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Arnold wins Victorian Open

Golf Betting Lines

01/08/2012 - Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Arnold shot a three-under 68 on Sunday to win the Victorian Open by a stroke over Kurt Barnes.

Arnold finished four rounds at 12-under 272 to capture his first professional victory at Spring Valley Golf Club. He was able to hold off Barnes, who shot a five-under 66 in the final round and finished at minus-11.

"It's great, especially the way I did it as well," Arnold said. "I just sort of hung in there all day."

Michael Hendry, who was tied with Arnold coming into the day, shot his second straight two-over 73 en route to a third-place finish at seven-under 277.

Matthew Ballard (72), Peter Lonard (67), Leigh McKechnie (66) and Nick Cullen (66) shared fourth at five-under 279.

<< Ivanovic ousted in Sydney
Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lucie Safarova, the last direct entrant into the $637,000 Apia International Sydney tennis tournament, ousted Serbian Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in a first-round matchup Sunday. Thanks to a No. 25 r

<< Iginla'a 500th the difference as Flames beat Wild
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla scored the 500th goal of his career to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome. Iginla became the 42nd player in NHL history to achieve the

<< Sharks continue home success against Caps
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Marleau had a goal and two assists, as the Sharks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday. Jason Demers, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Torrey Mitchell also scored for the Sharks, who

<< Clippers edge Bucks for third straight win
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers held off Milwaukee, 92-86, at Staples Center. Caron Butler contributed 20 points in the third consecutive win for

<< Niculescu exits early in Hobart
Hobart, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anna Chakvetadze ousted third-seeded Monica Niculescu from the $220,000 Moorilla Hobart International with a 6-0, 6-4 victory in first-round action on Sunday. Seventh-seeded Ksenia Pervak also to

Oosthuizen repeats as Africa Open champ >>
East London, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen's final birdie on the 17th hole on Sunday was enough to propel him to a second straight Africa Open title over upstart Tjaart Van Der Walt. Oosthuizen finished the final round w

Flyers and Sens cap home-and-home in Ottawa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Briere turned in a memorable performance to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a home victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Briere will try to stay hot today when the clubs meet again at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place f

Red Wings visit Blackhawks for Central battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Central Division showdown is on tap tonight in the Windy City, as the Chicago Blackhawks welcome the rival Detroit Red Wings to the United Center. St. Louis is currently on top of the crowded Central Division with 53 poi

Ducks welcome Blue Jackets to Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to post consecutive victories for the first time since October when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Honda Center in tonight's clash between the Western Conference's bottom- two teams.

Top-25 foes meet in Big Ten brawl >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers try to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2008-2009 as they visit the 16th-ranked Michigan Wolverines for a Big Ten Conference showdown at Crisler Center. This

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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