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09/18/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In three previous World Cups, Australia posted a combined record of 0-7-2 and didn't come close to sniffing the quarterfinals.
However, the Matildas not only picked up their first win in World Cup play but are now just a draw against Canada from making their first ever appearance in the quarterfinals.
Canada, meanwhile, had loftier expectations for this year's tournament after a fourth-place finish in 2003. The Canadians played well in qualifying and nearly beat the United States, the number one ranked team in the world, in the Gold Cup final.
Things have not gone quite as well for manager Even Pellerud's side in China as the team dropped its opening match 2-1 despite holding a one-goal lead at halftime. The North American's rebounded to hand Ghana a 4-0 defeat, but they are still left with needing a win against Australia to get back to the quarterfinals.
Australia has shown that it is one of the most improved teams in the world, with a back line that is anchored by captain Cheryl Salisbury and a balanced attack that features Sarah Walsh and super-sub Lisa DeVanna.
DeVanna in particular has been a huge part of Australia's success, coming on after halftime to score twice against Ghana and once against Norway. DeVanna's goals helped the Aussies pull away from Ghana, but it was her work against Norway, with Australia down a goal that proved most impressive.
A good Norway back line had held Australia's attack in check over the first 45 minutes, but things turned around when DeVanna was introduced in the second half.
It will be tempting for manager Tom Sermanni to include DeVanna in his starting 11, but the boost that she has given Australia in the first two games is something Sermanni may not want to mess with.
If DeVanna is to add to her goal total, she will have to beat Canada's Erin McLeod between the posts, which is something that has proven to be difficult.
McLeod is the reason that Canada lost only 2-1 to Norway, as the Norwegians thoroughly outplayed Canada over the second half and should have scored four or five goals.
The Canadian attack looked good against Norway in the first half, but was nowhere to be found in the second. They put away four goals against struggling Ghana but the it remains to be seen if they are capable of carrying Canada deep into tournament.
Christine Sinclair is by far the most talented striker on the team and she owns two goals in Canada's first two games. Sinclair is a prolific scorer that is capable of setting up her teammates as well, but she will need more help from her supporting cast if Canada is to move on.
Canada has been in big games on a big stage before, while Australia is in uncharted territory. However, the Matildas have shown their mettle in this tournament and will not be easily unnerved.
<< Hester not slowing down in year two for Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sometimes when you cage the beast, the beast gets angry.
Words of wisdom from perhaps a famous general, a ruthless dictator, or maybe
even a high-energy athlete?
Actually, it was Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) from X
<< King ousts Bartoli in Kolkata
Kolkata, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Vania King upset top-seeded
Marion Bartoli in first-round action Tuesday at the $175,000 Sunfeast Open.
The 18-year-old King dismissed the Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli in 6-1, 7-5
fashion
<< Schaub, defense lead Texans to 2-0 start
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's a buzz going on right now in Houston and it has
nothing to do with the Astros on the cusp of missing the postseason for a
second consecutive year.
It's too early to start talking playoffs in the NFL, but the Housto
<< Harrison cleared to play
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers revealed some
positive news regarding the injury of linebacker James Harrison. Harrison was
diagnosed with a stiff neck and is not expected to miss significant time.
Harrison
Favre's legend continues to grow >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I guess Brett Favre does have something left in the tank
after all.
Just when you think the 17-year veteran is washed up and past his prime, he
has his Packers 2-0 for the first time since the 2001 campaign after
completi
These Lions have a lot of heart >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is games like Sunday's contest against the Minnesota
Vikings that turn a team that was a joke last season into a winner this
season.
Jason Hanson's 37-yard field goal with 8:55 left in overtime gave the Lions a
big win
Clemens, Jets come up short in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Through the first three quarters of their loss to the
Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the New York Jets would have been better off with
Clarence Clemons under center rather than what they had in Kellen Clemens.
But, in the fou
Phils activate Hamels >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have activated
All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels for Tuesday's start against St. Louis.
Hamels, who has been on the disabled list since August 17 with a left elbow
strain, ex
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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.
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