How important is No. 1?
Golf Betting Lines
05/24/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson has another chance to
become the No. 1 player in the world.
He had a below-average Players Championship, where he could've supplanted Tiger
Woods. Now, Mickelson can once again lay claim to the top perch with a win
this week at Colonial. A victory would get Mickelson into first.
The world rankings run on two-year cycles, which could be a bad thing if
Mickelson can't get the duke this week. The points earned for his win at
Colonial two years ago will be wiped away once Colonial starts, so a win for
Mickelson would go a long way.
Mathematically, Mickelson can do it, but the question is, how important is it?
Any athlete should strive to be the best at his profession. The goal,
especially in an individual sport such as golf, is to be at the top of your
game, but Mickelson didn't even sound that impressed by doing it.
"It's every player's goal and intent to strive to be recognized as the No. 1
player in the world relative to the rankings," Mickelson said before the
Players Championship. "It's certainly something that I have been striving for
but have not achieved yet. And so it would mean a lot to me.
"But for me to accomplish that, I can't focus on that."
Yes, Mickelson wants to be No. 1, but he's not "focusing" on that.
A top ranking for Mickelson won't drastically alter his legacy. He's a four-
time major champion with three green jackets and a PGA Championship. Mickelson
has 38 PGA Tour titles and counting. He'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and
nothing can change that.
We can assume Mickelson is not yet done winning. He will turn 40 in a few short
weeks and, barring injury, still has prime years left. Twenty-five of his tour
wins came in this decade as well as all four majors, so there's plenty left in
Mickelson's tank.
A safe bet is that Mickelson will win at least 10 more times. I will go out on
a limb and say in the next six years, Mickelson will win a U.S. Open. (I'm
actually thinking this year's at Pebble Beach.) He won't ever win the British
Open. Sorry Mickelsons, but that appears to be reality. Mickelson's best finish
in an Open Championship was a third in 2004, when he was nearly winning every
major he saw.
In addition to a U.S. Open, it's probably wise to think he'll win another
Masters. Augusta National is his course as much as Tiger's anymore. That's six
majors in total for Mickelson and almost 50 PGA Tour wins.
Would anyone give up that career, even if it meant they couldn't be No. 1 in
the world?
For some, reaching that plateau has been an albatross that has come close to
crippling their careers. David Duval has never really been the same since he
unseated Tiger in 1999. Sure, injuries have hampered his run, but Duval never
loved that spot.
Mickelson could handle the spotlight better than Duval. Mickelson can handle
the spotlight better than most politicians. That won't be a problem.
But Mickelson has never talked passionately about being the No. 1 player like
Sergio Garcia or Ian Poulter have. Surely Mickelson wants to be the best, but
it's not what has driven him.
Even Woods acknowledged that winning takes care of the rankings. Mickelson
seems to believe the same thing.
When history writes the Mickelson story, being No. 1 in the world won't make
or break him. Tom Lehman was first in the rankings...for a week. Lehman had a
good career and a good run, but comparing his career to Mickelson's is a joke.
Mickelson is miles ahead of anyone other than Woods in this era. Speaking of
eras, Mickelson has been the second-best player in the world in the Woods era.
Woods will go down as the game's best player assuming his neck injury isn't
dangerously bad or his personal life doesn't fall apart worse than it already
has, and frankly, that's hard to imagine.
There's no shame in being the 1A to the greatest 1 of all time. Mickelson
doesn't need this No. 1 ranking in the world as badly as someone else does. At
40, it would be a nice accomplishment, but Mickelson's career is already one
of the best in history.
If a mathematical equation that would make John Nash blush doesn't say how
great Mickelson is, I will. Being ranked No. 1 is not critical for Mickelson's
career.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- Youth has been served. A pair of 16-year-olds made the cut on both the PGA
Tour and Nationwide Tour and Jason Day, the winner of the Byron Nelson, is a
pup. I don't get too excited for things like this. Remember Ty Tryon? We all
went cuckoo for our proverbial Coco Puffs when he made the tour, but now he's
an afterthought in the golf world.
- Ernie Els redesigned Wentworth, the site of last week's BMW PGA Championship.
He got slaughtered by other players for his work and was steamed. He thought
the players could go to him to complain, but do people actually speak to the
man they have problems with anymore, or do they just bellyache to others?
- This is the end of the Vijay Singh era. He is the best post-40 player of the
last 30 years.
- Movie moment - If "Sex and the City" movies can make buckets of money, why
wouldn't producers make movies out of all recent successful shows? Imagine if
some of them were actually good? Saw the first Sex and the City (girlfriend)
and later that night a plastic chair I sat on broke and I slammed my head into
a house. That probable concussion was a much better experience than sitting
through the movie.
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<< Top horses maintain positions in NTRA Polls
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zenyatta and Lookin At Lucky each remain in
first-place in their respective NTRA polls, Undefeated mare Zenyatta is the
overwhelming selection in the national rankings and Lookin At Lucky is the
undispu
<< Suns' Nash has broken nose, won't miss time
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns announced Monday that point
guard Steve Nash suffered a minimally displaced nasal fracture with displaced
cartilage in the team's 118-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of
the Wes
<< Federer, Djokovic, Murray win French openers
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer began defense of his French
Open title with a straight-set win on the second day of play at Roland Garros.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 seed Andy Murray also moved on in Paris.
The
Mauer leads AL All-Star balloting >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer is the
top vote-getter after the first set of American League All-Star
balloting results.
The reigning American League Most Valuable Player has drawn
Renteria earns first MLS Player of the Week award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Crew forward Emilio Renteria was
voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 9 of the 2010 MLS season
on Monday.
Renteria supplied two goals for the Crew in as many games this wee
Rachel Alexandra working toward next start >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra
put in a solid workout Monday morning at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old
filly had Shaun Bridgmohan in the saddle for the five-furlong training
session
Reds put Bailey on DL >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have placed pitcher
Homer Bailey on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.
Bailey left his start Sunday after 2 1/3 innings with shoulder tightness,
charged
Towson going prime time >>
Towson, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The three biggest crowds in Johnny Unitas
Stadium history occurred at night, and Towson hopes to build momentum this
season by playing three night home games for the first time since 2005.
Towson's night home ga
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds
Europe
Tie
USA |
4-5
10-1
6-5 |
Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich |
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1 |
Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson |
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
Football Betting
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
NFL Betting Lines
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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