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Sports 44 Monday, March 21, 2016 The San Juan Daily <strong>Star</strong> Jordan Spieth Continues to Be Favorite to Win 2016 Masters By JOSH SENS Jordan Spieth is a favorite to repeat. But Rickie Fowler has attracted the most action. And Tiger Woods still has a puncher’s chance at nabbing his fifth green jacket, though the odds seem slim that he’ll even play. Those and other nuggets make up the latest Masters news from the gambling frontline of Las Vegas in advance of the most wagered-on golf tournament of the year. “We look at the stats, historical performance, recent performance, all of that,” says Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports books for MGM Resorts. “But in golf, as in Nascar and so many other individual sports, popularity drives the betting board.” By that measure, if this were high school, Spieth would have the hand of the homecoming queen. This year’s defending champ has been the Masters favorite since last summer, when the line on him opened at 7-to-1. His recent struggles have done nothing to dampen the gambling public’s enthusiasm for him. His odds are now down to 5-to-1. Next up on the list, at 6-to-1, is 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott, whose recent back-to-back Tour wins have brought him back into the conversation. He’s followed by Rory McIlroy, who needs only the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam. If the numbers are right, there’s an 8-to-1 chance that the Northern Irishman will do just that. Then again, the numbers are rarely a reflection of a golfer’s actual chance of winning. As an example, Rood cites Justin Rose, now on the blocks at 25-to-1. Never mind the fact that Rose has competed in 47 majors, and come away with just one major title. “He’s obviously a great player, and there’s always that sense of potential,” Rood says. “But his actual odds of winning are probably more like 60 to 80-to-1.” Popularity and potential. Both have influenced the action on Rickie Fowler, who has drawn more Masters wagers at MGM than any other player in the Masters field. Fowler is major-less, but his Augusta odds (10-to-1) are the same as those for Bubba Watson, who has won two of the last four Masters. Compare those seemingly skewed figures to the odds for Phil Mickelson: 9-to-1 on a guy who has won three Masters in 23 appearances is a rare instance of the numbers roughly lining up with what a player has actually done. Of course, the so-called “smart money” often gravitates towards numerical longshots whose odds appear statistically outof-whack. Good luck sniffing out those sleepers. Could it be Angel Cabrera at 100-to-1? Or Louis Oosthuizen at 40-to-1? Rood says he’s eyeballing Matt Kuchar (60-to-1). “Throughout his career, he’s basically been a license to print money,” Rood says, “though maybe more for himself than for people betting on him.” Then there’s Tiger Woods, who, during his early 2000s peak, warped the betting board like no other golfer before or since. On the mend from back surgery, Woods is listed at 80-to-1, though the odds of him being ready to compete seem even worse. “Tiger has shown that he can be a factor at Augusta even when he’s nowhere near his best,” Rood says. “So if there’s even a chance that he might play...well, put it this way: we’ve been getting a ton of bets on him.” Simeone: Atlético Facing the World’s Best in Barcelona By CHRIS MYSON The Atleti boss reveals his excitement after his side was drawn against the La Liga leader in the final eight of the Champions League. Diego Simeone feels Atletico Madrid will be up against the best team in the world when the club takes on Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals. The two La Liga rivals will meet in the last eight after Friday’s draw in Nyon produced a repeat of the 2013-14 tie at the same stage, which Atletico won 2-1 on aggregate. Simeone, though, warned Barca has improved substantially since that encounter, but still spoke of his excitement ahead of the two-legged clash. “We have seen the draw and they are an important rival, the best in the world, surely,” he said. “I’m really excited about it. What better incentive for us than to play against the best team in the world? Asked about the repeat of the tie from two seasons ago, Simeone said: “They are another team, a different team and they have more options. “They manage dead balls better, they are better on the counter, they have had the continuity of Neymar for the last two years, the presence of [Luis] Suarez and a better bench.” Messi has 25 goals in 27 games v Atlético, including 3 hat-tricks. — Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) Atletico director Clemente Villaverde believes the tie is too close to call, with his team having proven it can compete with the best. “Luck has decided that our opponents be Barcelona and we will take it,” he said. “You have to fight against Barca. The tie is 50-50 because we have shown how strong we are in the Liga. We should do what we know. “All opponents are hard and you have to respect them all immensely. We just have to do our thing.” The teams hold the top two spots in La Liga, with Barca clear at the summit. Draw facts • Wolfsburg and Real Madrid have never previously met. Wolfsburg’s Julian Draxler was in the Schalke team beaten by Madrid in the 2013/14 round of 16. • Bayern have won four of their six matches against Benfica, drawing the other two. The clubs have not played each other since 1995. • Barcelona have won their last six fixtures against Atlético in all competitions, Lionel Messi scoring in five of them. • Messi has registered 25 goals in 27 games against Atlético, including three hat-tricks. • Barcelona and Atlético came together in the 2013/14 quarter-finals, Atletico winning 1-0 at home after a 1-1 away draw. • This is the third year running Atlético have faced a Spanish side in the quarter-finals – they lost 1-0 to Madrid over two legs 12 months ago. • Paris and Manchester City played out a 0-0 draw at the City of Manchester Stadium in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, their only past encounter.
The San Juan Daily <strong>Star</strong> Monday, March 21, 2016 45 Games Sudoku How to Play: Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9. Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Crossword Wordsearch O F F S E T O W E R E D W O V M R S E L D N A H N A M V B L U R B I O V E R D R A W W E D I T S L G B R M A N T L N O I T A I T N E R E F F I B S S B I N O M I A L A C K E E A D M I T T E D E D N U A C C O M P L I S H M E N T K A L N W A X E S N O I N O S L H O R R E N D O U S L Y D P U R U D G T D D L T T D N S O A L D R H S I Y I M S E I A I C Y I E L D S I K E T M N G L A D E W O S K N Q W G B O A S T U R E E N S G W Accomplishments Admitted Alone Aspens Beaks Binomial Blurb Boast Caulk Cloudier Differentiation Di i Dirge Disks Donor Eddying Edits Funded Glade Horrendously Hosts Kilos Lacks M h dl Mantle Misplaces Mutant Nutmeg Offset Onions Overdraw Pawed Powder Seedling Sowed S il Steam Tends Towered Tureen Waxes Yields Answers on page 46
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