Football Betting

Surging Ducks visit Minnesota

Hockey Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task. They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that continues to move south after a great start.

The Ducks visit the Wild tonight riding a five-game point streak and having notched a 12-2-3 mark over their past 17 games. That has Anaheim 10 points back of a playoff spot.

The Wild, meanwhile, held the best record in hockey on Dec. 13, but they now sit 12th overall in the Western Conference and a mere five points ahead of the Ducks.

Anaheim continued its surge on Sunday, recording a 5-3 victory over a Columbus squad that had just handed Minnesota a two-goal loss the previous day.

Corey Perry set the tone for Anaheim, scoring 46 seconds in en route to his second hat trick of the season and fifth of his career. Bobby Ryan also scored and had an assist and Ryan Getzlaf tallied three assists. Jason Blake scored and Jonas Hiller made 24 saves.

The Ducks bounced back from a 2-1 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Friday and improved to 3-0-2 in their last five.

"It was important, especially because [the Blue Jackets] played last night, to get a lead," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When you get a lead on a team and they played last night, it's a little easier to make them quit."

Anaheim has now split the first two of a season-high eight-game road trip.

Minnesota, meanwhile, dropped its fourth game in a row on Saturday with its 3-1 loss to Columbus. Devin Setoguchi had the lone Wild goal and Niklas Backstrom came up with just 16 saves.

"It sucks every time you lose," Backstrom said. "Winning is obviously more fun, but at least tonight we gave ourselves a chance to win."

Minnesota is expected to be without forward Cal Clutterbuck this evening after he suffered a lower-body injury versus the Blue Jackets.

Tonight is the final of four regular-season meetings between the Ducks and Wild. Minnesota has won two straight and four of the past five overall, but had a five-game series home winning streak snapped in a 3-2 decision with Anaheim on Oct. 27.


<< Red Wings aim to set new NHL home mark vs. Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to set a new NHL record for the longest home winning streak in league history when they host the Dallas Stars tonight at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit matched a league standard with its 20th conse

<< West Virginia set to join Big 12 in July
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have agreed to settle their lawsuits, enabling the university to leave the conference and join the Big 12 in July. West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would not d

<< Rangers, Bruins clash in Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have established themselves as the top team in the East and the Blueshirts will try to increase their conference lead when they visit the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Garden. With 77 points, the Rangers

<< Sens begin road trip in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having little success on a recent five-game homestand, the Ottawa Senators hope to have more luck when they kick off a road trip tonight by battling the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Times Forum. The Senators went 1-2

<< Blues roll into Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena. St. Louis is in the midst of its fifth four-game win stre

Blackhawks try to end lengthy slide in Nashville >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks didn't look like a team ready to break out of their longest slump in four years the last time they hit the ice. Doing so against the Nashville Predators may prove difficult as well. The Blackhawks ho

Sliding Leafs shoot for rare win in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Given that Toronto hasn't won in Calgary in over nine years, the club didn't pick the best time to go on a three-game losing streak. The Maple Leafs hope to avoid posting their longest skid of the season this evening and s

Nets waive Bogans; sign Andre Emmett >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have waived guard Keith Bogans, just a day after he underwent surgery that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. Bogans had a torn deltoid ligament re

Gators take on Tide in Tuscaloosa >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Florida Gators seek a quick turnaround, as they head to Coleman Coliseum for Southeastern Conference competition with the short-handed Alabama Crimson Tide. This game matches up an apprentice

Buckeyes set sights on Gophers in Big Ten brawl >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will try bounce back from their poorest outing of the season as they head to Williams Arena to take on Tubby Smith's Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten Conference matchu

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.