The historic Colonial Country Club has been playing a huge role in golf for a number of years. This year, it is going to be host once again to one of the more prestigious tournaments leading up to the US Open. We are set to make our 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational picks!

2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Predictions & Info
2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Dates: Thursday, May 24th – Sunday, May 27th, 2012
2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Location: Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, TX
Defending Crowne Plaza Invitational Winner: David Toms
2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational TV Coverage – Network: Golf Channel, CBS

The man of the hour last year at the Colonial was none other than David Toms (Odds To Win 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational: 25 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). It has been a year since Toms outlasted Charlie Wi on the final day of the 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and he hasn’t been a winner since that point. However, Toms is still a consistent golfer, and he came up just short of winning the 2011 Players Championship as well. He played well at this year’s TPC as well, logging a -7 and a strong final round of 65 to finish 10th, his second Top 10 and fourth Top 20 finish of the year. Toms is a golfer that you might be able to get at a great price that could turn out to pay dividends at the end here in Fort Worth on Sunday.

With Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson all sitting this tournament out, there aren’t a lot of big time names at the event. Still, that doesn’t mean that a youngster like Rickie Fowler (Crowne Plaza Invitational Odds: 17 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook) can’t find a way to sneak into the discussion in the Lone Star State. Fowler has been red hot, finishing tied for second at the Players Championship a week after winning the Wells Fargo Championship for his first PGA Tour title. It was the third event in a row in which Fowler finished in the Top 10, and he rides that streak coming into this week in Fort Worth. If Fowler can keep up his solid play, he will be a man that can beat the Colonial odds this year.

List Of Past Crowne Plaza Invitational Winners (Since 2000)
2011 – David Toms
2010 – Zach Johnson
2009 – Steve Stricker
2008 – Phil Mickelson
2007 – Rory Sabbatini
2006 – Tim Herron
2005 – Kenny Perry
2004 – Steve Flesch
2003 – Kenny Perry
2002 – Nick Price
2001 – Sergio Garcia
2000 – Phil Mickelson

The man to post the lowest ever score in Crowne Plaza Invitational history is Zach Johnson (Odds To Win The Crowne Plaza Invitational: 15 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). Two years ago, Johnson fired a whopping -21 259, the lowest score ever at this tournament, and he remains the only man to ever do any better than a 261 at this event. Johnson and the rest of the field knows that it is going to take a heck of a lot of rounds in the 60s to get the job done in this tourney. Johnson hasn’t done a lot of that lately, as he enters this week’s event with just four rounds out of his last 18 in the 60s, but he still has a pair of second place finishes as a part of his three Top 10s this year. He also hasn’t finished worse than 69th in any event, and he hasn’t missed a cut all season long.

This year’s winner of the Shell Houston Open might find a home here in the Lone Star State if he can continue winning like this at this venue. Hunter Mahan (Crowne Plaza Invitational Lines: 25 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook) is going to be one of the big time favorites in this event. He is the leader in the FedEx Cup standings coming into this week, and that’s thanks to his win at not just the Shell Houston, but at the Accenture Match Play Championship as well. Mahan has been one of the more consistent golfers on the PGA Tour this year, and the idea of him coming to the Colonial and winning is one that has to be making those making Crowne Plaza Invitational picks salivate.

