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.
<< Familiar foes do battle in Winnipeg
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.
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Stampeders and Eskimos meet for second time this week >>
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
(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."
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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