Blazers hit the road to Golden State

Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to keep their playoff aspirations alive, the Portland Trail Blazers will hit the road for back-to-back games starting with tonight's showdown against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena.

Portland is eighth in the Western Conference standings, just a game behind No. 7 San Antonio, and will also visit Sacramento on the road swing. The Blazers are 17-15 away from the Rose Garden, where they handed the Kings an 88-81 setback on Tuesday. Brandon Roy led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Andre Miller had 14 points and five assists for Portland, which has won four of its last five games.

"We didn't dominate this game like we wanted to come out, but we'll take the win," Roy said. "We've got to continue to improve. I thought our defense got better, but offensively, we weren't very good tonight."

Miller is averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.28 steals since January 2. LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 points and seven boards in the recent victory, and is posting 19.5 points and 8.4 rebounds in the last 28 games for a Portland defense allowing the fewest points per game (95.1) of any team in the conference.

The Blazers have held their opponents under 100 points in 46 games this season, the most by any team in the West, and have won 41 straight contests when keeping the opposition to 88 points or less, including an 18-0 mark in 2009-10.

Golden State is playing out the string and is still searching for its first win this month, having dropped every test of a recent five-game road trip. It has lost 11 in a row away from Oakland, including Monday's 135-131 decision at New Orleans Arena.

Anthony Morrow made all six of his three-point tries on his way to 28 points for the Warriors, who got a career-high 28 points from Reggie Williams. Corey Maggette and Devean George each had 18 points in a losing effort.

"I thought we played good defense," Williams said. "I thought where it killed us was on the boards. I didn't do a good job rebounding. That definitely didn't help."

The Warriors will commence a four-game homestand Thursday versus the Blazers, Raptors, Lakers and Hornets, and own a 13-18 home mark. In injury news for Golden State, leading scorer Monta Ellis, who is averaging 25.7 ppg, has missed six straight games with a back issue and is questionable for tonight. Also, head coach Don Nelson is still seven wins away from breaking Lenny Wilkins' all-time record of 1,332 victories.

Portland and Golden State have split a pair of matchups so far this season, with each team holding serve as the host, while the Warriors have won 13 of the previous 18 matchups between the clubs. The Blazers have lost nine in a row and 12 of their last 16 visits to Oakland.

Portland last won the series, a 4-0 sweep, in 2002-03.

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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.