UTSA inks Thompson to contract extension

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

06/30/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Texas-San Antonio has signed head men's basketball coach Brooks Thompson to a contract extension through the 2014-15 season.

Thompson has led the Roadrunners to back-to-back 19-win seasons and an overall mark of 56-62 during his tenure at the school. This past season UTSA ended 19-11 and tied for third in the Southland Conference West Division and fifth overall with a 9-7 league mark.

UTSA won a school-record 10 non-conference contests, including a team-best seven victories against Division I opponents, and advanced to the Southland Tournament for the third consecutive year.

"We are pleased to be able to sign Brooks for another five seasons," athletics director Lynn Hickey said. "He has done an outstanding job turning the program around and we are very excited about the direction and future."

Iwonvegas NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Manny Ramirez to get MRI on hamstring
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers star outfielder Manny Ramirez will undergo an MRI on his injured right hamstring during Thursday's day off. Ramirez will have the MRI done in Arizona, where the Dodgers ar

<< Wilson transfers to Marquette
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Jamil Wilson has transfered to Marquette after spending his freshman season at Oregon. He will have to sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will have three years of el

<< Dodgers complete sweep of Giants
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Furcal and Matt Kemp each homered to back Vicente Padilla's solid pitching performance, as the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the San Francisco Giants, 8-2, to complete a three-game series

<< Red Wings, city of Detroit agree to extend arena lease talks
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and Detroit mayor Dave Bing agreed to extend talks aimed at a lease renewal that will keep the hockey club at Joe Louis Arena. The Detroit Free Press revealed that both sides have

<< Gay gets qualifying offer from Grizzlies
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies extended a qualifying offer to Rudy Gay on Wednesday, making the forward a restricted free agent. Gay, the eighth overall pick in the 2006 draft, ranked second on the Grizzli

Lions sign third-round pick Spievey >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions on Wednesday signed rookie cornerback Amari Spievey to a three-year contract. Spievey was selected by the Lions in the third round (66th overall) of this year's draft. The 5-foot

Tigers send reliever Ni to Toledo >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers optioned relief pitcher Fu-Te Ni to Triple-A Toledo. The move was made following Detroit's 5-1 setback in the finale of a three- game set against the Twins. In his second major-l

Rockets extend qualifying offers to Scola, Lowry >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets extended qualifying offers to forward Luis Scola and guard Kyle Lowry prior to a Wednesday night deadline. The team also exercised a team option to extend the contract of center/fo

Spurs' Jefferson to become a free agent >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson has opted out of the final year of his contract, forgoing the $15 million he is due next season to test the free agent market. The Spurs acquired Jefferson in a

Ducks get Jaffray from Flames >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks acquired left wing/center Jason Jaffray from the Calgary Flames in exchange for left wing Logan MacMillan. Either club could also receive a seventh-round selection in the 2013 NH

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.