Basketball Betting
 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Hornets gain ground, but Spurs clinch playoff spot after Suns lose

Basketball Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

West also pulled down 16 rebounds for New Orleans, which moved to within 2 1/2 games of the Spurs with 10 games remaining. The Hornets also moved into a sixth-place tie with the idle Jazz in the conference standings.

Chris Paul added 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, as the Hornets won for the fourth time in six games. Antonio Daniels contributed 10 points in the victory.

Tony Parker had a team-high 20 points to go with seven assists for San Antonio, which had a three-game win streak snapped and dropped to only a half- game ahead of Denver and Houston for second place in the West. Nonetheless, the Spurs clinched a playoff spot after Phoenix lost to lowly Sacramento on Sunday.

Tim Duncan provided 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili had 17 points in the defeat. Michael Finley added 12 points.

Trailing by five to start the fourth, the Spurs cut their deficit to 72-71 on a Drew Gooden layup with 8:36 left, but the Hornets pushed their lead back to five, 80-75, on a Paul jumper with five minutes remaining.

A Matt Bonner three made it a three-point game with 3:40 left, and, after several failed possessions by both teams, West's jumper with 38.9 seconds left made it 85-80 in favor of New Orleans.

Finley's three-point attempt was off on the ensuing possession, and Rasual Butler hit two free throws to put the hosts ahead by seven.

Just when the game seemed to be in control, Ginobili drained a three and was fouled on New Orleans' inbounds attempt, giving the ball back to San Antonio. Finley promptly connected on a three from the corner to make it 87-86 with 17.8 seconds to play.

Paul was fouled by Ginobili with 7.1 seconds on the clock in the act of shooting a three-pointer from about half-court. San Antonio was extremely unhappy with the shooting foul call, but Paul sank all three from the line to make it a four-point, two-possession game.

San Antonio only got one shot off before the buzzer, a missed three-pointer by Finley, giving New Orleans the victory.

The Spurs held a 25-19 lead after the first quarter, but the Hornets cut their deficit to 47-43 at halftime.

New Orleans quickly made up its deficit, forging ahead, 55-53, on a Julian Wright three-point play just past the seven-minute mark.

Back-to-back threes later in the third from Finley and Ginobili put the Spurs back in front by four, but a Sean Marks dunk gave the Hornets a 64-63 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go. The hosts led, 68-63, heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

New Orleans leads the season series 2-1, and the teams will meet on April 15 in San Antonio to close out the season...Spurs center Fabricio Oberto missed his second straight game with a irregular heartbeat...New Orleans forward James Posey missed the game after being suspended for one contest following an altercation with a referee in the team's loss to New York on Friday...The Spurs fell to 21-11 in games decided by six or less points.

<< Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place. Andrew Brunett

<< Ryan, Ducks keep Avalanche in freefall
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Ryan scored twice in Anaheim's 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Honda Center. Corey Perry and Drew Miller also tallied for the Ducks, who have won six of their last seven games. Jonas Hiller t

<< Hornets gain ground on Southwest Division-leading Spurs
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio

<< Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin registered two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to notch his seventh shutout of the season, as the Vancouver Canucks stymied the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, at United

<< Purdue downs Rutgers, moves on
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lakisha Freeman netted 18 points and the sixth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers defeated the seventh-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 67-61, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahoma City Regiona

Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in Washing

Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million Sony Ericsson Open. Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32n

Suns' playoff hopes take a hit in loss to lowly Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Thompson was one of seven Kings in double figures, logging 21 points and eight rebounds as Sacramento dealt Phoenix's playoff chances a crushing blow in a 126-118 decision over the Suns. Spen

Oklahoma cruises past Pitt on way to Elite Eight >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman Whitney Hand poured in a career- high 22 points to power the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners over the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers, 70-59, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahom

Van der Vaart denies Chelsea rumors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands midfield ace Rafael van der Vaart has denied reports suggesting that he is close to agreeing to a move to Chelsea from Real Madrid. The 26-year-old has struggled to make his mark at th

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.