Argos and Als square off for first in the East

Football Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their touchdown drought now a memory, the Montreal Alouettes turn their attention to the Toronto Argonauts as the two clubs, tied for the lead in the CFL's Eastern Division, tangle at McGill Stadium on Thursday night.

Even though Montreal finally put the brakes on an unhealthy run of being held out of the end zone, last week the team leaned heavily on the kicking game in order to get them over the hump. Damon Duval tied a career-high with seven field goals as he helped lead the Alouettes to a commanding 37-14 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Thursday. Duval finished the night with 22 points as Montreal logged its third straight win after losing the season opener to Saskatchewan in overtime, 54-51.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who came up lame late in the first half but returned to action, also had a strong outing as he converted 28-of-38 passes for 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns, getting his team into the end zone for the first time in six quarters when he struck in the fourth period.

As for the Argos, they tied their entire win total from a year ago (3-15) when they slipped by British Columbia on Friday night, 24-20, at home at the Rogers Centre. After starting slow and amassing just 10 points through the first three quarters, Toronto got a late boost from quarterback Cleo Lemon and, more importantly Byron Parker who returned an interception 41 yards for the go- ahead score with under two-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation.

For Parker, the pick-six was the seventh of his career, leaving him one shy of the all-time CFL record.

Lemon, who absorbed a nasty hit from Solomon Elimimian but still managed to work his way back into the huddle, converted 19-of-28 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was however, picked off twice and sacked three times in the victory. Running back Cory Boyd posted his third straight 100-yard rushing effort as he gained a game-high 148 yards on 19 carries, his 41-yard burst in the fourth quarter setting up a clutch TD pass from Lemon to Brandon Rideau.

Toronto has played far too many tight games in the early going and, after four weeks of action, are the only team in the league with a winning record that has allowed more points (108) than it has scored (103), and that certainly has to be a concern for the coaching staff as they prepare for a Montreal squad that has finally found an offense after hitting a dry spell.

Boyd has found his way through defenses for the most part, save for the season opener when he was held in check, but that was a game in which all of the Toronto offense was handled by Calgary to begin with. Considering this was an Argos unit that was expected to be the easiest target in the CFL this season, anything positive that goes on from here out should be considered a huge step in the right direction. Boyd currently leads the league in yards from scrimmage with 455 and is first overall in rushing with 431 yards on 66 carries, but he has just a single touchdown to his credit and that's not enough to keep the pressure off his quarterback.

Lemon is not going to be able to elude defenders much longer if his offensive line doesn't work harder to keep him upright. Of the quarterbacks who have started all four games thus far, Lemon is at the bottom of the list with his 59.1 percent accuracy and has one more interception (four) than touchdown (three). As a team, the Argos have the weakest passing attack in the league, while Calvillo and Co. again have the top efficiency rating at 101.7 at this stage.

If Lemon isn't careful this week, he's going to be exposed to a heavy dose of John Bowman who, after leading the team last season with 12 sacks, the most in a decade for a single Montreal performer, already has five quarterback takedowns so far this season. Thanks in part to Bowman, who was named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week after posting four sacks and two forced fumbles in the win over Hamilton, Montreal is easily at the top of the turnover list with a plus 10. No other team in the league has more than a plus-one in turnovers, with Toronto being one of those squads.

Obviously as he showed last week, Parker has the ability to change the complexion of a game with one quick burst to the end zone, but the Argos cannot be waiting on Parker to carry them into the win column yet again, especially with Calvillo finally getting his confidence and beginning to hit his marks as everyone expects of the reigning MVP.

In terms of the all-time series between these two clubs, taking into account regular season matchups dating back to 1946, the Alouettes own a mark of 101-80-3 at this juncture. The teams met three times in 2009 and Montreal claimed each and every meeting by double figures, the last of which was a 42-17 final on November 7 on the road. The Als have in fact won six straight encounters, the last victory for the Argos coming by a 16-9 score on October 20, 2007, which also happens to be the last time Toronto enjoyed a win streak of at least three games as well.

The teams are set to face each other three more times during 2010, with an August 14 date in Toronto and an October 29 meeting at the Roger Centre as well, not to mention a November 7 affair back in Montreal to close out the regular season.

The Argos have been getting by with smoke and mirrors the last few weeks and at some point an opponent is going to make them pay. Expect Montreal and Calvillo to call in that debt and take advantage of a weak Toronto offense on the way to taking the top spot in the division.

Sporstbook Football Betting News


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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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