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06/21/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2009 record - 8-10. Playoff result: Lost 56-18 to Montreal in Grey Cup Playoffs Finals. Stadium - B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver.
Even though the Lions of British Columbia finished the 2009 regular season two games under .500, the squad still caught enough breaks to take part in the postseason. However, even though that might be a positive for the Lions to take from last year, there's no doubt that the club and head coach Wally Buono have their sights set on moving up from fourth place in the West Division and making a more sustainable run in the playoffs this time around.
Buono, who has a record of 82-43-1 since taking over BC in 2003, knows what it takes to get to the Grey Cup Championship and win it all, having done so against Montreal in 2006, but the question is whether or not he has the talent to get the Lions back to those lofty heights.
Even though BC quarterbacks completed almost 61 percent of their pass attempts a season ago, the position was in disarray with as many as five different guys attempting at least 28 passes during the campaign. Buck Pierce did some of the damage for the group as he made good on 63.2 percent of his chances, but he still had more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10). Despite attempting barely half the number of passes as Pierce, Jarious Jackson logged a team-best 12 TDs, giving him an even 50 for his career with BC.
With Pierce no longer on the roster, the job is Jackson's to lose, which means he will have to withstand the pressure brought by Travis Lulay and Casey Printers. Back in 2004, Printers was a beast for the Lions as he threw for 5,088 yards and 35 touchdowns, against just 10 interceptions. Clearly, Printers has the ability to step in and take over the position, so having a healthy fight for playing time might be just what these guys need on offense.
The most productive receiver for the Lions a year ago was Geroy Simon, a slotback out of the University of Maryland who has been with the club for a decade now. Simon has logged at least 1,200 yards receiving in each of the last seven campaigns and led the squad with 1,239 yards in 2009, but the end result was just six touchdowns. While Simon was moving the ball between the 20's, it was Paris Jackson who had the most receiving TDs with eight on 76 catches for the team. Expected to give Jackson a run for his money at the position is the recently drafted Shawn Gore, that is as long as Gore makes it north of the border after signing with the Green Bay Packers.
Not to be lost in all of this is Emmanuel Arceneaux out of Alcorn State. As a rookie last year Arceneaux put up some impressive numbers with 63 catches for 858 yards and seven touchdowns, so it is expected that those stats will increase given his familiarity with the system.
Another area that will need considerable attention this year is at running back, seeing as how Martell Mallett played just one year with the Lions and then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL in January. Mallett, who set a franchise record with 213 yards rushing against Montreal in early September, was also fifth on the team with his 43 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
Finding a replacement for Mallett will be a challenge, especially when you take into consideration that the next two leading ground gainers for the Lions in '09 were quarterbacks (Pierce and Jackson). After spending a year away from football, Yonus Davis has been brought in to try and fill in some of the gaps at the rushing positions. British Columbia actually ranked fourth in the league in rushing per game with 115.5 yards per outing, but in doing so the club also left quarterbacks open to unnecessary hits.
Overall, the defense for the Lions a year ago was dismal, allowing 27.9 ppg to rank second-to-last in the league and if not for the lackluster efforts of Winnipeg, the rankings would be even more disappointing for BC. The secondary permitted opponents to generate 8.1 yards per pass, tied with Edmonton for the most in the CFL in '09. A veteran of 12 seasons in the league, safety Barron Miles kept games from getting out of hand as he led the league with eight interceptions, giving him 66 for his career, yet he has chosen to retire and that leaves yet another glaring hole that has to be plugged.
Now a coach with the Lions, Miles will have the opportunity to help groom the players that will be taking over for him in the secondary. Already playing a major role in the defensive backfield is Ryan Phillips, a defensive back who was tied for second on the team last year with four picks, along with Korey Banks.
The stability of the quarterback position is paramount for the Lions, yet that's still just one piece of the larger puzzle that coach Buono will have to patiently piece together in order to give the Lions back their roar.
<< Lakers fans stream into Los Angeles for parade
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Fans lined up along a two-mile route in downtown Los Angeles early Monday, jostling for a front row seat for the downsized, drive-by parade that will stand for the Lakers' victory lap celebrating their 16th NBA title.It's a two-mil
<< Clijsters, Bartoli easy winners at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters and Marion Bartoli were
among the early winners on the first day of play at Wimbledon.
The eighth-seeded Clijsters needed just 65 minutes in a 6-0, 6-3 rout of
Italy's Maria Elen
<< Lakers set for downsized championship parade in LA
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Unlike the gritty comeback that gave the Los Angeles Lakers an NBA title against their rival Boston Celtics, this year's victory parade will have no rallies.A compact championship parade - scaled back to rein in costs - is schedule
<< Lakers set to celebrate with downsized parade
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Unlike the gritty comeback that gave the Los Angeles Lakers an NBA title against their rivals, the Boston Celtics, this year's victory parade will have no rallies.A compact championship parade - scaled back to rein in costs - will
2010 CFL Western Preview - Edmonton Eskimos >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2009 record
- 9-9. Playoff result: Lost, 24-21, to Calgary in division semifinal. Stadium
- Commonwealth Stadium. Capacity - 60,081. Colors - Green, gold, black and
white.
2010 CFL Eastern Preview - Hamilton Tiger-Cats >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2009 Record:
9-9. Playoff Result: Finished first in East Division, lost in first round of
Playoffs. Stadium - Ivor Wynne Stadium. Capacity - 29,600. Colors: Black &
Gold.
2010 CFL Eastern Preview - Montreal Alouettes >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2009 Record:
15-3. Playoff Result: First in Eastern Division, won 28-27 in Grey Cup
Championship. Stadium - Percival Molson Stadium. Capacity - (20,202). Colors:
Red, blue, s
2010 CFL Western Preview - Saskatchewan Roughriders >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2009 record -
10-7-1. Playoff result: Lost, 28-27, to Montreal in the Grey Cup Championship.
Stadium - Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. Capacity - 30,945. Colors - Green,
white,
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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