Odds to Win Crowne Plaza Invitational @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 5/22/12):
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Matt Kuchar 15 to 1
Zach Johnson 15 to 1
Rickie Fowler 17 to 1
Jason Dufner 18 to 1
David Mathis 23 to 1
Bo Van Pelt 25 to 1
David Toms 25 to 1
Hunter Mahan 25 to 1
Jim Furyk 32 to 1
Bill Haas 34 to 1
Louis Oosthuizen 35 to 1
Sergio Garcia 35 to 1
Ben Crane 40 to 1
Nick Watney 40 to 1
Carl Pettersson 45 to 1
Geoff Ogilvy 45 to 1
Brian Davis 50 to 1
John Senden 50 to 1
Kevin Na 52 to 1
Ryan Moore 65 to 1
Ryan Palmer 68 to 1
Charlie Wi 70 to 1
Jeff Overton 70 to 1
Pat Perez 72 to 1
Harris English 75 to 1
Sean O’Hair 78 to 1
Bryce Molder 80 to 1
Jonathan Byrd 80 to 1
Jonas Blixt 82 to 1
Marc Leishman 82 to 1
Aaron Baddeley 85 to 1
Bud Cauley 85 to 1
Vijay Singh 85 to 1
Kyle Stanley 90 to 1
Sang Moon Bae 90 to 1
Henrik Stenson 100 to 1
John Huh 100 to 1
Johnson Wagner 100 to 1
Kevin Streelman 100 to 1
Stewart Cink 100 to 1
Cameron Tringale 120 to 1
Dicky Pride 120 to 1
Gary Woodland 120 to 1
Mark Wilson 125 to 1
John Rollins 130 to 1
Blake Adams 135 to 1
Brendon De Jonge 135 to 1
Spencer Levin 135 to 1
Brian Gay 140 to 1
Kevin Stadler 140 to 1
Tim Clark 140 to 1
Graham DeLaet 145 to 1
JJ Henry 150 to 1
Greg Chalmers 160 to 1
Ken Duke 170 to 1
Charley Hoffman 180 to 1
James Driscoll 185 to 1
Chris Stroud 190 to 1
Bob Estes 200 to 1
Kris Blanks 200 to 1
Harrison Frazar 210 to 1
Boo Weekley 215 to 1
Ricky Barnes 215 to 1
Chad Campbell 230 to 1
Corey Pavin 230 to 1
Davis Love III 230 to 1
George McNeill 230 to 1
Seung Yul Noh 230 to 1
Anders Romero 245 to 1
John Mallinger 245 to 1
Rod Pampling 250 to 1
Brian Harman 270 to 1
Daniel Summerhays 270 to 1
Jason Bohn 280 to 1
Matt Every 280 to 1
Rory Sabbatini 280 to 1
Ryo Ishikawa 280 to 1
Kevin Chappell 285 to 1
Chris Kirk 290 to 1
Robert Allenby 290 to 1
YE Yang 290 to 1
Tom Gillis 310 to 1
Chez Reavie 315 to 1
Lucas Glover 315 to 1
Michael Thompson 340 to 1
Brandt Jobe 350 to 1
Greg Owen 350 to 1
Trevor Immelman 350 to 1
David Hearn 380 to 1
Scott Verplank 390 to 1
Jerry Kelly 400 to 1
Roberto Castro 400 to 1
Heath Slocum 410 to 1
Will Claxton 410 to 1
Hunter Haas 450 to 1
JJ Killeen 470 to 1
Tommy Gainey 470 to 1
Billy Mayfair 475 to 1
Justin Leonard 480 to 1
Tim Herron 480 to 1
Colt Knost 550 to 1
DJ Trahan 580 to 1
Vaughn Taylor 600 to 1
Josh Teater 620 to 1
Jeff Maggert 630 to 1
Miguel Angel Carballo 700 to 1
Mark Anderson 720 to 1
Martin Flores 720 to 1
Chris DiMarco 730 to 1
Erik Compton 730 to 1
Scott Stallings 730 to 1
John Daly 790 to 1
William McGirt 830 to 1
Michael Bradley 860 to 1
Steve Flesch 900 to 1
Bobby Gates 915 to 1
Billy Hurley 1,000 to 1
Brendon Todd 1,000 to 1
Edward Loar 1,000 to 1
Fulton Allem 1,000 to 1
Keith Clearwater 1,000 to 1
Kelly Kraft 1,000 to 1
Peter Uihlein 1,000 to 1

The San Antonio Spurs are going to be back in action against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the playoffs, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to make our NBA playoff predictions and our Spurs vs. Clippers series picks for what could be quite the entertaining series!

