Rodriguez and Surber lead Times Colonist Open

Golf Betting Lines

06/15/2007 - Victoria, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Rodriguez and Russell Surber each posted rounds of four-under-par 68 on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the Times Colonist Open.

Jon Abbott, Steve Friesen, Scott Hend, Jim Lemon, Kevin Pom Arleau and Stephen Reed share third place at three-under-par 69 at Gorge Vale Golf Club.

Rodriguez, who has yet to miss a cut in his 13 starts on the Canadian Tour, began on the back nine Thursday and tallied his only birdie of the front nine at the par-five 15th.

He bogeyed the third, but then hit a spectacular tee ball at the fourth. The par-four hole, measured at 307 yards leads most to drive the hole, but Rodriguez nearly holed out for an albatross. He settled for a tap-in eagle to reach two-under par for the championship.

"I tried to get them (playing partners Steve Friesen and Brendan Steele) to give me a gimmie, but no luck," joked Rodriguez.

He closed with birdies at six and eight to first post 68.

"I just stuck to my game plan and didn't change a thing," said Rodriguez. "When your confidence is going strong, you don't grip the club quite as tight. I just played smart golf."

Surber teed off the first and birdied his first two holes. He dropped a shot at the par-four seventh to make the turn at minus-one.

On the second nine, Surber, a product of the University of Texas, collected birdies at 11 and 12. He joined Rodriguez in first place with a birdie at the 17th.

Defending champion Mike Grob headlines the group tied for 10th place at two- under-par 70. Among the other players in that group are Derek Gillespie and Joseph Lanza, both of whom are in the top 10 on the Canadian Tour's Order of Merit.

Wwwezscores Golf Betting News

<< Late rally leads Twins past slumping Atlanta
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Redmond's single in the bottom of the ninth knocked in the game-winning run as the Minnesota Twins rallied in the final inning to beat Atlanta, 3-2, and complete a three-game sweep of the Braves.

<< Indians hang on to down Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Stanford pitched six solid innings as the Cleveland Indians downed the Florida Marlins, 3-2, in the finale of a three- game interleague set at Dolphin Stadium. Stanford (1-0), whose contract was pur

<< Real winless through first 10; Pope has enough
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dominic Oduro scored the sole goal late in stoppage time to lift FC Dallas over Real Salt Lake, 1-0, at Rice- Eccles Stadium on Thursday night. With the last-minute victory, the Hoops earned

<< Atkins slams Colorado past BoSox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins went 3-for-5 with a double and a grand slam, as Colorado turned aside Boston once again, 7-1, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series at Fenway Park. Jeff Francis (6-5) scatt

<< Eddie Pope to retire after season
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shortly before Real Salt Lake's match at Rice-Eccles Stadium against FC Dallas on Thursday night, defender Eddie Pope announced that he will retire from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2007 se

Royals pound Cardinals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teahen went 3-for-5 with a pair of triples and five runs driven in as the Kansas City Royals pounded the St. Louis Cardinals, 17-8, in the finale of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium. Emil

San Antonio's dynasty bred by Duncan, embraced by Parker >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dave Odom had the basketball intuition that he was sending a special player to the pros. Just like Michigan State's Jud Heathcote with Magic Johnson, Indiana State's Bob King with Larry Bird and North

NBA Championships >>
2006-07 - San Antonio Spurs def. Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-02005-06 - Miami Heat def. Dallas Mavericks, 4-22004-05 - San Antonio Spurs def. Detroit Pistons, 4-32003-04 - Detroit Pistons def. Los Angeles Lakers, 4-12002-03 - San Antonio Spurs def. New J

NBA Championship Series Appearances >>
Franchise No. RecordMinneapolis-L.A. Lakers 28 14-14Boston Celtics 19 16- 3Syr.-Phil. 76ers 9 3- 6New York Knicks 8 2- 6Fort Wayne-Det. Pistons 7 3- 4Chicago Bulls 6 6- 0Phil-G.S.

NBA Finals Most Valuable Players >>
2007 - Tony Parker, San Antonio2006 - Dwyane Wade, Miami2005 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio2004 - Chauncey Billups, Detroit2003 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio2002 - Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers2001 - Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers2000 - Shaquille O'Neal, L.A.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.