Allen, Sonics outlast Raptors
Basketball Betting Lines
12/24/2006 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Allen returned from a nine-game absence and scored 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead Seattle past Toronto, 110-97, at KeyArena.
The All-Star guard missed time with a bone bruise in his right ankle and his team suffered, going just 3-6 without him in the lineup.
Luke Ridnour posted 18 points with six helpers while Nick Collison had 15 points and eight boards for the SuperSonics, who snapped a six-game losing streak.
Earl Watson and Chris Wilcox each poured in 12 points and Johan Petro netted 10 in the victory.
Seattle finished 51 percent shooting in the game.
T.J. Ford led the Raptors with 24 points and nine assists. Fred Jones contributed 19 points off the bench and Jorge Garbajosa added 18 points with seven rebounds in defeat.
Toronto, which shot 47 percent from the field, have lost eight of 11 at Seattle and fell to 5-13 on the road this year.
Seattle opened the contest with an 18-8 burst capped by Watson's driving layup. Wilkins ended the frame with five straight points to put the SuperSonics up, 36-22.
Despite being outscored in the second, 33-28, Seattle maintained its lead and went into the locker room with a 64-55 cushion.
Toronto, down by 11 with 5:04 left in the third, scored 12 of the final 16 points in the quarter to cut within three, 84-81 going into the fourth.
The SuperSonics gained control in the final period when Allen's trey made it a 95-88 game with just over seven minutes to play. Then, a Ridnour jumper put Seattle up by 10 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
Game Notes
Allen finished 9-of-15 shooting and Ford was 9-of-16...Radoslav Nesterovic had 12 points for the Raptors...The Sonics shot 7-of-12 (58 percent) from three- point range while Toronto finished 4-of-15 (27 percent) from beyond the arc...Seattle welcomes New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Tuesday while Toronto hosts Minnesota on Wednesday.
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets center Yao Ming suffered a non- displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee in Saturday's 98-93 loss to the LA Clippers, an injury that Houston officials say should not require surgery
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Jersey Nets, 115-104, at the Bradley Center.
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knee in
<< Shocked again: USC hands Wichita State second-straight loss
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Young drilled a jump shot with 1:03 remaining
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According to the St. Paul Pio
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-1, at HP Pavilion. Marcel Goc, Milan Michalek, Mark Smith and Scott Hannan all scored for the Sharks, who won their seco
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Florida State and UCLA meet in the Emerald Bowl >>
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from Re
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.