Around the CFL: Flutie returns for Hall of Fame induction

Football Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's Hall of Fame weekend in the CFL, and for Darren Flutie that means a homecoming of sorts.

Flutie, the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, will be one of five new members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The first order of business will be the formal unveiling of the busts Friday.

The other inductees will be former Calgary Stampeders offensive lineman and Hamilton native Rocco Romano, former Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes offensive lineman Pierre Vercheval, former Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Greg Battle and Dave (Tuffy) Knight, who built powerhouse university programs at both Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo.

Flutie surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving plateau in nine of his 12 CFL seasons. He spent time with the B.C. Lions, Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton, winning Grey Cups with the Lions in 1994 and Hamilton in '99.

The CFL championship in Hamilton was the organization's first in 13 seasons.

AILING TICATS: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats might be unveiling quarterback Casey Printers this weekend, but he won't have running back Jesse Lumsden or receiver Jason Armstead to lean on Saturday night against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Lumsden will miss his third straight start due to a clavicle injury, and Armstead is expected to miss the game due to sore ribs.

The loss of Lumsden is a big one for Hamilton. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound running back was for a time the CFL's rushing leader, and still has run for 627 yards and is averaging over eight yards a carry.

Armstead, acquired last month from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is third in the CFL in all-purpose yards with 1,070.

Hamilton heads into the weekend with a CFL-worst 1-9 record, but its lone win came against the Bombers. And the Ticats have enjoyed some success against Winnipeg.

Last year, the Bombers beat Hamilton 29-0 at Ivor Wynne Stadium, only to lose 26-11 in Winnipeg. And in 2005, the Ticats lost their first eight games of the season before registering their first win of the year against -- you guessed it -- the Bombers.

ABDULLAH RELEASED: The Edmonton Eskimos released defensive end Rahim Abdullah, but in a rather roundabout way.

First, the club sent him home after its 20-17 loss to Calgary, which came, in part, due to bad penalties taken by Abdullah and teammate Adam Braidwood. Originally, the Eskimos decided against releasing Abdullah because his salary is guaranteed through the end of the season and the club didn't like the idea of having to pay Abdullah even if he found employment elsewhere.

Finally, though, the Eskimos relented and gave Abdullah his outright release.

LIKE FATHER...: Receiver Brad Smith will be in uniform Friday night for the Montreal Alouettes, completing an interesting circle.

Smith's father, Larry, is the Alouettes president and also was a former player with the CFL club.

Brad Smith was originally drafted this year by the Toronto Argonauts. Although he didn't make the club out of training camp, he was placed on the practice roster.

But when Alouettes veteran receiver Ben Cahoon was injured last week, the club needed a Canadian receiver. So Montreal plucked Smith off of the Argos' practice roster and he will see action on Montreal's specials teams.

FAN VOTE: CFL fans will be able to have a say as to what players are named to the league's all-star teams this year.

This week, the league announced that it will allow fans to participate in an Internet vote for its all-star teams. It will mark the first time in CFL history that fans will be able to participate in the all-star team balloting.

Fans will account for 25 percent of the final vote, with the remaining 75 percent divided among voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the eight CFL coaches. In the past, FRC members voted for the all-star selections while coaches were added just recently.

The East and West Division teams will be announced October 24, with the league all-star squads unveiled during Grey Cup week in Toronto.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.

MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.