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01/16/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aloha is Hawaiian for either hello, or goodbye.
The PGA Tour should bid a permanent goodbye aloha to opening the season in Hawaii.
The tour heads to the mainland of the United States this week after a fortnight in the 50th state. The Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Sony Open in Hawaii are things of the past; hopefully, the permanent past.
Hawaii seems lovely. Never been myself, but "The Descendants" sure looked nice in the background. This is nothing against Hawaii itself. I've never been on a honeymoon, and I'm not "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," but the time for professional golf in the Aloha State has passed.
The season has opened in Hawaii since 1999 and with each passing year, the tour's top stars have skipped it more frequently than an 8:30 Friday morning class.
The tournament is reserved for the previous year's winners. It's an exclusive event and the intention is to reward golfers with a week in paradise and an enormous paycheck. (Jhonattan Vegas finished dead-last this year and pocketed $64,000.)
This year, Phil Mickelson, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, world No. 1 Luke Donald, U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy, Open champion Darren Clarke, Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson all passed.
The biggest star in the field was Steve Stricker. Granted, he won the tournament, but that's not exactly what you should be looking for from the "Tournament of Champions."
Tiger Woods, back when he won official PGA Tour events, made it acceptable to withdraw before the tournament. He hasn't played in Hawaii since the 2005 season-opener.
Hawaii is beautiful, but who wants to travel that far? Players could make a two-week stay of it in Hawaii and play the Sony, but most of them don't want to make such a commitment that early in the season.
Do I think more stars would play if they didn't have to take a five-hour flight from California? Yes, that is my contention.
Few golfers speak out publicly why they don't want to play in this event, and there's zero evidence to suggest that a change to Los Angeles or even Las Vegas would enhance the star power.
The only thing backing up this theory is the years-long absence of golf's biggest names. We'll never know until the plug is pulled on the Hawaii experiment.
Aside from the fact the Hawaii swing is getting dimmer, there are other logistic problems.
The five-hour time difference on the east coast puts the championships squarely in prime-time. It's on against the NFL playoffs. You don't need to waste your time checking the ratings. Brady v. Tebow did better than Maggert v. Every.
Why try and compete against that? If the tour played in the western time zone, the rounds could still be over before 8:00 p.m. (et) and thus not have to fight for sports viewers.
Is this an east-coast bias? You bet it is, but remember, this is the media capital of the world. We don't owe Hawaii a blessed thing, other than a hearty thank you for Don Ho and embarrassing shirts for middle-aged men.
The LPGA Tour is headed to Hawaii in April with the LPGA LOTTE Championship. It's been wildly heralded as a huge move for the tour, although Dottie Pepper in last week's "Sports Illustrated" illustrated some unmentioned problems with this event.
"Three months before the event there's still no plan to get it on TV," wrote Pepper. "The equipment that brings us golf and football from Hawaii in January and February is back on the mainland by April. Those trucks may have to float west after the Kraft Nabisco, which will cost a lot but be well worth it. Last year Golf Channel aired more hours of live coverage and showed features about many of the players, and the LPGA's ratings grew 30 percent. Will it last?"
Events in Hawaii aren't bringing much more to the pig roast than some gnarly surfing opportunities for those involved. What was once a great perk has become a chore and it's not working.
Send everybody to Vegas or L.A. and it will work out better for all involved.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem got a four-year extension and will be on the job through 2016. He gets a lot of credit for keeping the tour thriving through choppy economic times. Finchem will be close to 70 when that extension runs out. There is no clear successor for the gig, so the tour has four years to find one.
- I'm available for aforementioned position.
- If Hawaiian events are outdated, so were five-round tournaments, so good news this week's Humana Challenge was trimmed to four. Pres. Clinton is heavily involved, thus the appearance of Greg Norman, a good buddy of the former President.
- According to ESPN, a poorly-kept secret may be reality. ESPN is reporting that Tiger Woods will team with Tony Romo at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Doesn't make pro-ams any more interesting.
- Movie moment - Normally I try to catch Oscar nominated films before the awards and nominations are around the corner. Which would I like to see less - a French silent film, or a movie about a horse? In its defense, it is a "War Horse."
<< Rose sidelined because of toe injury
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose will sit out
Monday's game against Memphis because of a lingering toe problem.
Rose was initially hurt during a January 10 game against Minnesota and missed
the following night'
<< Zumaya headed to Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins and reliever Joel
Zumaya have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the deal will pay the oft-injured
right-hander $800,000 with
<< Ragan signs with Front Row Motorsports
Statesville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ragan will drive the No.34 Ford for
Front Row Motorsports during the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, the team
announced on Monday.
Ragan drove the No.6 car for Roush Fenway Racing in Sprint C
<< Tigers avoid arbitration with Porcello, Coke
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have avoided arbitration
with Rick Porcello and Phil Coke, agreeing to one-year contracts with both
pitchers on Monday.
Porcello made 31 starts for the Tigers last season, going 1
Syracuse remains top team in men's hoops poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse is again the top team in the latest
Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Orange, after double-digit wins over Villanova and Providence last week,
again earned 60 first-place vote
Anderson, Stalberg, Malkin named NHL's 'Three Stars' >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson,
Chicago Blackhawks left winger Viktor Stalberg, and Pittsburgh Penguins center
Evgeni Malkin have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending
January
Stars' Ribeiro lands on IR >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars placed center Mike Ribeiro on
injured reserve Monday.
The move is retroactive to January 7, when he suffered a lower-body injury
against the Edmonton Oilers.
In 40 games this season, Ri
Wagner makes huge leap in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnson Wagner's victory Sunday at the
Sony Open in Hawaii eared him a huge leap in this week's world rankings.
Wagner rocketed up 106 spots to No. 92 this week after his two-stroke victory.
Luke Do
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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