07/05/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has announced the rosters for the 2009 All-Star Game, and the squads are filled with many familiar names, as only a pair of first-time starters were selected.
The 80th Mid-Summer Classic will be played July 14 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and for the second season in a row a member of the host team was the top vote-getter overall. New York's Alex Rodriguez received the most votes for last year's game at Yankee Stadium.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols will make his eighth All-Star appearance and sixth start -- fifth as a first baseman -- after garnering 5,397,374 votes, the second-most in history behind Ken Griffey, Jr., who had 6,079,688 votes in 1994.
Pujols' teammate, catcher Yadier Molina, will make his first All-Star Game appearance, as St. Louis is one of three National League teams to have two starters in the game.
The defending champion Philadelphia Phillies and their NL East arch-rival New York Mets also each had a pair of starters selected. Philadelphia outfielder Raul Ibanez and second baseman Chase Utley will be in the lineup, while New York outfielder Carlos Beltran and third baseman David Wright were also voted in by the fans.
This marks Ibanez's first All-Star Game selection in his 14-season career.
The rest of the National League starting lineup is filled out by Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez and Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter headlined the American League squad, receiving a league-high 4,851,899 votes to earn his 10th All-Star Game selection -- his fifth as a starter.
Jeter will be joined in the infield by new teammate Mark Teixeira, who is an All-Star for the second time. Filling out the rest of the infield are the reigning AL MVP -- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia -- and last year's AL final vote winner -- Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.
Twins catcher Joe Mauer is the AL's starting backstop, while the Junior Circuit's starting outfield will consist of Boston's Jason Bay, Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Texas' Josh Hamilton.
The AL champion Rays will have four total players to join their manager, Joe Maddon, in St. Louis, as shortstop Jason Bartlett and outfielders Ben Zobrist and Carl Crawford were selected as reserves for the All-Star squad.
The other American League reserves are Baltimore outfielder Adam Jones; Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis; Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez; Detroit outfielder Curtis Granderson; Angels outfielder Torii Hunter; Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau; Texas third baseman Michael Young and Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill.
Headlining the AL pitching staff is 42-year-old Tim Wakefield, who will make his first All-Star Game appearance in his 17th MLB season. Wakefield, a knuckleballer who recently set a Red Sox record for most career starts, is the second oldest player to make his first All-Star Game appearance to Satchel Paige, who was 46 years old.
Joining Wakefield are Kansas City's Zack Greinke; Toronto's Roy Halladay; Detroit's Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson; the White Sox's Mark Buehrle; Boston's Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett; Minnesota's Joe Nathan; the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who is making his 10th All-Star Game appearance; the Angels' Brian Fuentes; Oakland's Andrew Bailey, who is the only rookie in the game, and Seattle's Felix Hernandez.
Arizona's 21-year-old outfielder Justin Upton is one of four first-time All- Stars among the National League reserves. Joining Upton in that respect are Colorado outfielder Brad Hawpe, Houston outfielder Hunter Pence and Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.
Accompanying them on the team will be Atlanta catcher Brian McCann; Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada; Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson; Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder; Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard; Pittsburgh second baseman Freddy Sanchez and San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
The National League pitching staff will consist of San Francisco's Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain; the Cubs' Ted Lilly; Arizona's Dan Haren; the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton; Florida's Josh Johnson; St. Louis' Ryan Franklin; San Diego's Heath Bell; the Mets' Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana; Cincinnati's Francisco Cordero and Colorado's Jason Marquis.
Each team will have an additional player, as voted again by the fans.
The National League choices are Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Philadelphia outfielder Shane Victorino, San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval and Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman.
The American League candidates are Angels infielder Chone Figgins, Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge, Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler, Toronto outfielder Adam Lind and Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena.
Balloting for the final player began Sunday and will continue through 4 p.m. (et) on Thursday, July 9.
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Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer captured his sixth
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established a record with his 15th career Grand Slam title.
Federer earned a 5-7,
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Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang was
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The right-hander left Saturday's 6-5, 12-inning victo
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Kaymer closed with a th
McNair's death ruled a homicide >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The shooting death of former Tennessee Titans
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Carpenter shines as Cards crush Reds >>
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Carpenter (
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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