The biggest threat to the U.S. Ryder Cup team
Golf Betting Lines
09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While I was busy searching for the best line to describe Miguel Angel Jimenez, someone I don't know beat me to it.
In the Internet age, it isn't hard to believe how it happened.
Sports Illustrated writer Alan Shipnuck posted to his Twitter feed Sunday a text message he received from a friend: "Is Miguel Angel Jimenez actually the most interesting man in the world?"
The answer, of course, is no, although watching the cigar-chewing Jimenez describe his post-round dinners in Switzerland in that distinctive Spanish diction was as interesting as anything in those Dos Equis commercials.
Ponytailed and built like an upside-down pear, Jimenez represents the biggest threat to this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team, which is set to be finalized with Corey Pavin's captain's picks on Tuesday morning.
He is the Overlooked Opponent.
For all the talk about how strong the European side is -- Paul Casey is a top-10 player and not on the team? -- almost none of the discussion has included Jimenez.
In fact, when I asked the only Ryder Cup expert I know if Jimenez should have been considered for a captain's selection had he not made the team on points, his answer was a swift "no."
But why not?
Jimenez became the first player on either the PGA or European Tour to win three times this season when he captured the European Masters on Sunday.
Seven days before, Jimenez tied for third place at the Johnnie Walker Championship to make the European team on points, securing one of the last automatic spots.
Despite having another winning season -- he has also picked up titles at the Dubai Desert Classic and French Open -- Jimenez was basically an afterthought when the European Ryder Cup team was finalized by captain Colin Montgomerie.
All the big names came up: Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington. Rising star Rory McIlroy. Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.
There wasn't much discussion of the 46-year-old Jimenez. Was it because he only built a 2-7-3 record in three previous Ryder Cup appearances? More ammo for the Overlooked Opponent argument.
We don't know how anyone on the European team will play at Celtic Manor in three weeks, but we do know a few other things.
Westwood, one of the winningest players in Ryder Cup history, is nursing a calf injury and hasn't played four competitive rounds since his runner-up finish at the British Open.
Harrington is having a middling season by his standards and hasn't won since the 2008 PGA Championship. Poulter hasn't posted a top-10 finish since the Masters.
Meanwhile, Jimenez continues to have one of the more noteworthy careers of the last decade. The man they call "The Mechanic" has captured 11 of his 18 career wins since he turned 40.
Another example of his ageless talent? Jimenez flirted with shooting the first 59 in European Tour history last Friday, a bid that was derailed by three straight pars at the end of his round.
Jimenez shot a 61 instead, good for a three-shot lead heading into the weekend. Then he played the final two rounds in the same group with Edoardo Molinari, the 29-year-old surging half of the talented Italian brothers.
In what was basically a match-play scenario between the two players, Jimenez matched Molinari's score in both rounds, protecting his three-shot lead until the end.
Of course, Jimenez was in his element. During the 22 years he has showed up to play at the Swiss mountain resort, Jimenez has stayed in the same hotels, eaten at the same restaurants, enjoyed the support of the same galleries.
"They love me here," he said, drawing on one of his gigantic cigars.
They may love him at Celtic Manor, too, and that should give the American team pause.
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A 14-g
2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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