There have been a lot of jokes and controversy at the expense of Tiger Woods since the news leaked out of his extramarital affairs.  I felt it was necessary to offer my two cents into the pot and so here it goes.  Tiger Woods is human too.  I know it is hard to believe.  He is one of the best golfers to ever walk onto a golf course and in many ways he has seemed indestructible over the years.  But like other humans he is vulnerable to the temptations of the world.

Please do not misunderstand me.  I do not make excuses for Tiger Woods or the path he chose to partake.  Unfortunately that path is taken by many human beings everyday but it is magnified and dissected when you are in the limelight.  Once again, Tiger Woods earned over 100 million dollars last year and the limelight and fame is the price to pay for invasion of privacy.

Tiger Woods may seem like a god in the golfing circle but he not a God.  He is a human being who is as open to making mistakes as all of us.  What Tiger did was wrong.  He knows it and his wife knows it and Tiger will have to work as hard at his personal life as he has in his golfing career if he wants to save his marriage.  Perhaps he is on the road to doing so as it has been reported that he is in rehap for sex addiction at Pine Grove Behavior Health and Addiction Clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Regardless of how Tiger’s personal life turns out it will never change what he has accomplished in the world of golf.  It is my sincere hope that Tiger will continue to place his emphasis on saving his marriage, be successful and then return to the golf course to extend his legend.  Tiger made some bad choices.  He will have to live with those choices for the rest of his life.  In the end is but a human and must confront his demons just like the rest of us.  You can bet on the fact that he will be back to take his place as the number one golfer in the world.  Take that too the bank.  Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.

Thursday, August 27th, the Pro Golf Playoffs begin in search of the FedEx Cup and the Ten Million Dollar reward that waits at the end of the 4 week tournament. The battle begins at the Barclays. 124 of the best Pro Golfers will begin in the competition. This will include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. There is much discussion about these playoffs and where they should rank in importance compared to a Major Tournament. Every Pro Golfer has their own opinion.

Many feel like a Major is more important because they have been around for so much longer. Others feel like this 4 week playoffs for the FedEx Cup brings the best field together for the longest period of time. In addition, the ten million dollar reward is nothing to laugh at either.

The 4 week playoffs begin at the Barclays in Jersey City, New Jersey the first week. The second week will have the top 100 moving on to the TPC Boston for the Deutsche Bank Championship. Week 3 of the playoffs will be held at Cog Hill, which is located just outside Chicago.

Here the top 70 players to that point will compete in the BMW Championship. The top 30 players will then meet in Atlanta for the final competition for the FedEx Cup and ten million dollars. It is hard enough to play well against a great field in a one week tournament; it is even harder to do so for a month. The excitement is definately building.

There is one thing the Pro Golfers do agree on when it cups to winning the FedEx Cup. They all agree that you will not see just anybody win it. During a one week Major Championship every once in a while a golfer comes out of no where to snatch it away like Y.E. Yang did at the PGA Championship over Tiger Woods. However, this is not likely to happen in these playoffs. The name that you will see on this Championship Cup will be a well known seasoned golfer.

Y.E. Yang deserves all the credit for winning the PGA Championship but it takes pure greatness to play better than anyone else in the field for 4 straight weeks. Perhaps Yang will surprise again but it is not likely. The FedEx Cup was created to allow the best golfers in the world to compete in a playoff system that is as grueling and competitive as any tournament imaginable. This is a tournament that seperates the men from the boys, the flukes from the real deal. One good week will not do it, two great weeks will not help you; even three great weeks can leave you empty handed. You have to play well in all 4 weeks.

Tiger Woods won the first FedEx Cup but even he will have to play his best for all 4 weeks. This tournament is not for the meek at heart. So who do you put your money one? It is going to be tough but lets face it, Tiger Woods is favored whenever he starts a tournament. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.

Remember also to catch up on the latest game odds at Betus.com!

