Tampa re-signs C Thompson

Hockey Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed center Nate Thompson to a one-year contract on Friday, a move that allowed the club to avoid arbitration with the player.

The 25-year-old played in 32 games and tallied one goal and three assists for the Bolts last season after being claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders in January. In 71 contests between both clubs, Thompson finished with two goals and eight helpers.

"We are pleased to get Nate signed to his contract today, thereby avoiding the arbitration process," said Tampa Bay General Manager Steve Yzerman. "He will add depth up front for us and getting the contract signing behind him allows Nate to focus on conditioning and preparations for training camp. We are happy to have him back."

A sixth-round selection by Boston in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Thompson has tallied four goals and 10 assists in 118 career games.

Online-betting-sportsbook Hockey Betting News

<< Blues extend Hensick's contract
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have signed forward T.J. Hensick to a one-year contract extension. Hensick was picked up in a trade with Colorado in June and saw time in just seven NHL contests in 2009-10, not

<< Volquez to make season debut for Reds on Saturday
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez is scheduled to make his season debut on Saturday against the Rockies. Volquez, who has been out because of both Tommy John surgery and a 50-game suspension for

<< Kim, McDaniel to meet in Publinx final
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lion Kim and David McDaniel will meet in the final of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship after both players squeezed out a pair of 1-up victories on Friday. Indeed, all six matches contested

<< Wind blows away Oosthuizen's challengers
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen got the luck of the draw on Friday at the British Open Championship. The South African fired a five-under 67 despite intermittent rain and gusty winds to take a five-stroke lead with

<< Top seed Pennetta reaches Palermo semis
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta defeated Spanish qualifier Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament. Pennetta of Italy will next battle eighth

Brewers' Davis shelved by elbow tendinitis >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have placed lefty Doug Davis on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left elbow. Davis was scheduled to pitch Monday to open a four-game series in Pittsburgh. He missed the

Indians release C Redmond >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have released catcher Mike Redmond after designating him for assignment last Saturday. Redmond was hitting .206 with five runs batted in over 63 at-bats at the time of his designation

Padres disable Latos, Adams >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have placed pitchers Mat Latos and Mike Adams on the 15-day disabled list. Latos will be out of action due to a strained left oblique muscle suffered when he was trying to hold

Habs appoint Carriere assistant GM >>
Montreal, Quebec (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday the appointment of Larry Carriere to assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Carriere, a Montreal native, had been a pro scout fo

Yankees honor Steinbrenner, Sheppard >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees held a tribute prior to Friday night's game against Tampa Bay to honor late team owner George Steinbrenner and former public address announcer Bob Sheppard. Fans and the entire

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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.