11/13/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2011 season.
Gardenhire will begin his eighth season as Twins skipper in 2009. He has guided the club to a record of 622-512, including 88-75 in 2008. Last year's team nearly reached the postseason, losing a one-game playoff to the Chicago White Sox for the American League Central crown.
The Twins also signed Gardenhire's coaching staff to two-year contracts through the 2010 campaign -- the first year of Minnesota's new ballpark.
"Ron and his staff have done an outstanding job over the last seven years, and none was better than the 2008 season," said Twins general manager Bill Smith. "We had a lot of new players and a lot of young players, and our major league staff did a marvelous job with a changing cast of players. Continuity has been a great strength of the Twins organization for two decades. The current staff has played an important role in the design and development of the Target Field facilities, and these agreements will carry the staff into the new ballpark in 2010."
The 51-year-old Gardenhire, who was runner-up to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon in the AL Manager of the Year voting, took over as Twins skipper before the 2002 season. He has led the team to four AL Central titles in his first seven years, posting winning records in six of those seven campaigns.
Only Tom Kelly, with 1,140 victories, has more wins than Gardenhire with the Twins.
<< Leafs continue swing with stop in Edmonton
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto continues its tour of western Canada tonight, as it
visits the Edmonton Oilers and Rexall Place.
The Maple Leafs began this swing on Tuesday with a 4-3 loss in Calgary. Alexei
Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov both sco
<< Kings, Stars cap home-and-home in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It isn't too often that the Stars get pushed around by the
Kings. Trailing Los Angeles by one point in the standings, last-place Dallas
hosts the Kings tonight at American Airlines Center in the finale of a home-
and-home set
<< Red Wings head south to battle Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to rebound from a tough loss
when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for this evening's test at St. Pete
Times Forum.
The Red Wings went into Tuesday's much-hyped game against visiting Pittsb
<< Pens take on Flyers aiming to extend winning streak
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to extend their season-
high winning streak to five games tonight, when they welcome the Philadelphia
Flyers to Mellon Arena for another edition of this intrastate rivalry.
The Penguins had
Seeing is Believing >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Like many college football pundits, I have
watched Texas Tech put up gaudy offensive numbers over the years and chalked
it up as a gimmick offense much like Hawaii under June Jones. I had never
been a fan of
Bulls sign veteran Hunter >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls signed guard Lindsey Hunter
on Thursday, bringing the 15-season veteran back to the league.
Hunter spent last season with Detroit, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 assists in
24 games. He play
NBA Southwest: Spurs need to tread water >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since it's an odd year in the NBA, it wasn't really a
stretch picking the San Antonio Spurs to win an NBA championship.
After all, the club's last three championship rings came in 2003, 2005 and
2007.
But, any hopes of
L.A. defender Franklin named Rookie of the Year >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy defender Sean Franklin was
named Major League Soccer's Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
Franklin, 23, started 26 out of 27 matches and recorded one assist. He was the
Galaxys first pick -
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 News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting