Azinger to captain U.S. Ryder Cup squad

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11/06/2006 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The PGA of America officially announced on Monday that 1993 PGA champion Paul Azinger will captain the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team.

Azinger will lead the United States team against his former broadcast partner, Nick Faldo, and the European team at Valhalla Golf Club. The 37th Ryder Cup matches will be contested September 19-21, 2008.

The 46-year-old Azinger, who played in the Ryder Cup in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 2002, collected a 5-7-3 record. He was 2-0-2 in singles, 2-2 in foursomes and struggled to a 1-5-1 mark in fourball play.

The U.S. team has lost the last two Ryder Cups by an 18 1/2 - 9 1/2 margin. The United States leads the all-time series 24-10-2, but the Europeans have won five of the last six Cups.

Azinger, who missed most of the 1994 season due to chemotherapy and radiation treatments for lymphoma in his right shoulder, finished inside the top-125 on the PGA Tour money list in 2006 despite splitting his time between playing and broadcasting for ABC Sports.

"Paul Azinger's passion for the game, his courage to battle back from debilitating disease and his leadership in past Ryder Cups make him the ideal leader to guide the American team in 2008 at Valhalla," said PGA of America President Roger Warren in a release. "Paul is one of the game's biggest supporters of the Ryder Cup and his performances have earned him the respect of his peers as well as many around the world."

The 12-time winner on the PGA Tour collected seven top-25 finishes this year after just six in the previous two seasons combined. That helped him finish inside the top-125 on the money list for the first time since the 2002 season.

Azinger's last tour win came at the 2000 Sony Open. That was his first title since defeating Greg Norman in a playoff at the 1993 PGA Championship.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

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While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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