In the world of Golf Tiger Woods takes a two stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Championship.  Tiger has never lost a major when he has lead going into the final round.  There are two other golfers tied for second.  One of those is Padraig Harrington and he is breathing down Tiger’s neck pretty hard.  So it would appear that this one is Tiger’s to lose.  The odds are heavily in his favor at this point.  Tiger, even playing on a course that was pounded with rain overnight, is in a good position to win another PGA Championship and his first major of the year.

The NFL Preseason is well under way.  It is hard to make anything out of the preseason though.  Some coaches really try to win those games just to pump their team up and get them ready for the real season.  Other coaches use it for what it was created to watch their players and see how they are going to perform in real time and contact.  In the rematch of the Super Bowl from last season the Steelers beat the Cardinals 20-10.  Pittsburgh is under a lot of pressure since they won their 6th Super Bowl last year.  The last time they won the Super Bowl in 2005 they finished 8-8 the next season.  They don’t want to repeat the same process this season.  Most of the Super Bowl team is still in tact and the Steelers will be in the thick of things again this year.

Tom Brady is back after his injury and started the Patriots preseason game against Philadelphia.  He threw a couple touchdowns and an interception and the Patriots squeaked out a victory.  New England will be in the thick of things as well.  Michael Vick signed a two year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and is in his first NFL practice since he left the Atlanta Falcons to serve a prison sentence for dog fighting issues.  Having Michael Vick in Philly won’t make their QB Donovan McNabb very happy.  There were other teams where Michael Vick may have been more beneficial but it is what it is.

In Major League Baseball the New York Yankee’s have won 12 out of their last 13 games and are really making a run of it.  Some of the division races are really beginning to narrow and there should be some tight finishes.  Some of these pennant races are going to come right down to the wire.

Look for Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship today and for the Yankee’s to continue their rampage in baseball.  Monday night the Carolina Panthers play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.  Once again it is a preseason game but it should still be fun to watch.  Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.

Tiger Woods may have missed the cut at the British Open but he has won 2 tournaments since then, the Buick and the Bridgestone, and he now leads the PGA Championship by 1 after his first day.  He shot a 5 under 67 and went bogey free.  He is one stroke ahead of his playing partner.  This would be the same playing partner he dueled with at Bridgestone, Patraig Harrington.  Harrington won the PGA Championship last year and would certainly like to do so again.  Woods, the number one golfer in the world, is favored even though he is yet to win a major this year.  He has won at least one major in each of the last four years.

There has been much discussion about Tiger Woods coming into the PGA Championship.  Tiger has won 5 tournaments this year.  That would be great for the average golfer but once you have taken golf to an entirely different level 5 just is not enough.  Besides, none of those five wins was a major.  Therefore the question posed is if Tiger does not win the PGA and ends the season without a major could he still consider it a successful year?  Most say this year would be a failure for him without a major under his belt.  Perhaps this is true.  Even Tiger judges his success by his ability to win majors.

However, Tiger, although we seldom allow him to be, is still human.  A year without a major would not be the end of his career or a tarnish on his legacy.  He is still the best overall golfer of his generation.  Tiger knows the importance of getting off to a good start.  He also knows that a great day one does not win a tournament.  Tiger is well aware of his field and he knows that to win he will have to be at his very best, which he appears to be after day one.  Tiger has won 2 straight and he knows more than any sports writer how important this major is to him.

At 7,674 yards this course is the longest in PGA Championship history.  That did not stop Tiger today.  Tiger knows that it is not how long the course is but how long you play it.  Tiger has a strong field and although he is favored to win and the odds are normally in his corner the pressure is on.  With players like Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Angel Cabrera and Stewart Cink on his tail he will have to play the course short.  I know it gets boring betting on Tiger Woods but I find it hard to bet against him.  Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.

In Akron, Ohio at the Bridgestone Invitational Tiger Woods trails Padraig Harrington by three strokes.  Harrington was feeling pretty comfortable until he looked up at the scoreboard and realized that Tiger was in second place.  Tiger has been almost unbeatable at Firestone and Harrington is well aware of it.  Harrington wanted to have the best lead possible going into Sunday but he knows there may not be a safe lead over the number one golfer in the world.  Tomorrow should really be interesting.  Tiger has won 6 out of 10 times playing at Firestone and he would like to make it 7 of 11.  Harrington and Woods will be paired up in the same group and it should be a great finish.