Click Here For All Of The NBA Finals Odds

Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Los Angeles @ San Antonio (Tuesday 5/15, 9:30 PM, TNT)
Game 2: Los Angeles @ San Antonio (Thursday 5/17, 9:30 PM, ESPN)
Game 3: San Antonio @ Los Angeles (Saturday 5/19, 3:30 PM, ABC)
Game 4: San Antonio @ Los Angeles (Sunday 5/20, 10:30 PM, TNT)
Game 5: Los Angeles @ San Antonio (Tuesday 5/22, TBD, If Necessary)
Game 6: San Antonio @ Los Angeles (Friday 5/25, TBD, If Necessary)
Game 7: Los Angeles @ San Antonio (Sunday 5/27, TBD, If Necessary)

Key #1: CP3 has no choice but to take over
The Clippers are just tremendous underdogs in this series, and for good reason. If there is any chance to pull off the upset though, Chris Paul needs to be the man of the hour. CP3 went off for 36 points when these two teams last met at the AT&T Center, and it took all 36 of those points to be able to get out of Dodge with a ‘W’. Of course, Mo Williams also put together 33 points off of the bench that day to help out, and that made all of the difference in the world. Still, it is going to come down to what CP3 can do. He is still hurting with a hip pointer, and it is clear that that is going to hamper him for as long as the Clippers are in the playoffs. Still, this is why Paul was brought to Tinseltown, and he is going to have to be the man that does everything for the Clippers if they want to stand any chance.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs Series Odds at
5Dimes Sportsbook
Los Angeles Clippers +1350
San Antonio Spurs -2200
Click Here to Bet The Clippers vs. Spurs Picks!

Key #2: Gregg Popovich has to continue to rotate his players
Well, at least we know that that shouldn’t be all that much of a problem. The Spurs use at least 11 players seemingly every single night, and Popovich is known to use all 13 that he has available to him regardless of whether the game is close or not. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker can’t all play 40 minutes per game like they used to, and that means that the likes of Tiago Splitter, Danny Green, Gary Neal, etc. have no choice but to step it up. None of them really need to contribute more than perhaps about 20 minutes on the court, but those 20 minutes are key, especially the ones that come without the big time scorers on the hardwood.

Key #3: The Clippers absolutely cannot get killed on the glass
Even dating back to 2010, it is quite easy to see the key to winning games in this series. The team that controls the glass is the one that is going to have the best chance to win. The Clippers outrebounded the Spurs 41-35 in the 120-108 win back in March at the AT&T Center, and they held the 53-42 edge in a 103-100 loss at Staples Center in overtime in February. The Spurs were +13 in a 115-90 win right at the outset of the season in December, while the Clippers won the battle on the boards 50-43 in the last meeting of last season, a 90-85 win. That means that Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and the likes really need to make sure that they are sure-handed on the glass and don’t let a somewhat undersized San Antonio team have its way. If the Spurs win the rebounding battle every night, the Clippers are going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble.

Click Here to get the best NBA picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Los Angeles vs. San Antonio picks and the NBA playoffs picks for the rest of the postseason odds.

The Western Conference finally gets involved in the second round of the playoffs on Monday night, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers are set to square off. Check out our keys to the game for the Thunder vs. Lakers, as well as our Lakers vs. Thunder series picks and a preview of what should be a great, two-week battle.

Click Here For All Of The NBA Finals Odds

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Los Angeles @ Oklahoma City (Monday 5/14, 9:30 PM, TNT)
Game 2: Los Angeles @ Oklahoma City (Wednesday 5/16, 9:30 PM, TNT)
Game 3: Oklahoma City @ Los Angeles (Friday 5/18, 10:30 PM, ESPN)
Game 4: Oklahoma City @ Los Angeles (Saturday 5/19, 10:30 PM, TNT)
Game 5: Los Angeles @ Oklahoma City (Monday 5/21, TBD)
Game 6: Oklahoma City @ Los Angeles (Wednesday 5/23, TBD)
Game 7: Los Angeles @ Oklahoma City (Sunday 5/27, TBD)

Key #1: Oklahoma City has to get its head back in the game quickly
About the only disadvantage that a team generally has when it finishes off a sweep in the first round is that it could show some rust. We aren’t as worried about this with the San Antonio Spurs as we are with the Thunder, knowing that the Spurs have some veteran leadership to lead the way during the absence. However, no matter who you are, nine days off is going to be tough to say the least. The Thunder are going to have to hit the ground running in this series though, knowing that they are going against an LA team that only finished its first round series two nights ago. If Oklahoma City is going to slip at home, Games 1 and 2 are going to be quite dangerous for sure, especially with Kobe and the gang starting to pick up some confidence.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Series Odds at
Wager Web Sportsbook
Los Angeles Lakers +390
Oklahoma City Thunder -430
Click Here to Bet The Lakers vs. Thunder Picks!

