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06/15/2007 - Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson wore a black brace on his injured left wrist Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open. He took it off to putt, revealing a bandage underneath.
Mickelson opened with a four-over 74 at Oakmont and was six shots off Nick Dougherty's lead.
"I feel like I hung in there, and I'm excited to still be in it," he said.
Questions about the condition of Mickelson's wrist diverted talk, at least for a day, from his collapse at the 72nd hole at Winged Foot last year. The injury forced his withdrawal two weeks ago from the Memorial and caused him to miss a scheduled start last week in Memphis.
But the wrist looked OK as Mickelson blasted out to within inches from a bunker on the back nine, and he appeared comfortable making putts like the 12- footer he rolled in for par at his 16th hole (No. 7).
"I'm not overly disappointed," he said. "It could have been a round that got away from me."
Mickelson said he may have injured the wrist while chipping from the long rough at Oakmont during a practice round ahead of the Memorial. He was back Thursday, and the rough was just as penal.
Not exactly the place you want to test out an injured wrist.
"This isn't the course you want to do that," Mickelson said. "[The wrist] got a little bit more sore, but I was able to trust that it was okay."
OAKMONT PLAYING EASY?
Not really.
Playing in an early morning tee time, Dougherty made four birdies and two bogeys to take the lead, then said Oakmont was playing "easy." Not that he wanted everyone to know he said that.
"I hate saying it ... Especially if a USGA official picks up on that," he added. "It's still frightfully tough out there."
The scoring average was 75.32, down from 75.98 in the first round at Winged Foot last year but still almost six shots over par, meaning even the players who shot 75 and 76 were right in the middle of the pack.
The only hole that played under-par was the 609-yard, par-five fourth, which played to a 4.974 average. The toughest hole was the par-four 18th, which played to an average of 4.654 shots.
There were 17 scores in the 80s and just two in the 60s (Dougherty's 68 and Angel Cabrera's 69).
Statistically, the first round at this year's Masters was tougher with a 76.188 average.
OPEN NOTES
- A funny thing happened to Tom Byrum at the par-four ninth: He holed out from the fairway ... into the wrong hole. Turns out the No. 9 green is big enough to also serve as the practice green for the championship, and Byrum found one of those holes. Get used to seeing players back there this weekend, but don't get used to seeing players hole out. Even into the wrong cup.
- Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy opened with a one-over 71 and was tied with a large group that included Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh. He also opened with a 71 last year at Winged Foot.
- If Ogilvy has hopes of repeating, history isn't exactly on his side. The last player to successfully defend his U.S. Open title was Curtis Strange in 1989.
- There were two eagles posted in the morning wave of tee times -- by Stuart Appleby and Michael Block -- and none by the players who teed off in the afternoon.
- Rhys Davies and John Kelly shared low amateur honors for the first round with four-over 74s.
- There are players from 20 countries and 27 U.S. states competing this week.
<< SPL schedule announced
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2007-08 Scottish Premier League
schedule was released on Thursday, but football fans will have to wait until
late October to see Celtic and Rangers collide for the first time.
Defending Champ
<< Vancouver coach Vigneault wins Jack Adams Award
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault
won the 2007 Jack Adams Award for the top coach in the league as voted by the
NHL Broadcasters' Association on Thursday.
Vigneault, who is the first Vancouver
<< Malkin named NHL's top rookie
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin won what teammate
Sidney Crosby did not, as he took home the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best
rookie in the NHL on Thursday night.
Malkin, who is the first Penguin to win the C
<< 2007 Masterton Trophy awarded to Kessel
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston's Phil Kessel won the Bill Masterton
Memorial Trophy at the 2007 NHL Awards presentation on Thursday. The award is
presented to the player who exhibits perseverance, sportsmanship and
dedicat
Rangers use long ball to pound Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Hairston, Travis Metcalf and Gerald
Laird all hit homers -- Laird's a breathing-room three-run shot in the seventh
-- as Texas downed Pittsburgh, 6-0, to wrap up an interleague series at PNC
Park.
O's waste opportunities, go down to Nationals >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman knocked in the go-ahead run in
the eighth inning as the Washington Nationals edged the Baltimore Orioles,
3-1, to sweep a three-game interleague set with their Beltway rival.
Jason Simontac
Sid the Kid has big night at 2007 NHL awards >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby finished his fantastic season
with another two awards to go with his Art Ross trophy, as he garnered the
Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and was also awarded
the Le
Spurs hold slim lead over Cavs at halftime >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan hasn't made a field goal while
Tony Parker has missed just one, all adding up to San Antonio's 39-34 edge
over Cleveland in an attempt to sweep the NBA Finals and hoist its fourth
champio
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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