5-29-14

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EZWINNERS

2 STAR SELECTION: (960) Minnesota Twins -$120
(Risking $240 to win $200)
(Action)

2 STAR SELECTION: (961) Detroit Tigers +$125
(Risking $200 to win $250)
(Action)

2 STAR SELECTION: (969) Atlanta Braves -$110
(Risking $220 to win $200)
(Action)

2 STAR SELECTION: (965) Baltimore Orioles -$125
(Risking $250 to win $200)
(Action)

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BEN BURNS

9* *VERY EARLY* MLB Breakfast Club!
Minnesota Twins ML -114

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PAUL LEINER

500* Orioles -130
100* Reds +105
50* Redsox -115

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DENVER MONEY

MLB totals
Rangers @ Twins - Over 8.5 -115

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PGA Tour Picks: The Memorial Tournament Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews

The final round of the 2014 Masters was rather drama-free. Thus, I have no problem saying the most exciting day of golf so far this year was last Sunday. In his first tournament as the world’s No. 1 player Adam Scott won the Colonial, a tournament he only entered late because he wanted to make sure he played at least one event as the world’s top-ranked player. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy came from seven shots back on Sunday to win the European Tour’s top event, the BMW PGA Championship, in the wake of his very public split with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

Scott sure didn’t look like the world No. 1 on his first nine holes of the Colonial as he was 4-over. But on the back-nine Sunday he was a bogey-free 3-under and beat Jason Dufner on the third hole of a playoff (Scott birdied two of those). Scott was the sixth consecutive come-from-behind winner at the Colonial; he and Dufner started the final round tied for 11th. The victory assured Scott remained at No. 1 for this week as he could have lost it to Henrik Stenson. Scott is also the first player to win all four PGA Tour events staged in Texas in his career.

Scott was 16/1 to win, and I didn’t think he would play that well, to be honest, what with the pressure of being No. 1 and a bit of rust. Plus, he hadn’t played Colonial in a while. I went with Zach Johnson to win as he owns that course, but he was a monumentally disappointing 73rd. I liked Matt Kuchar for yet another Top 10, but he shockingly missed the cut. I think he’s just tired as Kuchar plays practically every week. I didn’t get much right last week other than expecting Ryan Palmer to have a good tournament, and he finished T5.

Now the Tour heads to Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. This will be the final warm-up tournament for many top players ahead of the U.S. Open, although a few will play next week in Memphis. The Memorial is one of Tiger Woods’ favorite non-major tournaments, and he usually dominates the event. But he’s still nowhere near ready to return. Usually this is a terrific field, one of the best non-majors on Tour, and it is again with eight of the world’s Top 12 and 18 of the Top 25 playing. Scott, McIlroy and defending champion Kuchar lead that group. Last year, Kuchar beat out Kevin Chappell by two shots. Muirfield Village’s overall scoring average of 73.256 made it the second hardest non-major course on Tour (but hardest par 72). Kuchar and Chappell were the only players with all four rounds under par.

Jason Day is also expecting to play. He hasn’t since the Masters and has been battling a thumb injury since February. Day now lives nearby as his wife his from the area. This really starts Phil Mickelson’s laser-like focus to win the U.S. Open. He also is expected to play next week. The U.S. Open has been his stated main goal all year.

PGA Tour Golf Odds: The Memorial Tournament Favorites

McIlroy is the 8/1 favorite at Bovada . Last week’s win was his eighth Top-10 finish in nine stroke-play events in 2014 across the world, and he’s putting out of his mind these days. I just can’t pick him to win back-to-back weeks, especially with all the travel. He was T58 here last year after an opening 78.

Scott is the 10/1 second-favorite , and because he won last week I don’t expect a ton from him, either. The Aussie was 13th at the Memorial last year and had back-to-back top-5 finishes at Muirfield Village in 2006 and 2007.

Kuchar (14/1), Justin Rose (16/1) and Dustin Johnson (22/1) round out the favorites. Kuchar’s win in 2013 was his fifth straight Top-10 at Memorial, and perhaps getting last weekend off will be a blessing in disguise. Rose’s first PGA Tour win was at the Memorial in 2010. He was T8 last year. DJ missed the cut in 2013 but was fourth at the Memorial in 2011.

