Champions Tour's Tradition moves to Shoal Creek

Golf Betting Lines

08/23/2010 - Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shoal Creek will host a Champions Tour major next season, it was announced Monday.

The Birmingham club, best known as the controversial host of the 1990 PGA Championship, will be the site of the re-named Regions Tradition.

Regions Financial became the new title sponsor for the tournament formerly known as the JELD-WEN Tradition. The company previously sponsored the Regions Charity Classic played in Hoover, Alabama.

The 2011 Tradition will be played May 2-8, making it the first of five majors on the schedule for the 50-and-over tour.

"We're very excited to move this major championship to Alabama and Shoal Creek," Champions Tour president Mike Stevens said in a release.

The official announcement was made at a press conference Monday attended by Lee Trevino, among others. Trevino won the 1984 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek.

The club is better-known, however, for the criticism it received about its all-white membership leading up to the '90 PGA Championship. Wayne Grady won the tournament.

This season's Tradition was won by Fred Funk on Sunday at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.

Nbcsportd Golf Betting News

<< Mido joins Ajax
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax confirmed the signing of Egyptian striker Mido on Monday on a one-year contract. The 27-year-old was allowed to leave Middlesbrough on a free transfer, and he returns to Amsterdam after

<< Goydos withdraws from playoffs opener
Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Goydos has withdrawn from The Barclays. The PGA Tour said Monday that Goydos did not give a reason for pulling out of the tournament. Only the top 125 players on the regular season points list made the

<< Caldwell joins Wigan on free transfer
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan completed the signing of defender Steven Caldwell on Monday on a free transfer. Caldwell, 29, was released by Burnley at the end of last season after the club was relegated to the Championship, a

<< Bears sign veteran QB Collins
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears added depth to the quarterback position on Monday by signing veteran Todd Collins to a one-year contract. Collins, who turns 39 in November, has completed 381-of-674 passes for

<< Stoke's Sidibe out for season with Achilles injury
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City striker Mamady Sidibe will miss the remainder of the Premiership season, it was confirmed by the club on Monday. Sidibe snapped his Achilles tendon in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Tot

Women's golf rankings a carousel at the top >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As we prepare for yet another week of Phil Mickelson chasing Tiger Woods for the No. 1 world ranking, let's not forget what is happening this season in women's golf, where the top spot has changed hands seven times in the las

Report: Huet loaned to Switzerland >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly made the move everyone was expecting over the summer, finding another circuit for goaltender Cristobal Huet. According to the Swiss website 20 Minutes Online, th

Brewers release P Riske >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers announced Monday the release of relief pitcher David Riske. A corresponding move will be announced on Tuesday. Riske appeared in 23 games for the Brewers this season and recorde

Boston College WR Larmond out for season >>
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston College wide receiver Colin Larmond, Jr. will miss the entire 2010 season after suffering a serious knee injury on Saturday. Larmond, a junior, was the team's leading returning rec

Red Wings re-sign Abdelkader >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and left winger Justin Abdelkader agreed to terms on a two-year contract Monday. Abdelkader, 23, appeared in 50 games with the Red Wings last season, recording three goals and six poin

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.