 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CFL West Report: Roughriders cream of the early cropFootball Betting Lines07/14/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just two weeks into this young CFL season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are already living up to their billing as the best of the west. After a brilliant offensive performance in a 54-51 double- overtime win over the Montreal Alouettes, the Riders proved they can step up defensively, spoiling the Lions' home opener at their "new" field. Sure, Calgary kept pace with a win of its own to go 2-0, but Riderville has to be pretty pleased with the way their team is looking. On to the breakdown: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS It was supposed to be all about the BC Lions and the first game at their temporary new field. Instead, the Roughriders came in and spoiled the homecoming party with an impressive 37-18 showing. The name of the Lions' 2010 home, Empire Field, has a great ring to it, but unfortunately the moniker best describes the Saskatchewan defense for now. BC had trouble marching down the field against a dominating defensive line and secondary. Saskatchewan allowed just 89 total rushing yards in the game, unsurprising after giving up similar numbers in its first game. What truly made the Riders' night so special was their ability to force fumbles, limit BC's scoring opportunities, and of course get to the quarterback. Lions starter Casey Printers was forced out of the game thanks to a tackle by defensive standout Brent Hawkins. Printer's replacement, Travis Lulay, clearly felt the pressure with two fumbles. Darian Durant went 18-for-29 and 252 yards in the game. Solid numbers to be sure, but made more impressive by his ability to share the wealth amongst his receivers. Durant looked like a surgeon practicing his craft, dissecting the Lions' pass defense by utilizing all his tools. Four different receivers recorded more than 50 yards. Key offensive performer: Darian Durant. In addition to a touchdown pass, Durant ran one in the end zone for yet another great performance. Key defensive/special teams performer: Brent Hawkins. Forget Durant, Wes Cates, and the stellar receiving corps. The best Rider player of the night was Hawkins, who had two sacks, one of which knocked Printers out of the game. He also forced a fumble and ran one in for a 47-yard TD. Next Game: Edmonton Eskimos (0-2). A home game against a struggling Eskimos side. Put your money on the Green Nation, because the Riders appear just too powerful at this stage. CALGARY STAMPEDERS Saskatchewan may be grabbing all the attention out west, but the Stamps showed their resiliency in a tight 23-22 win over Hamilton. With 10 seconds to go, down 22-20, it was a rookie that stole the show from veteran teammates Henry Burris and Joffrey Reynolds, while turning the page on the era of the CFL's most accurate field goal kicker Sandro DeAngelis. Rob Maver, a 2010 draft pick who replaced DeAngelis after he signed with the Ti-Cats in the off-season, kicked a 23-yard winning field goal to steal one for his squad. The 24-year-old helped overshadow a rather sloppy night from Burris. The Stamps quarterback did throw two touchdowns to go along with 257 yards, but also fumbled the ball and gave up an interception that was returned for 52 yards. Key offensive performer: Nik Lewis. In a game where there were few real standouts on offense, credit has to go to the player who made the fewest mistakes. Lewis caught for 68 yards and a touchdown that gave the Stamps a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter. Key defensive/special teams performer: Maver. Lots of options for this one: Deon Murphy with a 105 yard missed field goal return, or maybe Tom Johnson with five tackles and a forced fumble. But Maver's 3-for-3 night, capped off by a dying-seconds field goal was the difference in a game determined by special teams. Next game: Toronto Argonauts (1-1). Calgary's light schedule would seem to continue with a trip to Toronto for a rematch of week one, though the Stamps shouldn't sleep on the Argos, who are coming off an unlikely win in week 2. If the Stamps can clean up some mistakes from their match against the Ti-Cats, expect another Calgary win. EDMONTON ESKIMOS The most disappointing team in the west is Edmonton, which is now 0-2 after an unsurprising 33-23 loss to Montreal. What did come as a surprise was how close Edmonton came to actually defeating the defending champs. Leading 23-18 after three quarters, Ricky Ray did his best to deliver Christmas early to Montreal with two costly interceptions in the final frame. The Als, thankful for the gifts, turned both into touchdowns to ultimately spoil what was a decent defensive performance by Edmonton. Edmonton had some big stars on offense. Ray threw for 340 yards and a touchdown pass, while Arkee Whitlock continued to shine, narrowly missing the century mark with 99 rushing yards. Receivers Kelly Campbell and Fred Stamps caught for 170 and 119 yards, respectively, to do their part. Yet these numbers don't tell the whole story. Specifically, Edmonton's inability to get the ball into the end zone. The Esks had to settle for five field goals as the Montreal defense kicked in at the most important times. Best offensive performer: Fred Stamps. Yes, Stamps caught the lone TD for Edmonton, but Campbell was the most dynamic receiver and was magic whenever the ball came close to him. Best defensive/special teams performer: Derek Schiavone. The kicker, replacing the injured Noel Prefontaine, scored 17 of Edmonton's 23 points including five field goals in six attempts. Next Game: Saskatchewan (2-0). Poor Edmonton. As if the Alouettes weren't tough enough, the Eskimos now have to travel to the harshest environment in the CFL, Mosaic Stadium. Avoiding a fourth quarter meltdown would surely help, but it's going to take a more balanced offense to squeeze out a first win. If Edmonton can draw confidence from anything, it's that they managed to win twice in Regina last season. BC LIONS When Casey Printers went down late in the first half, you just had a feeling Saskatchewan would ride that momentum to a decisive victory. The Riders certainly did, and the Lions were left feeling snake-bitten in a case of pure bad luck. Travis Lulay did his best to pick up where Printers left off, getting a touchdown and nearly 200 yards in just two quarters of play. But he had trouble holding onto the ball, giving up two fumbles. While the offense sputtered, BC's defense drowned in a sea of green as Saskatchewan took advantage of some poor discipline from the Lions. BC was called for 16 penalties that resulted in 116 yards for the Roughriders, a bonus for a Saskatchewan team that doesn't need help with their offense. Best offensive performer: Geroy Simon. Caught for 169 yards and both of BC's touchdowns. He had two long TD's from two different quarterbacks - 98 and 92 yards, respectively - proving that no matter who's throwing it to him, he's going to make the big play to help spark his team. Best defensive/special teams performer: Korey Banks. The defensive back had the biggest game against the ball for the Lions, dishing out seven tackles and forcing a fumble. Next Game: Montreal (1-1). BC generally does well when hosting the Alouettes, but how does playing at Empire Field affect the home advantage? The Lions have the weapons to continue history as Montreal has shown some weaknesses from a pass defense point of view this season. If Printers can return from injury and play to his full capabilities, a win is not out of the question.
<< 2010 FBS Positional Analysis: Offensive Linemen
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They handle all the heavy lifting, do all the dirty work in the trenches and keep the skill position players in the headlines, often times sacrificing their own stardom in the process. It takes a certain mind
<< Michigan Stadium's capacity set at 109,901
<< Cavs sign G Lowry to offer sheet
<< AP source: Cavs sign Lowry to offer sheet
<< Wade says hardest part of rebuilding Heat is over
In the FCS Huddle: 2010 Matchups to Watch >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Look over the entire 2010 FCS schedule long enough and certain games stand out amid your eyes blurring. We're not talking about St. Francis (Pa.) at Morehead State, either. It's games like Richmond at Vi
Report: Cavs ink Kyle Lowry to offer sheet >>
New York signs French striker Henry as second DP >>
Harrington says he's headed to Denver >>
Cavs ink Kyle Lowry to offer sheet >>
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.
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
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. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