UFC 101 is about to begin and there are some pretty good matches tonight.  B.J. Penn is taking on Kenny Florian and is the favorite to win.  Anderson Silva is facing Forrest Griffin and is a huge favorite to win this one.  Johny Hendricks is set to battle Amir Sadollah with Sadollah picked to win.  There are quite a few less known contests but the Penn fight and Silva fight will get all the attention.  Anderson Silva should beat Griffin as long as he does not get to cocky and Penn should have no real problem with Kenny Florian but as with any competition you just don’t know until it is over.

The College Football polls came out today with a list of the top ten NCAA teams in the country.  The list goes as follows:  Florida at number 1, Texas at number 2, Oklahoma at number 3 and USC at number 4.  Alabama rounded out the top 5.  Ohio State came in at number 6 with Virginia Tech at number 7.  Number 8 was Penn State with LSU and Mississippi rounded out the top ten.  It is going to be another great NCAA Football season.

In the NFL the Hall of Fame Game will be played on Sunday between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans.  This event kicks off the NFL preseason and I can feel the excitement building.  The NFL season is upon us again and it should be a lot of fun.  There are going to be some great match ups and we will keep you posted on them all season long.  There may be some surprises in the NFL this year like Arizona in 2008.  Betters be ready because it is going to be a great season.  Until we meet again may your betting be better and may you always remember to be a good sport.

It is hard to believe but the NFL season is right around the corner.  As usual during the off season Coaches were replaced and some big name players were traded to other teams.  Lets briefly look at what may lay ahead in the upcoming season.  In the AFC East watch out for Miami and Buffalo.  In the AFC North Indy and the Titans will fall out of contention and the Texans will make a surprise run.  In the AFC West San Diego should hold on but Kansas City is the team to watch.  In the AFC South the Steelers did a great job of keeping the nucleous of their Super Bowl winning team.  They should win their division but Baltimore will be a thorn in their side again.  In the NFC East eyes are on the Eagles but Dallas may still have something to say.  In the NFC North a lot will depend upon rather Brent Farve ends up with the Vikings.  Chicago should be a threat now that they have a Quarterback in Jay Cutler.  In the NFC South keep your eyes on the upstart Atlanta Falcons with Matt Ryan moving into his second year and having newly acquired Tony Gonzales. The NFC West is up in the air.  Arizona may still be the team to beat there but the Rams and 49ers have second year coaches that are fired up and hungry.  Both could easily make a run in that division.  We will have our precise picks as the season draws nearer.

In the Tennis world there is a lot of anticipation that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may still have a chance to meet in the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada next month.  Nadal did not compete at Wimbledon due to a knee injury.  He should be ready to go for the Rogers Cup on August 8th.  Many tennis fans were foaming at the mouth in hopes of seeing the two superstars meet at Wimbledon but it was not too be and Federer ended up winning his 15th Grand Slam and 6th Wimbledon Championship.

In Golf Tiger Woods will visit Australia for the first time in 11 years when he participates in the Australian Masters in November.  Grandstand seats for this event are already selling out.  Woods did not fair well when he played in the 1996 Australian Open where he finished 12 strokes behind winner Greg Norman or in the 1997 Australian Masters where he finished 8th behind winner Peter Lonard.  However, eleven years have made quite a difference in Tiger Woods.  The Melbourne fans know this will be one of the few chances that they will get to see this Golf legend play.

In the UFC they are preparing for their biggest event in history tomorrow night in Las Vegas at UFC 100.  Brock Lesnar is being picked to defeat Frank Mir in their rematch that highlights the event.  Frank Mir won their initial meeting but Lesnar is a little better than he was then.  Georges St. Perrie is picked to beat his opponent Thiago Alves.  There are some exciting matchups on this card and there could be some upsets.  You can check out our lates odds right here at the Sportsbook Gazette.  Somethings in sports never change there will always be the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Until we meet again good betting and always remember to be a good sport.