of the halfway lead with eight birdies in a bogey- free round. The 26-year-old South African finished one shot off the course record of 61 shared by Henrik Bjornstad (2002) and Simon Yates (2006).
"I've been playing well for the last seven months, really, but I just can't get that final edge in," said Oosthuizen, who posted his personal-best score on the European Tour.
Wilson, who lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the HSBC Champions two weeks ago, mixed six birdies with two bogeys in his second round. He was a couple shots clear of the field before making a bogey on his last hole.
"I'm obviously pretty happy with the first two days," said the 28-year-old Englishman. "It has gone according to plan so far."
Fisher, the youngest among the co-leaders at just 20 years old, racked up five birdies in a spotless round. He got things rolling early on with three birdies on his first six holes, including two on approaches within a few feet.
"It is very good," said the young Englishman. "I played very solid and I am in a good position going into the weekend."
Plaphol also got off to a good start, making three birdies on his first five holes. The two-time Asian Tour winner added two more birdies later on, but was done in by a lone bogey at his 10th hole.
The cut line fell at even-par 140 with 82 players making it to the weekend, including defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, who made it on the number after shooting a 69.
Jason Hak, a 14-year-old amateur from Hong Kong, made history as the youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event after his second consecutive even-par 70. He beat Garcia's record by 107 days.
Not so lucky was European Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo, who went 72-70 to miss the cut by two shots.
<< Lakers roll past Suns
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom
filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the
red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.
Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po
<< MSG shocker! Michigan upsets UCLA
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free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the
end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship
game of
<< Detroit staves off late rally to down Edmonton
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jiri Hudler tallied a pair of goals, including
the eventual game-winner, as Detroit scored early and often before staving off
a late Edmonton rally for a 4-3 victory.
Pavel Datsyuk had a goal for Detroit, wh
<< Big Ben plows Pittsburgh past Cincinnati
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger didn't let a bitter,
snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a
passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down
Cincinn
K.G. returns to Minnesota as Celtics face Timberwolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtics forward Kevin Garnett didn't get a chance to play
against his former team in Minnesota last season because of an abdominal
strain. Garnett has been back at full strength for quite some time now and
will lead Boston to
Hawks host struggling Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks finally ended their recent losing ways
and will try to start another winning streak tonight versus the Southeast
Division-rival Charlotte Bobcats at Philips Arena.
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Streaking Magic meet Pacers in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will shoot for a season high five
straight wins tonight, when they pay a visit to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco
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Tuesd
Nets visit Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors are back up north and will kick off a
four-game homestand tonight versus the Atlantic Division-rival New Jersey Nets
at Air Canada Centre.
Toronto will also welcome Boston, Charlotte and Atlanta to town
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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