Key #2: Kobe needs some help from his bench
There are two things that we know for sure from the Lakers every single time we see them on the court. 1: Kobe Bryant is going to be amazing. He has averaged just under 30 points per game in the playoffs this year, and the truth of the matter is that it is always disappointing when he doesn’t play 42 minutes and score 35 points when he is out there this time of year. 2: The rest of the team is going to be a giant crapshoot. Sure, once Metta World Peace came back to the lineup, matters helped dramatically. He put up 15 in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets. However, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are below the numbers that we are expecting, and that is putting the pressure on the bench. Steve Blake shot the ball well from beyond the arc in the first round, and that has to keep up. Where is the rest of the help coming from, though? Ramon Sessions? Jordan Hill? Devin Ebanks? No matter who it is from, the Lakers are going to need their supporting cast to really step up, or they will get blown away in this series.

Key #3: The team that keeps its composure will win this series
We have seen it with the Lakers time and time again. They are a team that is able to be frustrated. The Dallas Mavericks did it to the point last year that they were able to sweep LA out of the second round of the playoffs. However, we know that Oklahoma City can be ruffled as well. Metta World Peace has the ability to be a stifling defensive player (as long as his elbows are staying close to his own body), while the combo of Gasol and Bynum in the paint is usually fantastic defensively. If Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook start to have some issues driving to the basket and become strictly jump shooters, the Thunder are in trouble. Whichever team is able to really play its game and forget what the other is trying to make it do will be in the best shape in this series.

Click Here to get the best NBA picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Los Angeles vs. Oklahoma City picks and the NBA playoffs picks for the rest of the postseason odds.

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers went back and forth with each other all year long in the Atlantic Division. Now, the two have to meet in the playoffs, and we are set to make our NBA picks for the postseason, including our Boston vs. Philadelphia series predictions!

Click Here For All Of The NBA Finals Odds

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics NBA Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Philadelphia @ Boston (Saturday 5/12, 8:00 PM, TNT)
Game 2: Philadelphia @ Boston (Monday 5/14, 7:00 PM, TNT)
Game 3: Boston @ Philadelphia (Wednesday 5/16, 7:00 PM, TNT)
Game 4: Boston @ Philadelphia (TBD)
Game 5: Philadelphia @ Boston (TBD, If Necessary)
Game 6: Boston @ Philadelphia (TBD, If Necessary)
Game 7: Philadelphia @ Boston (TBD, If Necessary)

Key #1: The 76ers have to keep their emotions in check
All too often what we see in the playoffs with teams that just pulled off big wins is that they fall into the tank and get eliminated very quickly after that. In the case of the 76ers, they were truly emotional in their victory over the Chicago Bulls in the first round, and the celebration really looked more like an NBA Finals type of celebration than a simply first round series triumph. Though there is plenty of NBA experience on this team, there aren’t many that have ever been this far in the playoffs before, and we are just afraid that what we saw out of the Memphis Grizzlies last year when they were finally taken out of the second round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder could happen again if the Sixers just don’t have the oomph to keep the foot on the gas pedal throughout this whole series.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics Series Odds at
5Dimes Sportsbook
Philadelphia 76ers +175
Boston Celtics -210
Click Here to Bet The 76ers vs. Celtics Picks!

Key #2: More than six players will have to be big for the Celtics
Six players. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Brandon Bass, and Avery Bradley. That’s all that played in more than 17 minutes per game for the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and those are the only players that averaged more than 3.5 points per game as well. Pierce was the catalyst of the bunch, coming up with 21.2 points per game, while KG and Rondo weren’t all that far behind at 18.7 and 16.8 points per game respectively. That being said, there is still a heck of a lot that others can do. Mickael Pietrus was awful in that opening series against the Hawks, and Marquis Daniels was really nowhere to be found either. These are players that play crucial minutes for Boston. It’s not that they are going to have to be double digit point scorers every time out there. However, it would be quite nice if in the end, the Celtics didn’t have to rely on just those main four scorers and two others to account for the mass majority of what they are doing offensively.

