Clippers kick off trek in Washington

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards.

The Clippers will begin a six-game road trip against the Wizards, Magic, Cavaliers, 76ers, Bobcats and Mavericks, and are 3-4 away from home this season. They are much better as the host with a 10-3 ledger, however.

Los Angeles had a four-game winning streak come to an end with Thursday's 112-91 loss versus the Denver Nuggets, as Griffin paced LA with 18 points and Paul logged 15 and nine assists in defeat. The Clippers are still a half-game ahead of the Lakers for first place in the Pacific Division.

"We played alright for the first quarter and a half, and then the floodgates opened up," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Our energy wasn't there, we got outrebounded and we didn't manage the game well in any aspects."

Randy Foye and Mo Williams netted 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the Clippers, who had scored 100-plus points in three straight games and blew a comfortable 32-19 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. LA is averaging an NBA-best 30.9 points in the first quarter this season. DeAndre Jordan had only two points and nine rebounds and is still bothered by a hyper-extended left knee suffered against Utah in a win on Wednesday.

Caron Butler had 11 points after missing the win over the Jazz with a sore lower back. Paul was averaging 28.3 points, 10.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 3.7 rebounds in three games before facing the Nuggets. Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe (knee) is questionable for Saturday and has appeared in one game this season.

In other team news, the Clippers bolstered their roster by signing free agent Kenyon Martin on Friday. Martin played for the Xinjiang Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association during the NBA lockout, and was contractually obligated to wait until the end of the Tigers' season before returning to the NBA. He was cleared to play by FIBA, basketball's international governing body, on Thursday. Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 48 games last season with the Denver Nuggets.

"Kenyon is the ultimate competitor and a key acquisition," stated club vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. "We expect that he will provide additional experience, passion and professionalism, as well as some important depth to our front court."

Meanwhile, the Wizards will begin a four-game homestand tonight versus the Clippers, Raptors, Knicks and Heat, and are 3-9 in D.C. this season.

Washington has lost three in a row and seven of its last nine games, including Friday's 106-89 loss to Toronto at Air Canada Centre. Nick Young led the Wizards with 21 points and John Wall finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Trevor Booker added 13 points and seven boards for Washington, which dropped to 4-19 on the season and shot 37.9 percent for the game.

The Wizards were killed on the boards to the tune of a 61-37 margin.

"There's not much to say about this one, you have to tip your hats to Toronto. They outplayed us in every phase of the game," Wizards interim head coach Randy Wittman said. "We fell back into some of our bad habits, we have to correct that."

Rashard Lewis finished with eight points and is six shy of reaching the 15,000-point mark in his career. Lewis will join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history who have scored at least 15,000 points, grabbed 5,000 rebounds and made 1,500 three-pointers.

Washington lost both meetings against the Clippers last season and has dropped five straight overall in this series. The Clippers, though, have lost seven of 10 trips to the nation's capital.

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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.