Eskimos in search of elusive first win
Football Betting Lines
07/28/2010 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their worst start in nearly half a century, the Edmonton Eskimos again take aim at their first win of 2010 when they entertain the British Columbia Lions on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
Edmonton, which hasn't won the Western Division title since putting together a three-year run between 2001-2003, probably won't be raising another trophy anytime soon since the club is off to an 0-4 start for the first time since 1965. Despite having the most overall victories (591) of any club in the CFL since 1945, the Eskimos are currently suffering from a five-game slide dating back to last year.
Rick Lelacheur, president and CEO of the Eskimos, has made it clear that losing is no longer an option for this once proud team and that being embarrassed as they have is simply not acceptable. It remains to be seen what Lelacheur has in mind, but he has stated that the entire franchise is under scrutiny and changes could extend throughout the organization if improvements are not immediately made.
Last week the Eskimos were ripped apart by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who not only scored 21 points off Edmonton turnovers, but they came up with a 47 points overall in the 26-point victory, and all of that with a backup quarterback manning the action for the home team.
Edmonton QB Ricky Ray had a mixed bag when it came to his results, converting 18-of-25 pass attempts for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he also tossed two interceptions. Early in the fourth quarter the Eskimos pulled Ray in favor of backup Jason Maas, but the move did little to change the lopsided outcome as Maas converted only 1-of-9 passes for 29 yards.
Receiver Fred Stamps, who had a combined 332 yards receiving in the two games leading up to the Winnipeg meeting, caught just two balls for 22 yards and watched his per catch average take a dip down to 16.2 yards after the outing.
Finding a sustained offense has been a problem for the Lions so far this season as well, the team now riding a three-game skid and sitting in third place in the Western Division standings.
Ahead by a score of 20-10 in the fourth quarter, the Lions appeared to be on their way to evening their record on the season, but instead both the offense and defense cracked and allowed Toronto to fight back for the 24-20 decision at the Rogers Centre last Friday.
Even though Casey Printers could have made the start for the Lions last week against Toronto, BC opted to go with Travis Lulay and considering it was the youngster's first-ever CFL start he did pretty well. Lulay hit 26-of-40 passes for 330 yards, with 58 of those coming on a desperation heave at the gun, but he was also tabbed for a pair of costly interceptions, one of which was returned 41 yards for the game-winning score.
Jamal Robertson helped shoulder some of the load for the Lions as he gained 54 yards and scored two majors on 12 carries coming out of the backfield, but the team as a whole was credited with a mere 76 yards rushing on 18 attempts, less than half what the BC defense gave up (161 yards) to the Lions.
Oddly enough, even though BC has just one win in four tries this season and allowed a victory to slip away last week, the program actually moved up two spots in the latest power rankings to fourth, while Edmonton advanced to seventh only after Hamilton suffered such an ugly loss to Montreal on the road.
The Lions made a couple of moves off the field this week as they cut ties with kick returner Robert Jordan, but added quarterback Mike Reilly to the practice squad. Reilly was one of the most accomplished QBs in Division II history while at Central Washington, but his addition to the club doesn't make clear who it will be making the start for the Lions this week, whether it will again be Lulay or if Printers is ready to return.
No matter who it is under center for the Lions, the fact remains that the passing attack is not all that it could be, completing just 59.4 percent and having accounted for three touchdowns, compared to four interceptions. Then again, Edmonton is having similar issues with the same TD and INT numbers through the air at this stage.
Edmonton has fared somewhat well against opposing quarterbacks, allowing for the fewest passing first downs (40) in the league thus far, but if the run defense doesn't put up a strong enough front the Lions might not have to put the ball in the air as much anyway.
In terms of the all-time, regular-season series between these two teams, dating back to 1949 the Eskimos maintain an advantage of 99-68-4. The Lions won the first meeting of the season back on July 4 with a 25-10 decision, avenging a lopsided 45-13 setback to Edmonton late in the 2009 campaign. The clubs also have an October 16 date set for British Columbia.
The pressure coming down on the Eskimos is almost palpable, but just because Lelacheur is going to be over everyone's shoulder doesn't mean Edmonton is ready to make a drastic change. BC has already shown that it can defeat the Eskimos, even if it was with Printers at the helm, but expect the outcome to be much the same this week.
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
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