Jones shines in Granger's absence as Pacers down Sixers

Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dahntay Jones tied a season-high with 25 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of Danny Granger to beat Philadelphia, 107-96, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Granger, who is leading the Pacers at 23.1 points per game, was suspended for one contest earlier Tuesday for an on-court fracas during Saturday's game against Phoenix.

Brandon Rush helped to pick up the slack with 24 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, which snapped a four-game skid and won for the second time in nine games. Troy Murphy chipped in 19 points and eight boards and Roy Hibbert sparkled with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. T.J. Ford scored 11 to go with seven helpers.

Jrue Holiday had 21 points to lead the Sixers, who lost for the sixth time in seven contests. Samuel Dalembert totaled 16 points, 11 boards and four blocks.

Cbssportslone Basketball Betting News

<< North Texas takes Sun Belt championship
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh White hit the go-ahead bucket with 24 seconds left and George Odufuwa came up with a key block on the ensuing series, as North Texas edged Troy, 66-63, for the Sun Belt Conference Tournam

<< Clippers sever ties with GM Dunleavy
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers announced they have severed ties with general manager Mike Dunleavy, just over a month after he resigned as head coach. At the time of the February 4 announcement, the Clippers

<< Big East champs again: UConn women pull away from WVU
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalana Greene scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and top-ranked Connecticut captured the Big East Tournament title and stretched its winning streak to a record 72 games with a 60-32 triumph over No

<< Bears release RB Jones
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears released running back Kevin Jones on Tuesday. Jones, who missed all of 2009 with a serious ankle injury, signed with the bears in 2008 and rushed for 109 yards on 34 carries

<< Falcons sign CB Grimes
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed cornerback Brent Grimes. Grimes led the team with six interceptions in 2009, had 13 passes defensed and compiled 67 tackles, 58 of those solo, in 16 games. Ori

Bourque highlights Calgary's win in Motown >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque assisted on the tying goal early in the third period and scored the game-winner less than two minutes later, as the Calgary Flames edged the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at Joe Louis Arena. Jarome Ig

Predators hold off Thrashers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Suter and Colin Wilson scored to propel the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Suter's tally came on a power play early in the first period, whil

Felton helps Bobcats rally past Heat >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton poured in 15 points and dished out a season-high 11 assists, as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied late to down the Miami Heat, 83-78, at Time Warner Cable Arena. Stephen Jackson added 17 points

Howard, Magic crush lowly Clippers >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard was a force on the interior with 22 points and 15 rebounds, as the Clippers had no answer for the big man or the rest of the Magic in Orlando's 113-87 rout. Jameer Nelson totaled 17 points w

Rockets notch road victory over Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola totaled 23 points with 10 rebounds, as Houston held off Washington, 96-88, at the Verizon Center. Kevin Martin chipped in with 21 points, Aaron Brooks totaled 14 and Trevor Ariza adde

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.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.