01/05/2007 - Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Young dumped in 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the USC Trojans upset the 16th-ranked Oregon Ducks with an 84-82 victory at McArthur Court.
Taj Gibson added 18 points and 13 rebounds and Gabriel Pruitt contributed 18 points for the Trojans (12-4, 2-1 Pac-10), who have won three of their last four contests.
Aaron Brooks had a game-high 31 points and added five assists while Maarty Leunen added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Ducks (13-1, 1-1), who were attempting to tie a school record for best start to a season.
USC was trailing by six points heading into the second half, but kept the game close and grabbed the lead, 59-57, courtesy of consecutive three-pointers by Pruitt with the last one coming with a little over 13 minutes to play.
An 8-2 run by the Trojans staked the team to a 74-67 lead, their largest of the game.
A Leunen basket cut the Ducks deficit to 78-75 with a bit over two minutes to play.
However, Pruitt hit three consecutive free throws for an 81-75 USC advantage with 1:46 remaining.
Three-pointer's by Brooks and Chamberlain Oguchi tied the game with under a minute to play, but Young drained a jumper and Pruitt followed with a free throw with five seconds left to seal the victory for USC.
It was a tight game throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half, but the Trojans grabbed a 21-13 lead thanks to four consecutive points by Gibson with the last two coming off free throws with a little over nine minutes to play.
An 11-0 run by the Ducks, with Adam Zahn scoring six points, gave the team a 28-25 lead with under five minutes left until the break.
USC briefly retook the lead thanks to a three-pointer by Pruitt to make it a 35-33 game.
Oregon, however, closed the half by scoring the last eight points and took a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
Game Notes
Oguchi, Zahn and Bryce Taylor each had 10 points for Oregon...Lodrick Stewart contributed 14 points while Dwight Lewis added 10 points for USC...Oregon connected on 42.3 percent of its shots while the Trojans shot a blistering 55.8 percent from the floor.
<< Pistons hammer Hornets
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Hamilton scored 27 points, 17 in
the first quarter alone, and the Detroit Pistons routed the hurting New
Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 92-68.
Tayshaun Prince scored 15 points and grabbed
<< Lightning survive Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier
each had a goal and an assist as Tampa Bay topped Minnesota, 3-2.
Dan Boyle also scored while Marc Denis finished with 29 saves for the
Lightning, who ha
<< Spartans down Hoosiers in OT
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mia Johnson scored 17 points, as No. 19
Michigan State downed Indiana, 64-56, in overtime Thursday.
Rene Haynes scored 15 points for the Spartans (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten), who won
their fifth straight.
<< No Shell-shock: Raiders fire coach
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders, coming off their worst
record in more than 40 years, fired head coach Art Shell Thursday.
The Raiders ended the season at 2-14, their worst record since 1962 (1-13),
and it was Shell
Vanderbilt routs Arkansas >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christina Wirth scored a career-high 24
points to lead 11th-ranked Vanderbilt to a 98-61 victory over No. 20 Arkansas.
Caroline Williams added 15 points while Carla Thomas contributed 12 points and
14 rebound
Flames pounce on Panthers in wild OT finish >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Giordano's goal with 30 seconds left in
overtime gave the Calgary Flames an exhilarating 5-4 win over the Florida
Panthers at Pengrowth Saddledome.
Giordano took Dion Phaneuf's pass near the bo
Los Angeles Angels >>
Designated pitcher Chris Bootcheck for assignment.
Charlotte Bobcats >>
Named Jared Bartie chief administrative officer and general counsel.
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.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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