Bryant, Lakers fend off T'Wolves

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant notched a game-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers stave off a hungry Minnesota Timberwolves squad with a 111-108 triumph at the Target Center.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 25 points each, with Odom adding 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and 11 of 12 overall. Los Angeles has also beaten the T'Wolves seven consecutive times and is a league- best 46-10 on the year.

Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes scored 20 points apiece for the T'Wolves, who have dropped two straight and seven of eight overall. Randy Foye and Mike Miller scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Craig Smith totaled 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

Telfair's layup brought the T'Wolves within 106-105 with 76 seconds left to play.

Then, following squandered possessions by both teams, Bryant missed a three from the left elbow but Odom grabbed the rebound. He quickly put back a layup to give LA a 108-105 advantage with 20.5 ticks remaining.

On Minnesota's ensuing possession Gomes had an open look from the top of the arc, but threw up an air ball. Bryant grabbed the board and was fouled with 14.1 seconds showing before hitting 1-of-2 for a four-point lead.

The T'Wolves came down and Foye nailed a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Bryant was immediately fouled on LA's next inbounds pass and hit both shots for a 111-108.

Minnesota still had about seven seconds to get a shot off but Foye's bid was off the mark and the Lakers hung on for the victory.

"I think we had a lot of momentum down the stretch," Foye said. "They're a great team, a championship team, and they came in here today and took it to us. You have to give them credit."

The Lakers took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and were on top 54-50 at the break.

The teams traded baskets and the lead through most of the third before the Lakers took a 76-70 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left.

However, Smith's layup with 19.4 ticks remaining closed out a 10-2 T'Wolves run that gave the home team an 80-78 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

Foye's layup and Rodney Carney's dunk opened an 89-84 Minnesota lead with 8:38 left in the game.

"They were on fire as a team and they played really well," said Odom. "We didn't play well enough to stop them, but luckily we still won."

Josh Powell answered with a pair of jumpers and Odom hit two free throws to give the Lakers a brief 90-89 lead.

Up by one point moments later, Derek Fisher nailed a three with 1:44 left to make it 104-100.

Game Notes

The T'Wolves lost their sixth straight home game...LA shot 52.4 percent from the field and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe...Minnesota hit at a 50 percent clip from the floor and 73.7 percent at the foul line...The Lakers are 20-6 on the road this season...Minnesota is 8-19 as the host.

Wwpogo Basketball Betting News

<< West returns, lifts Cavs to drubbing of sinking Pistons
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delonte West, in his first game back since suffering a broken right wrist on January 15 at Chicago, scored a game-high 25 points and went 5-for-5 from three-point range to give the division-leading Cavalie

<< No. 9 Duke survives scare from eighth-ranked Wake Forest
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer each notched career-highs with 35 and 30 points, respectively, and No. 9 Duke survived a huge comeback effort from eighth-ranked Wake Forest to pick up a much-needed 101-91

<< California Dreamin': Kenseth wins second Cup race in a row
Fontana, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kenseth is perfect so far in the early 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Kenseth, winner of last weekend's Daytona 500, picked up his second-consecutive victory by taking Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Spee

<< Harding's big night leads Wild past Blackhawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Harding turned in a superlative effort between the pipes, making a career-high 44 saves, and Peter Olvecky's first career goal was the game-winner, as Minnesota escaped with a 2-1 win over Chicago

<< Blake dishes out 14 first-quarter assists, Blazers destroy Clippers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge tallied a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Blake tied an NBA record with 14 first- quarter assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their eighth consecutive home wi

Kubina nets OT winner as Rangers fall to Leafs >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Kubina scored on the power play three minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square Garden.

Leafs win in OT, keep Rangers on the skids >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Hagman scored on the power play three minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square Garden.

No. 14 Arizona State holds off surging Wildcats >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden had 18 points and nine rebounds to help No. 14 Arizona State edge Pac-10 rival Arizona, 70-68, at Wells-Fargo Arena. Rihards Kuksiks donated 17 points for the Sun Devils (21-5, 10-4 Pac-10), w

Warriors' Ellis sidelined at least one week >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined 1-to-2 weeks because of stiffness in his surgically repaired left ankle, the team announced Sunday. Ellis, who missed the first 43 games of the sea

Report: Harrison asks for release from Colts >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a stunning move Sunday, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison has reportedly asked for his release from the Indianapolis Colts. A report on NFL.com said that after Harrison and the Colts

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.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

MySportsbook is a large, publicly traded company with strong financial backing. You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.