Brewers top Giants; Bonds sits

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2007 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun homered and drove in three runs, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the San Francisco Giants, 7-5, in the conclusion of a three-game series at Miller Park.

Barry Bonds, sitting two home runs shy of Hank Aaron's all-time record at 753, got the day off. He now has a good chance to break the record at home, as the Giants play the next seven games at AT&T Park, starting with a four-game set with Aaron's Braves.

Corey Hart hit a two-run homer and J.J. Hardy knocked in two for Milwaukee, which avoided the sweep. Claudio Vargas (8-2) allowed three runs on five hits over six innings in a winning effort.

Opposing starter Barry Zito (7-10) yielded seven runs in 5 1/3 innings of work for the Giants, who have lost eight of 11. Omar Vizquel finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, and Pedro Feliz homered.

A pair of homers in the first staked the Brewers to a 4-0 lead. Rickie Weeks doubled to lead off the inning, and was driven in a batter later when Braun belted Zito's offering over the wall in left-center.

"We haven't played as well as we would like to the last couple of days," Braun said. "It was nice to get the momentum early, and to get a couple more runs and hang on to win."

The sequence repeated itself, as Prince Fielder followed with a double before Hart stepped in a batter later and hit his 14th homer of the year.

The Giants got on the board in the third thanks to a defensive miscue. Vizquel's hit was misplayed in the outfield, allowing Dave Roberts to score all the way from first with two outs.

Roberts and Vizquel added RBI singles in the fifth to slice the Brewers lead to 4-3.

Milwaukee, though, responded with three runs in the sixth to reclaim command. With the bases loaded and two out, Hardy singled to center to bring a pair home. Braun followed with a base hit that scored Craig Counsell for a 7-3 advantage.

"I tried to hold them down, and give the team a chance to win," Zito said. "A couple hits in the sixth was the difference."

Feliz's leadoff homer in the seventh made it a three-run game, and Aurilia's RBI groundout in the eighth brought the Giants within two. Francisco Cordero shut the door in the ninth, however, for his 31st save of the season.

Game Notes

With the long ball, Braun became the fastest Brewer in team history to reach 15 homers -- needing just 50 at-bats...Hart entered the game in a 1-for-19 skid...Attendance was 42,554.

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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.