Carter leads Nets past Magic

Basketball Betting Lines

04/11/2009 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter led the Nets with 27 points and nine assists, as New Jersey topped an uninspired Orlando Magic club, 103-93.

"I just kind of wanted to set the tone of how we wanted to play these last couple of games," Carter said. "We're bettering ourselves for next year, gaining confidence."

Brook Lopez added 13 points and 11 rebounds for New Jersey, which had lost eight of 10 coming in but shot a sizzling 54.3 percent from the floor. Keyon Dooling chipped in 12 points and 10 helpers for the victors.

Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 16 points but was helped off the court in the fourth quarter after rolling his left ankle. Mickael Pietrus and Tony Battie notched 14 points each in the setback.

Dwight Howard was held to seven points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes of action for Orlando, which dropped back-to-back games for just the third time this season. The Magic now sit 2 1/2 games back of Boston for the No. 2 seed in the East.

"I think the biggest thing is defense, we're not helping," Howard said. "We have to do something about this. We have to get it going before the playoffs start."

All Star's Devin Harris (shoulder) for New Jersey and Rashard Lewis (knee) for Orlando sat out due to their respective ailments.

The Nets jumped out to a 28-24 lead after 12 minutes of action. Midway through the second frame, consecutive three-pointers by Jarvis Hayes and Bobby Simmons sparked a 10-0 flurry for the hosts that resulted in a 47-30 advantage.

Orlando's Rafer Alston hit a jumper to beat the halftime buzzer, but the Magic were still looking at a 57-47 deficit at the break.

New Jersey continued to play frontrunner in the third, taking an 83-74 cushion into the final stanza. After Turkoglu scored six straight points for Orlando early in the fourth, Anthony Johnson made a jumper to pull the Magic within 87-82 at the eight-minute mark.

But Simmons nailed a three to spark an 8-0 stretch, during which time Turkoglu went down with an injury. Another Simmons trey a little later made it 100-86 with four minutes left and it was a double-digit game the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Orlando will next visit Milwaukee on Monday, while closing out its regular season Wednesday at home against Charlotte...New Jersey has games with Charlotte and New York to close out its schedule...The Magic won the season series, 2-1...Simmons and Josh Boone each had 11 points in the win.

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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.