Key #3: Defense will be the ultimate key
The Celtics ranked No. 2 in the league in terms of points per game in the regular season at 89.3, and teams only shot 41.9 percent against them, best in the NBA. Philly was third in both categories at 89.4 points per game and 42.7 shooting percentage against. In the playoffs, that has been magnified even more. Boston kept the Hawks down to just 87 points or fewer in all six games of that series, something that isn’t often done. Granted, we know that the Sixers had some help in the form of injuries to Derrick Rose and then Joakim Noah as the series wore on, but regardless of those facts, holding the mighty Bulls, who still had one of the best offenses in the league this season even with Rose missing half the year, down to 82 points or fewer in four straight games to close out that series was quite impressive. Whichever team can impose its defensive will on the other is likely to be the one that ends up advancing in this series.

Click Here to get the best NBA picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Philadelphia vs. Boston picks and the NBA playoffs picks for the rest of the postseason odds.

The second round of the NBA playoffs gets started on Sunday, May 13th, when the Miami Heat take on the Indiana Pacers. Check out our Heat vs. Pacers series preview and see which one of these teams is going to take one more step towards beating the NBA Finals odds in 2012!

Click Here For All Of The NBA Finals Odds

Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Indiana @ Miami (Sunday 5/13, 3:30 PM, ABC)
Game 2: Indiana @ Miami (Tuesday 5/15, 7:00 PM, TNT)
Game 3: Miami @ Indiana (TBD)
Game 4: Miami @ Indiana (TBD)
Game 5: Indiana @ Miami (TBD, If Necessary)
Game 6: Miami @ Indiana (TBD, If Necessary)
Game 7: Indiana @ Miami (TBD, If Necessary)

Key #1: The Pacers have to control the perimeter
This is what the Pacers really did oh so well against the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs. However, Indiana also knew that Orlando’s only shot of winning that series was by knocking down shots from the outside. If that was shut down, the Magic may as well have just disappeared. In this series though, there are a heck of a lot more things to worry about. The Pacers are going to have to make sure that they don’t abandon the outside shooters, because as we saw with against New York Knicks, Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier, and Mike Miller all have the ability to hit the shots from the outside when given the chance. Those three have to be silenced by the Pacers, or they have absolutely zero chance of winning this series.

Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat Series Odds at
Wager Web Sportsbook
Indiana Pacers +600
Miami Heat -900
Click Here to Bet The Pacers vs. Heat Picks!

Key #2: The Heat have to get contributions from their big men
And that means you, Chris Bosh. Of course, it won’t just be Bosh that is expected to post up in the lane, as we frequently think that we are going to see LeBron James matched up with David West. The Pacers were the bigger team against the Magic, and that is going to their one big time advantage in this series as well. The Heat might be more of the athletic team, but in terms of height and weight, the likes of West, Danny Granger, and Roy Hibbert are going to rule the day. Hibbert has been known to get into some foul trouble, and if Bosh or the likes of D-Wade and LeBron can get into the paint and cause the big man out of Georgetown to take some bad fouls, there is no doubt in our minds that the Heat have the huge advantage at that point with the paint opened up. Hibbert averaged over 10 boards and nearly four blocks per game against the Magic and is a real force to be reckoned with defensively.

Key #3: The Heat can’t have their eyes on the NBA Finals already
Get used to hearing this for as long as the Heat are playing in the playoffs. Assuming that it stays healthy, when Miami wants to come out and play, it is going to win games in this series by double digits. There’s just no two ways around that. That being said, you do have to go out and win four games out of seven against Indiana before worrying about the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, and this is a dangerous opponent that it is going against. The Pacers did have wins this year against some of the best teams in the league, and that includes going into Chicago (with Derrick Rose) and beating the Chicago Bulls and taking one of the four games in this series (and nearly two of the four) against the Heat in the regular season.

Click Here to get the best NBA picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Indiana vs. Miami picks and the NBA playoffs picks for the rest of the postseason odds.