Packers/Bears selected for Sunday night; wild chase for playoffs

Football Betting Lines

12/26/2006 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has moved this coming Sunday night's game between Green Bay and the Chicago Bears to 8:15 p.m. (et) as part of the flexible scheduling system.

There were other games moved back to later in the afternoon, as the NFL gears up for a frantic finish to the regular season. Incredibly, six teams are fighting for two playoff spots in the AFC and five clubs are battling for the final berth in the NFC.

Also as part of the flex scheduling, the Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles games will move to 4:15 p.m. (et). All three of those contests have playoff implications.

Going into the final week, the New York Jets, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Denver and Kansas City are all battling for the last two playoff spots in the AFC, although the Broncos and Jets control their own destiny.

Meanwhile, in the NFC, the New York Giants, Green Bay, Carolina, Atlanta and St. Louis are tangling for the final playoff spot, but New York holds a decided advantage going into Week 17.

The New Year's Eve battle at Soldier Field between the NFC North rivals could mark the final game for Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who still hasn't announced if he's decided to retire following this season.

The Bears have already clinched the division title and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs, but the Packers could know by Sunday night if they're still in the postseason race. One of five teams at 7-8 in the NFC, the Packers need to win their final game, and get help elsewhere, to have a chance.

Considering the Packers were crushed, 26-0 at home by the Bears in the first week of the season, it could be difficult at best for Favre and company to pull out a win, although Green Bay has won its last three games.

Elsewhere in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles control their own fortune to win the East following a 23-7 road victory Christmas Day over the Cowboys. The Eagles can win the division with a victory versus the Falcons, or if the Cowboys lose earlier in the day at home to Detroit.

Despite losing six of their last seven games, the Giants could get into the playoffs, likely with just a win over the Redskins. A New York triumph, plus a strength of victory tiebreaker over Green Bay puts the Giants into the playoffs. New York could still get in with a defeat, but only if Green Bay, St. Louis, Atlanta and Carolina all lose.

Most of Sunday's NFC playoff scenarios would be eliminated if the Giants simply win Saturday night. A New York triumph would knock out Carolina, Atlanta and St. Louis.

In the AFC, the Jets, coming off a 13-10 win at Miami Christmas night, can get a wild card berth with a home win over Oakland. If the Jets somehow lose to the 2-13 Raiders, they could still back in with losses from other teams.

Denver can also get a wild card spot with a home win over San Francisco or with a loss from the Chiefs.

That leaves Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Kansas City on the outside looking in. The Bengals need to win at home against Pittsburgh, and get a loss from the Jets to get in. Cincinnati can also make the postseason with a win, combined with loss from Denver and Jacksonville.

The Jaguars and Chiefs play each other in Kansas City, but the winner of that game would have to get losses from three other teams to have a shot at the playoffs.

The Titans, a dangerous team with six straight wins under the superior play of rookie quarterback Vince Young, have to win at home against the AFC East champion Patriots, and then get losses from Cincinnati, Denver and Jacksonville.

Playoff seed positioning is still up for grabs and it'll all be decided from the late afternoon games. At 13-2, AFC West champion San Diego is currently the top seed in the conference. A Chargers win at home against Arizona would secure that No. 1 seed, but a loss, combined with a Baltimore win at home over Buffalo would give the Ravens the top slot.

The AFC South champion Colts, losers in three of their last four games, still can get a first-round bye with a win, combined with a loss by the Ravens.

There are only two games the final weekend with no playoff implications: Cleveland/Houston, and Seattle/Tampa Bay. The Seahawks have already won the NFC West and cannot get a bye. Chicago and New Orleans have locked up first- round passes in the NFC.

Sporsillustrated Football Betting News

<< Jets inch closer to playoffs by edging Dolphins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leon Washington's 64-yard jaunt on a screen pass set up Mike Nugent's winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining, as the New York Jets moved closer to the playoffs with a 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphin

<< Eagles run over Cowboys to clinch playoff berth
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Garcia completed 15-of-23 passes for 238 yards and Brian Westbrook led a clock-controlling ground game with 122 rushing yards, as the Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff berth and gained the NFC East l

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Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade had a spectacular Christmas afternoon, scoring 40 points, dishing out 11 assists and tying a career-high with four blocked shots, as the Heat rolled to a 101-85 over the Los Angeles Lakers.

<< NFL Inactives (Monday, December 25, 2006)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of the players placed on the inactive squad for this week's NFL games. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT DALLAS COWBOYS, 5:00 P.M. (ET) Eagles - RB Ryan Moats, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Pat McCoy

Rockets stop off in Indiana >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets hit the road this evening to take on the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Houston will visit Indiana and New Jersey on its brief trip and is 8-8 as the visitor this season. The Rockets have lost t

Grizzlies, Wizards meet at Verizon Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies try and stop a three-game losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. Memphis, the NBA's worst team, suffered a 100-97 loss to the Utah Jazz on Satur

Pistons welcome Nets to The Palace >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons aim for their fifth straight win when they host the New Jersey Nets tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit, which owns a two-game lead over Chicago in the division, ha

Bulls try to continue strong play at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls are on a roll and will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves this evening at the Target Center. Chicago is just two games behind Detroit for the lead in the Central Division and has won 13 of its last 15 game

Bucks start road trip in San Antonio >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks open a three-game road trip tonight when they take on the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. Milwaukee has won a season-high four straight games and posted a 115-104 victory over the New Jersey Nets


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.