PGA Tour Picks: The Memorial Tournament Predictions

On the Top-10 props, take Kuchar at +125, Mickelson at +200 as I think he’s focused now, Rose at +135 and McIlroy at -130. Do take Scott as the top Aussie at 2/3 because Day (9/2) is going to be rusty and doesn’t have a good track record at Muirfield. I like Luke Donald at +175 over Rose (-110) as the top Englishman, but McIlroy (11/8) as the top European. Go with Ernie Els, who knows this course as well as anyone, at 13/2 as the top South African.

Head-to-head, take Donald (-115) over Johnson (-115), Mickelson (-115) over Jordan Spieth (-115), Bubba Watson (-115) over Day (-115), Charl Schwartzel (-115) over Chris Kirk (-115) and Spieth (-165) over Day (+125). Bovada also is offering a few tournament trios. I like Mickelson as the +180 long shot against Johnson (+160) and Spieth (+175). Also like Jim Furyk at +200 against Rose (+135) and Donald (+200).

Bo Van Pelt is interesting at 66/1 to win. In his past four starts in the event, he hasn’t been worse than 21st and has a third-place finish. However, I’m going with Furyk at 25/1. He has six Top-10s in his career at this tournament, was runner-up in 2009 and winner in 2002. He didn’t play great last week but had back-to-back second-place finishes before that. Furyk is overdue.

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Kuchar looks to defend Memorial title
by Freddy Wander

the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance

Tees Off: Thursday, May 29
Muirfield Village Golf Club – Dublin, OH
Odds to Win Tournament

Golfer Odds
Rory McIlroy 7-to-1
Adam Scott 9-to-1
Matt Kuchar 13-to-1
Justin Rose 16-to-1
Luke Donald 21-to-1
Dustin Johnson 22-to-1
Jim Furyk 24-to-1
Jordan Spieth 24-to-1
Phil Mickelson 24-to-1
Bubba Watson 25-to-1
Gary Woodland 30-to-1
Jason Dufner 35-to-1
Jason Day 35-to-1
Keegan Bradley 35-to-1
Charl Schwartzel 50-to-1
Steve Stricker 50-to-1
Bill Haas 55-to-1
Ryan Moore 55-to-1
Hideki Matsuyama 60-to-1
Kevin Chappell 60-to-1
J.B. Holmes 70-to-1
Hunter Mahan 70-to-1
Charles Howell III 70-to-1
4 Golfers 75-to-1
2 Golfers 90-to-1
4 Golfers 100-to-1
Paul Casey 110-to-1
4 Golfers 120-to-1
Matt Every 130-to-1
2 Golfers 140-to-1
2 Golfers 150-to-1
5 Golfers 160-to-1
Kevin Na 170-to-1
6 Golfers 180-to-1
Pat Perez 200-to-1
3 Golfers 210-to-1
2 Golfers 220-to-1
2 Golfers 230-to-1
48 Golfers 250-to-1

The PGA Tour will head to Ohio this weekend for the Memorial presented by Nationwide Insurance with a strong field where the top-75 players on last year’s money list are the only players guaranteed an invitation to the 120-man field. Last year, Matt Kuchar had no issues on the Par-72, 7,354-yard course, as he shot 12-under and defeated American Kevin Chappell by two strokes. Tiger Woods has been dominant in this tournament, winning it five times over his career, so his absence due to injury will open the door to plenty of other players this week. Last week was a big one for some of the top players in the world, as Adam Scott won the Crown Plaza Invitational, proving why he has earned the No. 1 ranking in the world, while Rory McIlroy took a victory on the European Tour; moving from 10th to sixth in the World Golf Rankings. This was actually a surprise, as much of the season has been about newcomers with names like Jimmy Walker, Brendon Todd and Chesson Hadley all getting their first career victories. Let’s take a look at a few golfers — established and non-established — who could top the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.

