Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
08/26/2010 - Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing his best golf this year, Tiger Woods shot a six-under 65 Thursday to tie Vaughn Taylor for the first-round lead at The Barclays.
Woods played in the first group out in the morning wave and racked up seven birdies and just one bogey in the PGA Tour playoffs opener.
"I just played today," Woods said.
Of course, it was the first competitive round for the world No. 1 since his divorce was made public on Monday, ending nine months of speculation about where he and Elin Nordegren stood as a couple in the wake of his sex scandal.
While he wouldn't say that a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, Woods seemed to hint that the turmoil in his personal life played as much a part in his recent on-course struggles as his swing problems.
"I think it's all of the above," he said.
Shaking free of those struggles, at least for a day, Woods took his first lead on the PGA Tour since the second round of last year's Tour Championship after shooting his best round in six career Barclays starts.
The Tour Championship is exactly what Woods is trying to reach. He entered the playoffs ranked 112th on the points list and needs to finish inside the top 57 at Ridgewood to make the 100-player field for next week's Deutsche Bank Championship.
After that, the fields are reduced to 70 players for the BMW Championship and 30 for the playoffs finale at the Tour Championship. Last year, only seven players ranked outside the top 30 at the beginning of the playoffs made it all the way to the last event.
Woods, a two-time FedEx Cup champion, could mathematically move to No. 1 in the standings with a victory this week.
"I figure if I win I should be OK," he said.
Taylor, who stands 38th in the FedEx Cup rankings, overcame an early bogey at No. 3 with seven birdies the rest of the way. He birdied four of his last six holes to join Woods in the early lead.
With his tour card locked up and sitting in a good position to make at least a couple more playoff fields, Taylor said everything else is just "gravy."
"Obviously (I) want to finish as high as I can on the FedEx and the money lists to get in all the majors next year and things of that nature. So it's pressure off, but also a little bit of pressure to reach your goals," he said.
Ryan Palmer cooled off after shooting a seven-under 28 on the front nine. He made a double-bogey at the 10th, a birdie at the 13th and closed with a bogey at the 18th to shoot a 66 and share third place with Brian Gay and Adam Scott, who also bogeyed his last hole to fall out of a share of the lead.
Davis Love III, Camilo Villegas and Stewart Cink led a large group at 67 that also included defending champion Heath Slocum, whose one-shot victory last year was a shocker over Woods, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington.
Els, the FedEx Cup leader, opened with a 71 on Thursday, while Stricker, who is second in points, had a 70.
Phil Mickelson is the next highest-seeded player in the field after Jim Furyk's Wednesday disqualification for missing the pro-am. Currently No. 4 on the points list, Lefty never got anything going in a round of 72.
Mulling over another swing change -- it would be his fourth new swing on tour -- Woods played in the first group off No. 1 and opened with a 15-foot birdie putt.
"It was a good ball-striking day," he said. "Nice to have control. I didn't warm up very well initially. Was struggling a little bit. But fixed it, and I was committed to it all day."
Taking advantage of a soft course and calm conditions, Woods rattled off three more birdies on the front nine, making the turn with a four-under 31. He drove the green at the short par-four fifth and two-putted for one of those birdies.
"You had to get it today, especially with the wind being down early and then we had fresh greens," Woods said. "It was good to be out early."
He made his only bogey at No. 12, hitting his approach into a bunker. But he bounced right back with a six-foot birdie putt at the 13th and three-footer for birdie at the 14th.
Woods knocked his final approach to seven feet at the 18th, closing with a birdie for his best score of the year.
The 65 snapped a streak of 11 consecutive rounds in the 70s for Woods going back to the second round of the British Open. It was just his second sub-70 score in his last 18 rounds.
"It's exciting to hit the ball flush like this again. It's something I've been missing all year," said Woods. "I haven't hit it flush. And it felt good to hit the ball and shape it both ways and really hit it through the wind.
"I've hit so many shots this year that haven't been hit flush enough to get through the wind. But today I was doing it all day."
NOTES: Woods, who has yet to win this season, took his first 18-hole lead since the 2009 PGA Championship, where he famously finished second to Y.E. Yang...Woods is 13-12 when holding at least a share of the first-round lead on the PGA Tour. He is winless in his last three opportunities, however, dating back to a victory at the 2006 CA Championship.
<< Nationals introduce top overall pick Harper
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals officially
introduced top-overall pick Bryce Harper on Thursday, prior to the start of a
four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Nats and Harper agreed to ter
<< Roma's Adriano sidelined with thigh injury
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma striker Adriano will likely miss the start
of the Serie A season with a thigh injury, the Italian club revealed Thursday.
Adriano, 28, was injured in training on Wednesday. His exact diagnosis is not
yet
<< Texas/USC to meet in 2017 and 2018
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - USC and Texas, the participants in the 2006
BCS championship game at the Rose Bowl, will play a home-and-home series in
2017 and 2018.
"USC versus Texas is a classic match-up and I'm sure fans from bot
<< Chelsea could walk to Champions League final
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea is just a few miles from its first
Champions League title. Getting there, even after receiving an easy group play
draw Thursday, remains the elusive last step in the club's incredible journey.
Sinc
Saban: Talks on agent issue continue >>
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Alabama coach Nick Saban says talks are ongoing in seeking a solution to the problem of rule-breaking agents.Saban said Thursday evening that there have been ``several conference calls'' with other coaches, the NFL, the NFL Pl
Miller leads in Tennessee; Daly one back >>
Farragut, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Miller posted a six-under 66 on Thursday
to take the opening-round lead of the Knoxville Sentinel Open, but a multiple
major champion lurks close behind.
John Daly, the 1991 PGA Champion and 1995 Bri
Reyes leaves Thursday's game >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes left
Thursday's game against Florida after aggravating his right oblique strain.
Reyes legged out an infield hit in the second inning and was immediately
removed in fa
Pujols fastest to reach 400 HRs >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert
Pujols became the fastest in number of seasons to reach the 400 home run
plateau when he went deep on Thursday.
Pujols hit an opposite-field solo blast to right fiel
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your VISA Sportsbook needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting