Roughriders seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats
Football Betting Lines
07/28/2010 - Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No longer the last undefeated team in the CFL this season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders try to continue their recent dominance over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when the two squads clash at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Saturday.
The Roughriders, who erupted for 54 points during a season-opening, overtime win over Montreal, were limited to a season-low 20 points last weekend in their 20-point loss to Calgary on the road. For the first time this season, Saskatchewan failed to score the first points of the game and the team's defense completely broke down in the second half as it allowed 33 points.
Quarterback Darian Durant was held in check for much of the game, throwing his lone touchdown of the event late in the fourth quarter, once the outcome had already been decided. Durant finished the night 22-of-37 for 354 yards, but he was picked off three times and sacked twice.
Weston Dressler accounted for nine receptions for 125 yards, both of which were game highs. Running back Wes Cates added another 83 yards and a score on 16 rushing attempts.
As for the Tiger-Cats, they kept things close against Montreal in the first half last Thursday, but then Hamilton allowed the Alouettes into the end zone in the second half and that was too much to take in the 37-14 final at McGill Stadium. Quarterback Kevin Glenn hit 16-of-32 passes for 201 yards, but late in the meeting he was taken out in favor of Quinton Porter who converted 5- of-7 passes for 70 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while suffering a pair of sacks along the way.
The so-called rushing attack of the Ti-Cats was limited to only 49 yards on 14 attempts, with DeAndre Cobb gaining a team-best 25 yards on eight tries. Cobb has had some serious trouble gaining his footing early in the season, amassing a combined 137 yards on 39 attempts which means, of the league's top 30 runners after four games, Cobb has the worst average per carry (3.5 yards) by far.
As a group, Hamilton is the weakest rushing team in the league with only 71.5 ypg, gaining a full yard less per attempt than any other team in the CFL at the moment.
Needing Glenn to bounce back in order to give them a fighting chance this time around, the Tiger-Cats understand that their best offensive threat stems from Glenn in the pocket. The signal-caller has completed better than 65 percent of his attempts for close to 1,100 yards and has five touchdowns and just a single interception to his credit, the fewest miscues of any starter in the league right now.
Even though he had a sub-par game judging by his own standards, Durant is still the quarterback by which the rest of the league is measured through four games, at least in terms of his overall yardage which stands at 1,325 yards. Having completed close to 61 percent of his attempts thus far, Durant is tied for second in the league with eight touchdown throws.
Now in his fifth CFL season, Cates is on pace to have his most successful campaign now that he has 400 yards and three touchdowns through four games. Perhaps most impressive is his average of seven yards per attempt, although that's not an average that will stand up through all the bumps and bruises of an entire regular season. Nevertheless, the Roughriders as a team have been taking it to the rest of the league with their running game, averaging a CFL- best 178 ypg and an explosive 8.1 yards per attempt. Again, those numbers will not stand up over time, but at least for the moment opponents like Hamilton will have to guard against them.
Saskatchewan has won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Ti-Cats, although it was Hamilton that posted a 24-6 triumph in the most recent encounter last October 31 at home. As a result of that outcome, the all-time regular-season series is knotted at 36-36-4 dating back to 1950.
The Roughriders have won both of their home dates thus far in 2010, while Hamilton has come up empty in two road dates. The Tiger-Cats will serve as hosts for the only other meeting this year between the two clubs, slated for September 25.
Durant and Cates are as scary a one-two punch as there is in the league entering the fifth week of the season and if Hamilton eases up on one, expect the other to take advantage.
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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