89th PGA Championship Preview

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08/06/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Tiger Woods failed to win a major in one season was 2004. Sure, it's only three years ago, but since his historic Masters win in 1997, there have only been three seasons without a major for Woods.

We will be looking at another majorless campaign if Woods does not win the 89th PGA Championship, starting Thursday at Southern Hills.

He certainly seems poised for a good week. Amidst the final-round grouping hoopla surrounding Woods and Rory Sabbatini Sunday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Woods dominated. Maybe not dominated, but he humiliated not just Sabbatini, but the whole field and Firestone Country Club.

You get the feeling we could be in store for that this week. Aside from his outrageous performance at the WGC event, Woods is a firm believer in history. Majors are what drive the cart and the wagon has been somewhat derailed in the first three majors of '07.

Woods has held a share of the lead on Sunday at both the Masters and U.S. Open. We've become accustomed to Woods running away with it when he has the lead, but so far, 2007 has been a wash.

That gnaws at the greatest player in the game. Woods' pursuit of history (Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors) drives him to greatness, but Southern Hills may not be the best track for him.

Woods, who tied for 12th at Southern Hills during the 2001 U.S. Open, has one hole in his game and that is wayward tee shots. Southern Hills is full of twists and turns, so length will not be necessary for victory.

Not that the design eliminates Woods. There is not an architect out there that has sculpted a course at which Woods could not win. Southern Hills is no different, but the names you are looking for are average-length hitters with sharp iron play and patience.

Masters champion Zach Johnson fits that mold. As does British Open winner Padraig Harrington, but don't sleep on names like Scott Verplank, Luke Donald or Justin Leonard.

Nor should you forget about Angel Cabrera, the U.S. Open champion. Southern Hills hosted the USGA flagship just six years prior, so what's to say he couldn't contend on a similar track to Oakmont? How about the fact that Cabrera tied for seventh in 2001? Starting to look like he could be a perennial on this list.

Retief Goosen won the U.S. Open here six years ago, so obviously the South African would be a favorite. However he is mired in a horrific slump this year which has seen one top 10 on the PGA Tour.

Jim Furyk would be an ideal choice, but a back injury forced him to withdraw from Firestone. If he's healthy, and simply caught one of those "one-week" back injuries, he could compete.

Phil Mickelson has missed the cut in the last two majors and did not play well at the Bridgestone. Is his wrist 100 percent? Can he handle the conditions, which should rival the inner crust of the Earth's core?

Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and any other big-name guy could win here, but the PGA Championship has favored more of the run-of-the-mill player than has any other major championship.

How many had Shaun Micheel or Rich Beem in their office pool? Even further back in tournament history, names like Bob Tway, Jeff Sluman and Wayne Grady are etched on the Wanamaker Trophy.

Who could be that player this year? Joe Durant, Rod Pampling and Hunter Mahan all make a lot of sense. Lucas Glover is trying to hold onto that final automatic Presidents Cup spot. (Both teams are finalized after Sunday's final round.)

No matter what team you are trying to get on, or how many points you can accumulate for the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs, you have to get past Eldrick Woods.

Trying to get that last major of the year, Woods will be focused, and clearly his game is in shape. It gets boring picking him, but after an eight-shot win at a difficult course, wouldn't you?

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

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The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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