04/05/2007 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teenager Freddie Adu has been a part of the hype machine before. When he joined Major League Soccer's D.C. United as a 14-year-old, the American was touted as the next big thing in American soccer. To be more precise, he was touted as America's first big thing in soccer.
Now, three years later, he hasn't really lived up to that hype in his professional career, scoring 11 goals and 17 assists in 87 games played in MLS, including 59 starts for United.
This offseason he was traded from perennial Eastern power United to Real Salt Lake (RSL), a third-year Western Conference club that has yet to make the playoffs in its brief history.
The move seems to fit, considering Adu played under RSL head coach John Ellinger as a member of the U-17 National Team in 2002 as a 13-year-old and flourished. He will also have a little more offensive freedom with RSL than he did in D.C. where he played midfield in a three-man backline system. In Utah, he will be playing up top on the left flank in a 4-3-3 system.
"We play a 4-3-3 system and he plays at left forward so he has the freedom to go inside," Ellinger said. "He feels a little bit more relaxed in doing that since we play four in the back, a little different than D.C. where they had three in the back so he had more defensive responsibilities. This way should give him a little bit more freedom offensively to do his thing. He seems to be taking to that pretty well."
The change of scenery seems to have energized Adu as well, making him hungrier, more aggressive and ready to prove he is for real.
"What we have seen so far is he is more motivated," Ellinger said. "Some of the passion that I remember from his earlier days when I had him in residency where he was out to prove something is back. He has a little bit of that chip back on his shoulder. I think that is important for him because there are always doubters. It is back to where he is in a new team and I think the leaders on this team have done a great job to make him fit in and still give him the freedom to be Freddie.
"At 17 now, he has been in the league three years and he has done a very good job of blending in with us. He is laughing a lot more. I still say on April 7 I want to see that game face that I used to see (with the U-17 National Team). I think he is just extremely motivated this year to help us get into the playoffs and just be Freddie again," Ellinger added.
Joining Adu up top for RSL will be 2006 MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham in the middle and the team's second leading scorer from 2006, Jason Kreis on the right.
The veteran Cunningham, who scored 16 goals and 11 assists last season, should have a big impact on Adu's development this season.
"He is looking great in the preseason," Ellinger said of Cunningham. "He hasn't scored a whole lot in the preseason but that is okay. He has set up quite a few. His work-rate has been excellent. He keeps the opponent's defense very honest because you know he can score so you have to be aware of where he is at all times. He looks sharp."
Other players who figure to have an impact on the offense are Atiba Harris, Andy Williams, Chris Brown, Kyle Brown, Duke Hashimoto and Luis Tejada.
"I think up top we have some options offensively," Ellinger said.
The midfield will probably be led by Carey Talley, Jason Kreis and Mehdi Ballouchy among others, but the most important part of the team's success in 2007 figures to be the play of the defense and goaltending.
The team will have veteran Nick Rimando in goal and his play will be key. Career-wise, Rimando has a 1.32 goals against average in 145 MLS regular season games. Chris Seitz and draft pick Kyle Reynish will also be in the mix in net.
"For us it is a matter of getting Nick Rimando his confidence early in the season and getting out back four their confidence," Ellinger said.
The backline will be Jack Stewart, Eddie Pope, Daniel Torres and Will Forko, and if they can team up with Rimando to cut down on the 49 goals scored against last season, look for RSL to dramatically improve on their 10-13-9 record from 2006.
"For us its about trying to score as many goals as we did last year while cutting our goals-against in half," Ellinger said. "If we can do that I think we will be successful."
Last season, RSl started the season 0-5-1 and that was a major reason the team missed the playoffs in its second year. This season, starting with the first game on April 7 at home against Dallas FC, Ellinger is stressing getting off to a good start.
"I think our three things that I have been kind of saying (as our teams goals) are to win the first game, change the attitude and make the playoffs," Ellinger said. " We haven't really done that, we have been on the road (to start the season) the last two years. This time we have the first two games at home so we want to win the first game to start the season. Then we want to try and create a win-every-game type of attitude. Every time we step on the field, whether it is home or away, we should belive we are going to win.We kind of had that attitude the second half of last year and we are trying to start off with that kind of attitude this season. The third thing is getting to the playoffs. We feel we have the team that can do that this year. Those are the three things that we are shooting for this year."
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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.
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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
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