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09/02/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Labour Day approaches in Canada and, in the CFL, that means rivalries take over for the most-anticipated weekend of the regular season. The Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are set to complete the home-and-home series they began in Week 8, where it was Steeltown that came away with a tight win over the Boatmen. Meanwhile, Montreal hosts the eighth-place BC Lions, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to gain ground against prairie rival Saskatchewan Roughriders.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
The Argos have battled it out with the Ti-Cats on Labor Day every year since 1948. The tradition continues again this year, and despite having a better record, it's Toronto looking to prove something.
The Argos dropped a 16-12 decision at home to Hamilton two weeks ago, courtesy of 13 points allowed in the final quarter and receiving 10 penalties for 115 yards.
Simply put, Toronto gave the game away and is hungry to exact revenge.
Despite the loss, Toronto can ride the positive vibes of having two of its players named Players of the Month for August.
Cory Boyd was named August's best offensive player after amassing 386 total yards from scrimmage, highlighted by a 164-yard, two-touchdown performance in Week 6.
Meanwhile, linebacker Kevin Eiban was named Top Canadian. He currently leads the league with 53 tackles this season.
Offensive key to the next game (Hamilton Tiger-Cats): Boyd can't do it all, but he is the most important piece of the Argos offense. Behind him, Cleo Lemon needs to throw at a higher percentage - he connected on just 18-of-31 pass attempts in Week 8.
Defensive key to the next game: Discipline comes first in this game as Toronto would have won easily had it not been for penalties. Aside from that, the defensive line needs to tighten up a little bit and not allow DeAndra Cobb to approach the century mark in rushing yards again.
Look ahead: Toronto plays the three worst teams in the league over the next few weeks, and since two are home games, it's essential the Argos win them if they want to keep up with Montreal in the East.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
It's been a tough go for the Ti-Cats this season, but after two consecutive wins, they're right back in the thick of things. Hamilton is just one game back of Toronto, making the Labour Day matchup a true classic in the making.
DeAndra Cobb played a huge part, having his best game of the season in Week 8 when he ran for 99 yards and scoring the game-winning touchdown in the dying minutes.
Though the Ti-Cats snatched victory from their Ontario rivals, it was not a great showing by any stretch of the imagination. Hamilton scored just three points in the first three quarters before finding the will to win in the final frame.
Hamilton will look to iron out its lackluster play from two weeks ago and come out of the gates strong at home in Week 10.
Offensive key to the next game (Toronto Argonauts): Cobb is hitting his stride now and may be the difference again this time around. However, receiver Arland Bruce is the key piece in the puzzle as limiting Toronto to just 12 points two weeks in a row is highly unlikely. Bruce will need to step up and improve on his 68-yard performance in his last game.
Defensive key to the next game: The defensive key against Toronto is the same for every team - stop Cory Boyd. Limiting Boyd to just 86 yards two weeks ago is surprisingly great defensive work.
Look ahead: Hamilton plays two top teams in Montreal and Saskatchewan over the next three weeks, and though both are at home, it will be hard for the Ti-Cats to continue to climb their way up the standings.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
The storyline of what would have likely been a convincing Montreal win over BC in Week 10 has instead become about the injury to the Als' most important player, and how the Lions can take advantage.
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo is out and third-stringer Chris Leak is in, a replacement that has to have the last-place Lions gnashing their teeth for a chance to pick up a rare win.
Regardless of the injury, Montreal has so many weapons that it is still likely to win. This game will go a long way in showcasing what the Als can do without their best player.
Offensive key to the next game (BC Lions): While Leak is filling some big shoes, running back Avon Cobourne is likely to pick up the load. A tough task for Cobourne considering he's returning from an ankle injury, which caused him to miss the Als' last game.
Defensive key to the next game: As bad as the Lions defense has been, simply outscoring BC is the best option for the Als. However, if the Alouettes want a truly comfortable win, then clogging up lanes around the line of scrimmage is the best bet. Force Printers to go scramble and go deep, and turnovers are more than likely to happen.
Look ahead: Two of the next three weeks are against East opponents, sandwiched around a trip out west to face Edmonton. The Als are not in the clear yet for best in the East, and therefore must not let up against weaker division opponents.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
A 116-yard performance from running back Fred Reid did little for Winnipeg in its last matchup, a 39-17 loss to Montreal in Week 8.
It was Reid's best game of the season but, if anything, it showcased Winnipeg's need for a more consistent passing game.
Steven Jyles has not been able to step up for injured quarterback Buck Pierce, as the reeling Blue Bombers have now lost four in a row.
Fortunately, they will be facing another team that has lost its footing recently in the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Offensive key to the next game (Saskatchewan Roughriders): Quite simply, Jyles needs to play better, as 129 yards passing is not good enough in any league. That's the number Jyles finished with two weeks ago against Montreal.
Defensive key to the next game: Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant has struggled recently, and his team is suffering as a result. Winnipeg should follow the formula of Saskatchewan's recent opponents and force Durant to make mistakes and cause turnovers. Winnipeg needs to win the battle of possession to have a chance, and this is the best way to do it.
Look ahead: Winnipeg plays nothing but playoff contenders for the next three weeks after Saskatchewan. The postseason is getting to be a harder goal to achieve each and every week for the Bombers. This stretch may prove whether or not the dream is for real.
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The Triple Crown
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.
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.
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.
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