09/05/2008 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew host the New England Revolution in a top-of-the-table Major League Soccer clash at Crew Stadium on Saturday. The Crew have taken over the top spot in the Eastern Conference after winning four of their last five while New England has slipped in recent weeks, with just one win in five.
The Crew's latest victory - the team's third straight - was 2-1 at FC Dallas last Saturday.
"I thought we showed a lot of character in the first half going down 1-0 and basically responding right away with two goals right away," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said of his team's comeback against the Hoops. "But that's been the character of our team all season. The second half wasn't the most artistic. It was one of those where we had to hang on. It didn't seem like we got any breaks on the calls but our guys held tough. Sometimes when you're not playing your best, you've got to find different ways to win. Overall, I'm just proud of our team and our character."
The Revolution, coming off an embarrassing mid-week loss to Joe Public FC that knocked the MLS club out of the CONCACAF Champions League, are a coming off a 2-2 draw with the Los Angles Galaxy last Saturday in their last league fixture.
"Clearly you can see the difference in one team that had traveled 6,000 miles in the last week and one that's been resting," Revs coach Steve Nicol said of his travel weary club. "You see the sharpness in their play that we didn't have. And frankly, we're never going to be able to do that with what we've been doing. We should be happy, but at the same time, I know if there was a trophy for [guts], our team would win hands down. The way the guys came back, we're one team hanging on at the end, which is incredible for what we've been doing. We're proud of our team, so we're going keep going."
Both teams will be a little shorthanded on Saturday because injuries concerns coupled with the fact that it's an official FIFA international date, watering down the rosters further.
The Crew will be without defender Frankie Hejduk, forward Alejandro Moreno defender Duncan Oughton and forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis because of international duty, while defender Ezra Hendrickson midfielder Cory Elenio are out with injuries. A positive note for the Crew is attacker Emmanuel Ekpo returns after participating in Olympic celebrations in his native Nigeria.
The Revolution will just be without defender Gabriel Badilla because of international duty, but the injury concerns are much greater. The team will be without forwards Kheli Dube and Adam Cristman with Taylor Twellman listed as doubtful, while defender Gary Flood, forward Kenny Mansally and midfielder Steve Ralston are question
<< Grubb to serve as Stewart's crew chief in 2009
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stewart-Haas Racing named Darian Grubb on
Friday as the crew chief for driver Tony Stewart when Stewart moves over to
the No.14 Chevrolet team in 2009. Team officials made the announcement at
the Ri
<< Bayern's Ribery returns to full training
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery returned
to full training Friday and is expected to make his first appearance of the
season later this month.
The 25-year-old France international has been sidelin
<< Stuttgart's Basturk injures thigh
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart midfielder Yildiray Basturk
could miss the UEFA Cup clash against Bulgarian side Cherno More after
suffering a thigh injury in training.
The Bundesliga side are unsure how long
<< USA extends lead in women's rankings
Nyon, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The USA used its unlikely win in the 2008
Summer Olympics to extend its lead over Germany atop the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola
Women's World Rankings.
The Germans, who won the 2007 Women's World Cup, fell an a
'Quakes aim to continue surge vs. shorthanded United >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The expansion San Jose Earthquakes continue
their quest for a playoff spot in their return season to Major League Soccer
when they host D.C. United at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday night.
The 'Quakes
White Sox OF Quentin out two-to-three weeks, possibly longer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin
will undergo surgery on his fractured right wrist on Monday that will sideline
him for at least two-to-three weeks.
The surgery will take place at Rush Unive
Van Nistelrooy: Madrid will be fine without Robinho >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ruud van Nistelrooy has rubbished claims that
a lack of fellow strikers will lead to problems for Real Madrid this season.
The Spanish champions have allowed Julio Baptista and Robinho to leave the
Bern
Black, Huber reach U.S. Open doubles final >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded tandem of Cara Black
and Liezel Huber posted a semifinal victory Friday at the 2008 U.S. Open.
Zimbabwe's Black and the American Huber will face the 10th-seeded team of
American
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting