Azinger has been a different captain

Golf Betting Lines

08/09/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Azinger was always going to be a different Ryder Cup captain than most.

In his Ryder Cup career, which only spanned four Ryder Cups, Azinger got into legendary confrontations with the famed "Spanish Armada" of Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, and refused to back down to the man leading the other side against him in a month, Nick Faldo.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Azinger is imposing his will as the leader of the American Ryder Cup team.

When he took the job, Azinger got the PGA of America to totally revamp the selection process for the U.S. team. The Europeans always have a one-year qualifying window, thus, got the hottest players.

The U.S. always had a two-year period, with more emphasis on the second year and majors. Azinger told them to cram that system. He said to make it money- based and only count the majors from the prior season. The year of the Ryder Cup is when it should count, therefore you get the best players.

Tom Lehman, who led his American compatriots to slaughter at The K Club two years ago, tweaked the system. Azinger blew it up.

PGA of America agreed to Azinger's demands.

Azinger wanted four picks, not the traditional two. He also didn't want to have to use them the Monday after the PGA Championship. It didn't make sense to him to pick guys almost a month before the competition

So the PGA of America agreed. Now Azinger won't make his four picks until September 2nd, almost three weeks after the eight automatic players make the team. The U.S. players now have what has become essentially a three-week try out.

Perhaps more important than the three-week try out is that Azinger will make these four picks 17 days before the first ball is struck at Valhalla. Talk about getting the hottest guys before the tournament.

If three Americans win in the three weeks leading up to the picks, they will probably make Azinger's team. He said as much on Wednesday.

"I'm going to look at who is hot. If somebody wins Greensboro (next week's Wyndham Championship), he's going to get a really good look from me," Azinger said.

Azinger has pulled no punches with his prospective team as well. All you've heard all year is that Kenny Perry wanted to make the Ryder Cup team in his home state of Kentucky. He eliminated majors off his schedule to try and earn more points to make this team.

Azinger was strategically quoted as saying he only wanted winners on his team. Perry hoisted three trophies this year.

If Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson are looking for a rah-rah guy, they are going to be in for a rude awakening. Azinger is a cancer survivor and a dogged competitor, but inspiring?

"If they need to be inspired by me, then they are hurting," Azinger said on Saturday after a third-round, six-over 76. "I mean, if I'm an inspiration, I'm happy to be that. I think that they are going to be really motivated and they are going to be inspired to play well, and it's not really the captain's responsibility to do that."

Azinger will get them to Valhalla, but he's practical enough to know that his guys have to sink the putts. He can't do that for them. All Azinger can do is put what he believes is the best team on the course.

Azinger will have done that come September 19th thanks to imposing his will for what's best for the United States Ryder Cup team.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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