Finchem receives four-year contract extension

Golf Betting Lines

01/11/2012 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has been given a four-year contract extension through June 2016.

Finchem became the tour's third commissioner in June 1994 and has overseen a period of tremendous growth. Earnings for PGA Tour members have increased substantially and he has been instrumental in developing a number of key events, including the Presidents Cup, PGA Tour playoffs and the World Golf Championships.

"We have accomplished a lot, but there remains a great opportunity to continue to grow over the next four years," said Finchem in a statement. "It is an honor to work in such a wonderful sport with the world's best athletes and a terrific management team. I look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the future."

Joe Dey and Deane Beman were the first two commissioners of the PGA Tour.

Wwsportsbooks Golf Betting News

<< Shiels returns to Killie
Kilmarnock, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kilmarnock announced on Wednesday that midfielder Dean Shiels has returned to the club until the end of the season after terminating his contract with Doncaster. Shiels, who is the son of Killie man

<< Djokovic and Clijsters hope to defend honor in Oz
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2012 tennis season will be in full stride when the Australian Open gets underway next week in Melbourne, where Novak Djokovic and Kim Clijsters will be on hand as your defending champions. The 24-year-

<< Newcastle's Ameobi injured in reserve match
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle is fearful that striker Sammy Ameobi could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after he suffered an undisclosed injury in a reserve-team match against Wigan. The 19-year-old was for

<< Colts tab Grigson as new GM
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have named Ryan Grigson as their new general manager. Grigson spent the past nine years with the Philadelphia Eagles. He joined the franchise in 2003 as a regional scout, becam

<< Whittaker set for six-week absence
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers defender Steven Whittaker is facing six weeks out of the lineup after undergoing a hernia operation, the club has revealed. Whittaker's last appearance for Ally McCoist's team came o

Back injury to sideline Lazio's Cana >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio will be without midfielder Lorik Cana for the next two months because of a back injury. Cana was forced to leave Saturday's 4-0 defeat at Siena at halftime with the injury, and tests have confirmed tha

Fire signs Uruguayan striker Puppo >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire announced on Wednesday that the club has signed striker Federico Puppo from Danubio FC in Uruguay. The 25-year-old will occupy an international roster spot upon the receipt of his Interna

In the FCS Huddle: Turnaround fueled Ambrose to Robinson Award >>
Towson, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Rob Ambrose took over at Towson, even the thought of winning games at his alma mater was a challenge. Playing in the Football Championship Subdivision's toughest conference - CAA Football - the Tigers were

Sparano lands with the Jets >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano has been named the new offensive coordinator for the New York Jets, replacing Brian Schottenheimer. The Jets and Schottenheimer amicably parted way

Plata signs new deal with TFC >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC has come to terms with forward Joao Plata on a multi-year contract, it was announced on Wednesday. Plata was the 49th overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft and went on to appear in 26 games f

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.