Lions seek second straight upset in clash with Argos
Football Betting Lines
09/08/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a huge upset win against the Montreal Alouettes, the British Columbia Lions shoot for back-to-back victories for the first time in 2010 as they entertain the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday afternoon at Empire Field.
The Lions, who defeated Edmonton in the season opener (25-10), had been slipping away ever since and were trapped at the bottom of the Western Division standings with a seven-game losing streak before entering the month of September. A team that is winless at home in four tries thus far, British Columbia caught front-running Montreal at the right time and used the opportunity to come up with a stunning 38-17 win over the Alouettes on the road.
Granted, the Als were without quarterback Anthony Calvillo who was still nursing a chest bruise, but still it was assumed that Montreal had enough quality players to get them by the Lions, yet that wasn't the case at all. Quarterback Casey Printers connected on 14-of-28 passes for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns, helping offset Travis Lulay who had as many completions to the opposition (two) as he did to his own teammates (2-of-6 for 54 yards). Surprisingly, BC was able to overcome 12 penalties for 115 yards to gather the victory, partly because Montreal was flagged 11 times for a loss of 127 yards.
As for the Argonauts last week, they saw quarterback Cleo Lemon open up the offense and throw for a career-high 350 yards by completing 32-of-44 passes, but he was sacked three times and was guilty of three interceptions as well in his team's 28-13 loss to Hamilton on the road. Toronto kicker Grant Shaw kept the team involved in the first half with field goals of 39 and 16 yards, while running back Cory Boyd tacked on a seven-yard scoring run to cap a nine-play, 63-yard drive in the third period, but it wasn't nearly enough with the number of turnovers the Argos committed.
Boyd finished the game with 54 yards on 11 attempts, but no one else on the team was credited with more than a single carry in the setback. Toronto ended up with a pair of lost fumbles and that defeated a defensive effort that held the Tiger-Cats to just 34 yards rushing on 14 attempts.
Even though he had a lackluster game last week, the fact remains that Boyd is still the leading ground gainer in the CFL after nine games with 846 yards, averaging close to six yards per attempt. For much of the early part of the 2010 campaign the Argos had to lean heavily on Boyd because they were not sure what they'd be able to get out of Lemon, but now they know there is potential in the first-year signal-caller as long as he can cut down on his mistakes. In the first game of the season between these two squads, Lemon threw for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but at he same time he was touched for a pair of interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked three times so really the only way to go is up for him versus the Lions at this stage.
In his first ever game against Toronto, Printers had huge production with three passing scores and one on the ground and his legs have since proven to be a lethal weapon versus the Argos. In two meetings back in 2008, the QB threw for a combined 332 yards but just one TD, while coming up with an even 100 yards on the ground and four majors, so at least Toronto knows what to plan for heading into this weekend.
Unfortunately for Printers and the Lions, 2008 seems like a lifetime ago because this season the passing attack for BC has fallen far short of the mark. At this stage the position has accounted for just seven touchdowns through the air and a league-low 55.2 percent completion rate. Add to that a total of 13 picks and it is easy to see how the program ranks dead last in the CFL in efficiency rating at 68.2.
In a bit of irony Toronto, which has allowed opponents to complete 70 percent of their pass attempts and is giving up a league-high 428.1 ypg, is actually better than the Lions when it comes to scoring defense, allowing 27.0 ppg compared to the 27.1 ppg permitted by BC entering this week's action.
With regards to the all-time, regular-season series between the programs, British Columbia owns a 46-31-2 edge dating back to 1954. The Argos won the most recent meeting earlier this season by a score of 24-20 at home, but that victory for Toronto was the first against the Lions since October 2004 when the team posted a 22-16 triumph. In between Toronto victories, BC had rattled off 10 straight wins in the series.
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many weeks the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers find themselves pitted against each other on the gridiron, this time at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
<< Als seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes continue to compete
without the services of quarterback Anthony Calvillo as the team challenges
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Calvillo, who suffered a chest
<< A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West
Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a
postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in
the finale of a
<< Marlins to skip Johnson's next start
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will miss
his next scheduled start because of shoulder and back pain.
Johnson was slated to pitch Friday against Washington, but the Marlins now
plan to start Alex Sana
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 8th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
QUARTERFINALS
Spain vs. Serbia, 11 a.m.
Slovenia vs. Turkey, 2 p.m.
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as the slumping Edmonton Eskimos entertain the high-flying Calgary Stampeders in a Western Division showdown at Commonwealth Stadium.
Mets to wrap up long trip with matinee against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apparently, winning four straight games just isn't the
Washington Nationals' thing.
After failing to win more than three games in a row for the seventh time this
season, Washington instead seeks a series victory over the N
Red Sox, Rays ready for rubber match at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield gets the call on short notice this evening
when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of their
three-game series at Fenway Park.
After getting blown out in the opener of this set
Orioles aim for rare sweep of Yanks in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have been the worst team in the
American League all season. Today, though, the Orioles will have a chance to
do something against the best team in baseball that they haven't done in more
than 2
Injury-riddled White Sox resume set in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are starting to pile up for the Chicago White Sox.
Today, the short-handed White Sox will continue their push towards the
postseason, as they play the third installment of a four-game series against
the
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Horse Betting
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.