Montreal beats Calgary in Grey Cup rematch
Football Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Cox returned a fumble 81 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sealing Montreal's 40-27 win over Calgary in the season opener for both teams, a rematch of last year's Grey Cup matchup.
The Stampeders posted three wins over the Alouettes last season, including a 22-14 victory in the Grey Cup title game. This time, though, Montreal (1-0) used its defense to turn back Calgary (0-1) to cap the Canada Day contest on a rainy night.
Anthony Calvillo completed 24-of-32 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and was picked off once for the Alouettes. Avon Cobourne had 107 yards rushing with a touchdown.
Damon Duval was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts for Montreal.
Titus Ryan returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown for the Stampeders. Henry Burris, last year's Grey Cup MVP, connected on 17-of-33 passes for 247 yards with a TD and an interception in defeat.
Duval kicked a 13-yard field goal just over a minute into the last quarter, capping a 12-play, 83-yard drive, to give Montreal a 30-27 edge.
A 37-yard field goal from Duval with nearly 10 minutes remaining made it a six-point margin, and the Als thwarted a Calgary drive when Mark Estelle picked off a Burris pass in the end zone with 6:06 remaining.
Instead of moving the ball and killing the clock, disaster struck for the Alouettes as Tristan Black plowed through the line to block Duval's punt, giving the Stampeders the ball at the Montreal 23 with four minutes left. It was Calgary's second blocked punt of the night.
But Montreal came back with another huge defensive stop. Keron Williams knocked the ball out of Burris' hands just as it was coming forward on a pass attempt and Cox scooped up the loose ball, raced the other way for the sealing score with just over two minutes left. Replay was used to confirm the ruling on the field.
Calvillo threw 37 yards for a touchdown to Kerry Watkins, who made a one- handed grab, just over two minutes into the game, and it became 14-0 a short time later on a 10-yard TD run by Cobourne. Duval's 48-yard field goal made it 17-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Even after Duval connected from 36 yards away early in the second, the 20-0 lead wasn't safe for the Alouettes.
Ryan rumbled down the left sideline for his 104-yard return, and a Burris to Jermaine Copeland four-yard scoring strike had Calgary within 20-14.
Duval was true from 32 yards away and after his single later in the second, he added a 15-yard field goal for a 27-14 margin. Sandro DeAngelis drilled a 33- yard field goal try just before the half ended.
Burris scored on a four-yard run in the opening minutes of the third quarter and DeAngelis made a 41-yard field goal with under 4 1/2 minutes left in the same period to tie the game.
Game Notes
Montreal has had a great deal of success opening the season on the road since 1996, winning all six such contests...Ben Cahoon had six receptions for 65 yards for Montreal, while Nik Lewis made four catches for 87 yards for the Stampeders.
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Brian Moehler, largely ineffective so far this season, pitched six solid innings of one-run ball and a three-run throwing error by Chase Headley opened the floodgates, as Houston buried San Diego,
<< Wild land Havlat
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the same day they lost forward Marian
Gaborik to free agency, the Minnesota Wild made a big splash by coming to
terms with right wing Martin Havlat on a six-year contract.
The Minneapolis Star-T
<< Blalock's HR in ninth lifts Rangers over Angels
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock went 3-for-5 with a pair of home
runs, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning, to lift the
Rangers past the Angels, 9-7, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
After th
<< Rasmus hits HR on second chance as Cards beat Giants in 10 innings
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pablo Sandoval dropped Colby Rasmus' foul pop
up in the 10th frame -- the last of three Giants errors -- then Rasmus slugged
a game-winning home run to right-center, as St. Louis edged San Francisco,
2-1, at
<< Argos start season on right foot, blow out Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kerry Joseph threw for 227 yards and three
touchdowns, as the Toronto Argonauts got the CFL season started with a 30-17
win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a battle of 2008 also-rans.
Joseph completed 1
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady will undergo ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday. The Tommy John surgical procedure will be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum. "I'm extremely disa
Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the
NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market
opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik
Judge lifts Mayfield's suspension >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed
suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again,
possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
"This is huge for us.
Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in
Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone
State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was original
Astros go for series win at Petco >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon
over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up
a four-game set.
Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.
2007 online football betting Preview
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
Las Vegas Sports Lines
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.