Hawks name Drew head coach

Basketball Betting Lines

06/13/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have officially named Larry Drew as the team's next head coach.

Drew, who has been Atlanta's lead assistant for the past six years, takes the place of Mike Woodson, who was fired at the end of the season. A press conference to introduce Drew has been called for Monday at 4 p.m. (et). Terms of his contract were not released.

"We are very pleased to welcome Larry as the new head coach of the Atlanta Hawks," said Hawks general manager and vice president Rick Sund. "After aggressively going through the interview process with all of the candidates it became clear, with his knowledge of the game as well as his experience as player and assistant coach, he had the qualities we were looking for to lead our club. Over the last few years, a number of teams have had success hiring from within and we feel he is more than ready for the challenge."

Drew has also been an assistant with the Lakers, Pistons, Wizards and Nets since retiring as a player in 1991. He becomes the 11th head coach in franchise history.

"It has been a long journey to reach this level in my career and I'm very appreciative of the support I've been given by the ownership group and Rick," said Drew. "I'm excited about the opportunity to become a head coach in this league, and I will do my very best to continue to build on what we've accomplished here in Atlanta."

The Hawks were 53-29 this past season and earned the third seed in the Eastern Conference. After rallying from a 3-2 series deficit to oust Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs, the Hawks were swept in dominating fashion by Orlando in the conference semifinals. The Magic outscored Atlanta by a total of 101 points during the four games.

Woodson finished with a record of 206-286 with the Hawks. The team was just 13-69 in his first season, then improved each year afterward and reached the playoffs each of the last three seasons.

Drew averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists in 714 career games over an 11-year tenure with the Pistons, Kings, Clippers and Lakers. He was selected 17th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft by Detroit.

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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.