Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.

Colorado shoots for an eighth consecutive win over the Reds in Denver, as well as a fifth straight victory overall, when the resurgent Rockies continue a key four-game series with first-place Cincinnati tonight.

The Rockies, who won 14 of their final 15 regular-season tests to claim the National League's Wild Card berth in 2007 and went 10-1 to begin September of last season en route to another postseason trip, seem to be at it again. Monday's 10-5 decision over the Reds was Colorado's 10th victory in its past 15 tilts and kept Jim Tracy's squad 4 1/2 games behind front-running San Diego in the NL West race.

"We feel like we control our own destiny," said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki after Monday's result. "We play the guys in front of us enough. If we play well and win the series each and every time we're going to move on."

Tulowitzki went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in the opener to help ace Ubaldo Jimenez earn his 18th win of the season, while teammate Carlos Gonzalez kept up his hot hitting with a 3-for-5, two-RBI performance at the plate. The standout outfielder is batting a sensational .536 (30-for-56) with six homers and 18 runs driven in over a career-high 14-game hitting streak that has raised his season average to an NL-best .340.

Jimenez (18-6) became the first NL hurler to reach the 18-win mark on the year despite allowing four runs and walking six batters over six shaky innings. The 2010 All-Star still outpitched counterpart Aaron Harang, who lasted just 2 1/3 innings for Cincinnati and was roughed up for four runs on four hits and walked three.

Bill Bray (1-2) took the loss for the Reds after surrendering three runs, including Tulowitzki's tie-breaking solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Jonny Gomes paced Cincinnati offensively by going 2-for-5 with a two-run single, while teammate Chris Heisey finished with a pair of hits and scored twice on the afternoon.

The Reds have now dropped three of the first four contests on their current seven-game road trip and had its lead atop the NL Central brought down to six games after second-place St. Louis defeated Milwaukee on Monday.

The setback was also Cincinnati's seventh in a row at Coors Field, where the club hasn't won since August 22, 2008. Although the Reds did take two of three bouts from the Rockies in Ohio back in July, Colorado is now 16-3 in its last 19 matchups with Cincy following yesterday's verdict.

Cincinnati turns to Johnny Cueto in hopes of reversing those trends this evening. The young right-hander has put his team in position to win plenty of times this season, having compiled a 12-4 record along with a 3.41 earned run average through his 26 starts of 2010.

Cueto has been on top of his game in each of his past two outings. He held the Chicago Cubs to one run and struck out eight without a walk over eight excellent innings in a victory on August 27, then yielded just one run in six frames in a no-decision against Milwaukee this past Wednesday.

This will be Cueto's second-ever appearance against the Rockies. The first took place at Coors Field during his rookie campaign of 2008, with the now 24- year-old removed after issuing three walks and giving up an unearned run in only three innings of work.

Jhoulys Chacin gets the call for Colorado tonight and will be aiming to return to the win column following a no-decision in his latest assignment. The rookie did not factor in his club's 12-11 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, a game in which he pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and permitted three runs, two of which were unearned.

Chacin was outstanding in each of his two starts that preceded Thursday's outcome. After fanning nine Arizona hitters over 7 2/3 shutout innings to beat the Diamondbacks on August 22, the 24-year-old limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to a run on four hits and struck out seven in seven frames to notch another victory six days later.

The native Venezuelan has pitched twice previously against Cincinnati in a relief role, including a 2 1/3-inning stint on July 17 in which he struck out four hitters in addition to giving up a solo homer to Gomes.

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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.

MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

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