Jazz, Wolves square off at Target Center

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Northwest Division rivals meet at Target Center tonight when the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves both try to get back to the .500 mark on the season and stay out of the cellar in the division.

Oklahoma City is running away with the Northwest but things are jumbled after the Thunder with just two games separating second place Denver from both the Jazz and Wolves.

After a solid start to the season Utah fell below sea level on Monday, falling to Southwest frontrunners San Antonio, 106-102, in Salt Lake City.

Al Jefferson, who spent three seasons with the Wolves, led the Jazz in that one with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Paul Millsap also had a double- double, scoring 16 and pulling down 11 boards. The Jazz have lost four of their last five overall and fell to 3-9 in their last 12.

"Tough loss. I thought our guys really played hard," said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin, whose team had more rebounds, more points in the paint and more fast break points than the Spurs. "We had a chance to win the ball game."

Minnesota, meanwhile, is coming off a tough overtime loss in Denver when Arron Afflalo drained the go-ahead shot with 33.7 seconds remaining in overtime as the Nuggets outlasted the Timberwolves, 103-101, on Monday.

All-Star Kevin Love had his NBA-best 29th double-double with 22 points and 13 boards, and Michael Beasley added 17 off the bench for the Timberwolves, who saw a three-game winning steak end.

Minnesota had its best chance to tie with 4.9 seconds remaining. Down 102-99, Martell Webster stole an inbounds pass from Julyan Stone at midcourt. Rather than pull up for a three-point attempt, however, Webster drove into the paint for a slam dunk. The T-Wolves were down just one, but with 1.3 ticks to go, it was too little, too late.

"I don't know what was going through [Webster's] head," Love said. "We talked about it [during the timeout] if we were able to get a steal we would pull up for three."

On the injury front for tonight's contest, the Wolves could be without starting center Nikola Pekovic, who sprained his right ankle against Denver.

Fellow big man Darko Milicic is also questionable after sitting out against the Nuggets with an illness. For the Jazz guard Raja Bell could miss a second straight contest with a right adductor injury.

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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.