10/12/2008 - Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy earned just their second win in their last 16 Major League Soccer matches, 3-2, over the Colorado Rapids at the Home Depot Center on Sunday.
Goals by Edson Buddle and Brandon McDonald and an own goal by Colorado defender Ugo Ihemelu were enough to outlast the Rapids (10-14-4), who were desperate for a result to keep pace in the crowded playoff race with just two games to go.
With the win, L.A. (8-12-8) avoids being eliminated from playoff contention, and sits just four points out of a playoff spot. Even with the loss, the Rapids are just two points out of the last automatic spot in the Western Conference table.
Buddle scored Sunday's first goal when Sean Franklin played a pass into the Colorado penalty area. Buddle took a touch around defender Corey Gibbs and unleashed his 14th goal of the season in the 36th minute.
It was Buddle's first goal since Sept. 6.
The Rapids tied the game before the first-half break on a corner kick, however. Gibbs made up for his defensive gaffe on the first goal by diving to head a Terry Cooke corner kick home from the top of the six-yard box.
It was Gibbs' first MLS goal while Cooke recorded his team-leading 11th assist.
The Galaxy got the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute when Eddie Lewis fired a hard free-kick into the Rapids' box from the right side. The ball went over Colorado goalkeeper Preston Burpo's head before it deflected off the chest of Ihemelu and into the goal.
Los Angeles added an insurance goal 10 minutes later when Brandon McDonald unleashed a 40-yard rocket that curled past the outstretched hands of Burpo to make it 3-1.
That goal proved to be the winner as Tom McManus converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to pull the Rapids within a goal.
Colorado will aim to rebound from its second-straight loss when it travels to take on Chivas USA next Sunday while L.A. plays at Houston a day earlier in its next league fixture.
<< Stepanek, Gulbis win first-round matches in Madrid
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Czech Radek Stepanek and Latvian Ernests
Gulbis were first-round winners Sunday at the Madrid Masters.
Gulbis defeated Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, to earn a second-
round encounter wit
<< Ballesteros fighting brain tumor
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time major champion Seve Ballesteros
confirmed Sunday that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Ballesteros, a three-time winner of the British Open, collapsed at a Madrid
airport on Monday.
<< D.C. United hangs on to earn point at Houston
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United, playing without four of its top
five scorers this season because of injury and suspension - as well as down a
man for the final 17 minutes because of a red card to Brian Namoff - held on
for a
<< Johnson wins fourth title at Texas Open
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Johnson finally won a PGA Tour event
outside the state of Georgia.
His first three tour wins came at The Masters and at the AT&T Classic (2004 &
2007).
Johnson closed with a six-under
Doan lifts Coyotes past Ducks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Doan scored his first two goals of the
season as the Phoenix Coyotes netted a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at
Honda Center.
Mikkel Boedker, the eighth overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft
Penner's tip-in late gives Edmonton win over Colorado >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Penner's tip-in with six seconds
remaining in regulation gave the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 season-opening win over
the Colorado Avalanche at Rexall Place.
Penner gave Edmonton the lead early in t
Dodgers fight their way back into series with win over Phillies >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake DeWitt's three-run triple highlighted
a five-run first inning, and Hiroki Kuroda threw six-plus strong innings as
the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2, in a fiery Game 3 of the
Nationa
Bears off to roaring 3-0 start >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hershey Bears, the American Hockey League's oldest
active team, are off to a roaring start to the 2008-09 season, going 3-0
through the first weekend of the season.
The Bears won their opener at the
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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