Dallas draws Toronto to extend road unbeaten run

Soccer Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milton Rodriguez scored his first Major League Soccer goal in the 77th minute and FC Dallas tied Toronto FC, 1-1, on Saturday at BMO Field to extend its road unbeaten streak to seven games.

Maicon Santos scored his first goal for Toronto in the 61st minute, but Dallas responded to earn its seventh result in eight road matches this season.

Dallas (6-2-8) suffered its only road defeat in mid-April at Red Bull New York and has two wins and five draws on the road since. Dallas is also unbeaten in its last seven overall.

Toronto (6-5-5) remained unbeaten at home this year but settled for its fourth draw in nine home matches.

Dwayne De Rosario, third in MLS with eight goals, nearly put Toronto in front in the 28th minute off a free kick but Hartman pushed the dipping 25-yard shot over the bar. Chad Barrett had the only other shot on goal in the first half for either side in the 45th, but Hartman made an easy save at the near post.

Barrett set up De Rosario for the first scoring chance of the second half, but the Toronto captain wad denied by a fingertip save from Hartman. Santos tried to turn the rebound on goal while he was on the ground, but shot wide.

Santos was on target three minutes later, as he took a perfect through ball by Julian de Guzman and beat Hartman at the near post. De Guzman found Santos on the left and he dribbled into the box and, despite being well defended by Zach Loyd, found the bottom-left corner in the 61st. Santos scored once for Chivas USA earlier this season before joining Toronto.

FC Dallas answered just over 15 minutes later through Rodriguez, who headed by TFC goalie Stefan Frei from six yards. David Ferreira delivered the corner for his fifth assist, and Rodriguez jumped between two defenders to drive the ball past a helpless Frei.

Frei, who made one save in the first 85 minutes, preserved a point for Toronto when he dove to make a one-handed save on a deflected shot from Dallas' Atiba Harris with three minutes remaining in normal time.

Dallas reserve goalie Dario Sala was red carded on the bench in stoppage time, but neither team threatened on the field in the six added minutes.

Dallas will try to extend its road unbeaten streak against the Colorado Rapids on July 31, when Toronto also plays its next match at the Kansas City Wizards.

Wwwtitaniccasino Soccer Betting News

<< Wilson four ahead after 54 holes in Canada
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dean Wilson carded his third straight five- under 65 Saturday to take a four-stroke lead after three rounds of the Canadian Open. Wilson, whose lone win was at the 2006 International, finished 54 holes at 15-

<< Chakvetadze reaches finals in Slovenia
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anna Chakvetadze overcame a rough start Saturday to defeat Polona Hercog and move into the finals of the Slovenia Open. Hercog, a Slovenian, won the first set, 6-0, in 24 minutes and took th

<< Mets' Maine to miss rest of season
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher John Maine has undergone surgery on his right shoulder that will sideline him for the rest of the 2010 season. The procedure was performed Friday by Dr. Michael Ciccotti in Phil

<< Flanagan moves in front in Ohio
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Nick Flanagan carded a two-under 69 Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Flanagan, who won three times in the 2007, completed 54

<< Rangers disable catcher Treanor
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed catcher Matt Treanor on the 15-day disabled list after suffering a knee sprain in Friday's game against the Angels. In the bottom of the seventh, Treanor hit a bouncer off pitche

Report: Giants sign LB Bulluck >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have reportedly signed veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck. The Star-Ledger, which cites Bulluck's agent, Gary Wichard, reports that the two sides have agreed terms on a one-year

Ludwick returns to Cardinals lineup >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals activated outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the 15-day disabled list in time for Saturday's game at Wrigley Field. He went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and walk in his return to the l

Rachel Alexandra garners Lady's Secret victory >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, used a stalking ride Saturday to win the $400,000 Lady's Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park. The champion filly won the 1 1/8-mile race by three-lengths over Qu

New York's Barajas leaves game >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mets catcher Rod Barajas left Saturday's game against Los Angeles in the sixth inning with a strained right oblique. The veteran receiver had singled in a run to cut the Dodgers' lead to 2-1 and was re

Giants place Affeldt on disabled list >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have placed pitcher Jeremy Affeldt on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. The veteran left-hander has appeared in 37 games in relief this season and has posted a rec

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.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.