Golfers to Watch

Adam Scott (9/1): Scott proved worthy of his top ranking in the world last week, shooting two consecutive rounds of 66 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and finishing off the tournament with a playoff win over Jason Dufner. It was Scott’s 11th career PGA victory and he has now placed in the top-10 in half of his eight tourneys this season. He has averaged 4.2 birdies per round (4th on tour) and has a scoring average of 69.79 (5th on tour) this year while getting a birdie or better 53.9% of the time on par-5’s (best on tour). His No. 1 ranking has given Scott confidence, and he should have a good chance at making it two consecutive wins this weekend.

Justin Rose (16/1): This tournament has been a great one for Rose, who has placed in the top-8 in three of the past four years; including a victory here in 2010. He also has five top-10 finishes in his nine tournaments in 2014, with his best finish being a runner-up performance at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. His past three events have been amazing, totaling 33-under par in the three tournaments, and while his driving accuracy is not great (57%, 144th on tour), he has the ability to score from the rough with a scrambling percentage of 67.2% from there (3rd on tour).

Matt Kuchar (13/1): Kuchar has had a tremendous season so far, and even though he was unable to make the cut in last week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational, he has still placed in the top-5 in half of his 14 tournaments. He earned his sixth career victory here last season and has done well at Muirfield Village many times in the past, placing fifth in 2009, eighth in 2010 and coming in second in 2011. Unsurprisingly, Kuchar has the best scoring average on tour (69.44) this year and could use that to win his eighth career PGA event come Sunday.

Freddie Jacobson (100/1): Jacobson will be turning 40 years old this season and is coming off his best performance of the year as he placed in third at the Crowne Plaza Invitational this past weekend. Jacobson has just one career PGA victory on his resume, but has been incredible on the green this year, gaining .825 strokes putting (6th on tour) and three-putting just 1.1% of the time (best on tour), which gives him a strong chance in this tourney.

George McNeill (250/1): McNeill is having one of the best seasons of his career and has placed in the top-10 three times already this year. He has been one of the better scorers on par-3’s, making a birdie or better 15.8% of the time (27th on tour) and is even overall on the short holes this year (17th on tour). McNeill does have two career PGA victories and could be a nice longshot pick for this tournament

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Chase Diamond

10* Boston -115

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Las Vegas Pipeline

15* NY Rangers

10* Blue Jays

10* Spurs

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River City Sharps

Pirates -104 over LAD

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Diamond Dog Sports

For 5/29



Sides 53-43-0
+1,534

#959: Rangers: +105 0.5*
Listed Pitchers: Martinez / Deduno



Totals 41-50-5
-2,220


#951/952: Over Phillies 8.0 -115 2*
Listed Pitchers: Wheeler / Buchanan

#959/960: Under Twins: 8.5 -110 1.5*
Listed Pitchers: Martinez / Deduno

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PowerPlayWins

Plays Of The Day

* MLB Minnesota Twins-110
* MLB Toronto Blue Jays -115
* MLB Boston Red Sox -115
* MLB Baltimore Orioles -130
* NBA San Antonio Spurs -4.5

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GOODFELLA

2* OAKLAND A’s

(Listed Pitchers)

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Prime Time Sports

5* OKC / S Ant OVER 206

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Tampasports
minnesota m.line

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River City Sharps

The Pirates travel to Los Angeles to start a three-game series tonight vs. the Dodgers as they try and break out of a mini-slide. The Bucs have lost three of their last four games and tonight will send Gerrit Cole (4-3, 3.76 ERA) to the mound and he will be opposed by Dan Haren (5-3, 3.16 ERA), who was roughed up in his last start vs. the Phillies. The Dodgers haven't exactly taken advantage of being at home so far this season, sporting an 11-14 home record so far this year. The line movement seems very interesting to us, which is another strong reason for the play on the Bucs. Lots of the public hopping on the Dodgers here at home tonight, yet the line seems to be moving towards the road doggie. A great reason for us to back them as well! The Sharps say...

3 UNITS - PITTSBURGH PIRATES (-104)