07/03/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers, a career-high seven runs batted in and scored four times, as the Cleveland Indians crushed the Oakland Athletics, 15-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Travis Hafner belted a solo shot and walked twice, while Asdrubal Cabrera had a pair of doubles and three RBI for Cleveland, which snapped a five-game slide, but have only three wins in its last 16 games.
David Huff (4-3) picked up the win after working six innings. The rookie left- hander allowed eight hits and three runs, struck out four and walked one, and has won four of his last five starts.
Nomar Garciaparra had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Athletics, who have dropped seven of nine.
Trevor Cahill (5-7) was pinned with the loss after getting raked for eight runs -- five earned -- on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked four and struck out two.
Holliday's ground out to shortstop in the first chased home Adam Kennedy, who led off the ball game with a ground-rule double and took third on a grounder to second to give the Athletics the early edge. Garciaparra's RBI two-bagger in the top of the second made it a 2-0 game, before Hafner's solo blast got the Indians on the board in the home half.
Choo's RBI single in the third pulled the Tribe even and left runners on the corners with two outs. Hafner drew a walk to load the bases and Jhonny Peralta chopped a ground ball to third, but Bobby Crosby's throwing error allowed two more to come home to put Cleveland in front 4-2.
Jack Cust got one back for the A's with a run-scoring base hit in the top of the fourth. Then in the bottom half, an RBI double by Cabrera and a two-run double from Choo stretched the Indians lead to 7-3 and signaled the end for Cahill. Santiago Casilla took over and walked Hafner and served up an RBI single to Peralta.
Cleveland continued to pour it on in the fifth, putting five more on the board. Luis Valbuena and Ben Francisco each singled to get the inning started and both scored when Cabrera lined a two base hit to center. Later in the inning, Choo's three-run homer upped the hosts lead to 13-3.
Grady Sizemore's run-scoring double in the sixth and solo homer by Choo in the seventh put the Tribe ahead by 12.
Mike Gosling came on for mop up duty in the top of the ninth and got the final three outs despite giving up a pair of hits.
Game Notes
The Tribe took five of nine meetings with Oakland last season, including a 4-2 mark as the host. Cleveland has won 10 of the last 14 matchups versus the Athletics at home...The Indians improved to 2-5 on their nine-game homestand...Choo also stole a base and is now 13-for-13 in steal attempts...Oakland's Orlando Cabrera had his 14-game hitting streak snapped due to an 0-for-5 performance.
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Chipper Jones, Yunel Es
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Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brady Stockton posted a three-under 69 Friday
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holes at 10-under-par
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Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared
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Philade
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles,
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Moss and Vazquez lead Pirates over Marlins >>
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Charlie Morton
Rockies blank Diamondbacks >>
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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.
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