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03/22/2009 - Porto Santo, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Estanislao Goya held off Callum Macaulay to win the Madeira Islands Open on Sunday, closing with a two-over 73 in the final round to claim his first European Tour victory.
Goya, a 20-year-old Argentine who was the top money winner on the Latin American tour last year, escaped with a one-shot win over a hard-charging Macaulay despite making a double-bogey on the 16th hole.
The young winner finished four rounds at Porto Santo Golfe at six-under 278 -- one of just eight players to finish under-par on the tough Seve Ballesteros- designed course.
"I am so happy to have made one of my dreams come true," Goya said.
Macaulay fired a seven-under 64 to climb from a tie for 10th into solo second place at five-under 279. His final-round score was almost 10 shots better than the day's average -- due almost entirely to a stunning back-nine finish.
The 25-year-old Scotsman birdied eight of his last nine holes -- including six in a row to end the round -- to shoot a 28 on the back side.
Amazingly, Macaulay was 11 shots off the lead when reached the No. 10 tee.
"I'm over the moon with [the finish]," he said. "I certainly couldn't do any more than I did over the back because it's not an easy golf course."
Wil Besseling (69) and Damien McGrane (72) shared third place at four-under 280, while Anthony Wall (67) finished fifth at three-under 281 and Michael Hoey (72) took sixth at two-under 282.
Thomas Aiken (71) and Joakim Haeggman (72) were the only other players to shoot under-par, finishing at one-under 283.
Goya, making just his sixth European Tour start, carried a three-shot lead into the final round and looked to be in charge of the tournament after he birdied No. 1 on Sunday.
A double-bogey at the third hole gave him a wake-up call, but Goya birdied the sixth and then strung together a series of pars that left him even-par for the round through 12 holes.
Goya's bogey at the 13th was offset by a birdie at the 14th, and he still appeared in control despite Macaulay's birdie streak. But a double-bogey at the 16th left Goya with only a one-shot lead.
Luckily for the youngster, Goya managed to par his remaining two holes for the win and a two-year exemption on tour.
"I want to be one of the best players in the world and this is one of the steps that I have to take to do that," said Goya. "It's amazing that I have my tour card for the next two years and a win here in Madeira. It was just over a year ago that I was thinking how much I would love to play in Europe and here I am now having won -- it has happened so quickly."
Macaulay, making only his fifth start after earning a tour card at Q-school, tied the course record with his 64. His back-nine 28 was one stroke shy of the tour record.
"To come back in 28 is unbelievable, really. I don't think I have ever done that at my home course, never mind here on The European Tour," said Macaulay.
"It's a great result for me, and it will certainly help the confidence. I always felt that I could compete out here if I played my best and I suppose this just confirms that. It's brilliant to have finished second and I can go to the next two tournaments with a lot of belief in myself."
<< Blackhawks activate RW Sharp
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have activated right
wing Patrick Sharp off injured reserve.
Sharp had missed Chicago's last 16 games with a lower body injury. He was hurt
in a February 14 game against San Jose a
<< BU earns top seed for NCAA hockey tourney
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University has been rewarded with
the top overall seed for the 2009 NCAA hockey tournament.
The Terriers (31-6-4) will be the top seed in the Northeast Regional, while
the other No. 1 seeds f
<< Bruins host Devils in clash between East's top teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will clash
today in Beantown, as the Boston Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils for a
showdown at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins leads the Northeast Division as well as the con
<< No. 1 Louisville to try and avoid upset at hands of Siena
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Midwest Regional was full of upsets on the
first day and the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will try to avoid one
themselves against the ninth-seeded Siena Saints in second-round play at UD
Arena this evening.
Twente closes gap to nine points >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Twente revived its fading title hopes
on Sunday with a 2-1 win over 10-man Groningen at Arke Stadion, while leaders
AZ Alkmaar finished 0-0 with Feyenoord.
Groningen was reduced to 10 men just 12
Not So Hard: Syracuse advances to Sweet 16 >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins
added 17, as Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a
78-67 victory over Arizona State at American Airlines Arena.
Rick Jackson chipped
Top-seeded Huskies cruise into second round >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles piled up 32 points and 11
rebounds, leading the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to a 104-65 rout over the
16th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charles
Guerrero's double helps Hamburg keep pace >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Paolo Guerrero scored two goals
in a four-minute span in the second half to lead Hamburg to a 2-1 win over
Schalke at Veltins Arena on Sunday.
Guerrero didn't crack the scoreboard until th
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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