Argos and Als square off for first in the East

Football Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their touchdown drought now a memory, the Montreal Alouettes turn their attention to the Toronto Argonauts as the two clubs, tied for the lead in the CFL's Eastern Division, tangle at McGill Stadium on Thursday night.

Even though Montreal finally put the brakes on an unhealthy run of being held out of the end zone, last week the team leaned heavily on the kicking game in order to get them over the hump. Damon Duval tied a career-high with seven field goals as he helped lead the Alouettes to a commanding 37-14 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Thursday. Duval finished the night with 22 points as Montreal logged its third straight win after losing the season opener to Saskatchewan in overtime, 54-51.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who came up lame late in the first half but returned to action, also had a strong outing as he converted 28-of-38 passes for 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns, getting his team into the end zone for the first time in six quarters when he struck in the fourth period.

As for the Argos, they tied their entire win total from a year ago (3-15) when they slipped by British Columbia on Friday night, 24-20, at home at the Rogers Centre. After starting slow and amassing just 10 points through the first three quarters, Toronto got a late boost from quarterback Cleo Lemon and, more importantly Byron Parker who returned an interception 41 yards for the go- ahead score with under two-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation.

For Parker, the pick-six was the seventh of his career, leaving him one shy of the all-time CFL record.

Lemon, who absorbed a nasty hit from Solomon Elimimian but still managed to work his way back into the huddle, converted 19-of-28 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was however, picked off twice and sacked three times in the victory. Running back Cory Boyd posted his third straight 100-yard rushing effort as he gained a game-high 148 yards on 19 carries, his 41-yard burst in the fourth quarter setting up a clutch TD pass from Lemon to Brandon Rideau.

Toronto has played far too many tight games in the early going and, after four weeks of action, are the only team in the league with a winning record that has allowed more points (108) than it has scored (103), and that certainly has to be a concern for the coaching staff as they prepare for a Montreal squad that has finally found an offense after hitting a dry spell.

Boyd has found his way through defenses for the most part, save for the season opener when he was held in check, but that was a game in which all of the Toronto offense was handled by Calgary to begin with. Considering this was an Argos unit that was expected to be the easiest target in the CFL this season, anything positive that goes on from here out should be considered a huge step in the right direction. Boyd currently leads the league in yards from scrimmage with 455 and is first overall in rushing with 431 yards on 66 carries, but he has just a single touchdown to his credit and that's not enough to keep the pressure off his quarterback.

Lemon is not going to be able to elude defenders much longer if his offensive line doesn't work harder to keep him upright. Of the quarterbacks who have started all four games thus far, Lemon is at the bottom of the list with his 59.1 percent accuracy and has one more interception (four) than touchdown (three). As a team, the Argos have the weakest passing attack in the league, while Calvillo and Co. again have the top efficiency rating at 101.7 at this stage.

If Lemon isn't careful this week, he's going to be exposed to a heavy dose of John Bowman who, after leading the team last season with 12 sacks, the most in a decade for a single Montreal performer, already has five quarterback takedowns so far this season. Thanks in part to Bowman, who was named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week after posting four sacks and two forced fumbles in the win over Hamilton, Montreal is easily at the top of the turnover list with a plus 10. No other team in the league has more than a plus-one in turnovers, with Toronto being one of those squads.

Obviously as he showed last week, Parker has the ability to change the complexion of a game with one quick burst to the end zone, but the Argos cannot be waiting on Parker to carry them into the win column yet again, especially with Calvillo finally getting his confidence and beginning to hit his marks as everyone expects of the reigning MVP.

In terms of the all-time series between these two clubs, taking into account regular season matchups dating back to 1946, the Alouettes own a mark of 101-80-3 at this juncture. The teams met three times in 2009 and Montreal claimed each and every meeting by double figures, the last of which was a 42-17 final on November 7 on the road. The Als have in fact won six straight encounters, the last victory for the Argos coming by a 16-9 score on October 20, 2007, which also happens to be the last time Toronto enjoyed a win streak of at least three games as well.

The teams are set to face each other three more times during 2010, with an August 14 date in Toronto and an October 29 meeting at the Roger Centre as well, not to mention a November 7 affair back in Montreal to close out the regular season.

The Argos have been getting by with smoke and mirrors the last few weeks and at some point an opponent is going to make them pay. Expect Montreal and Calvillo to call in that debt and take advantage of a weak Toronto offense on the way to taking the top spot in the division.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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