2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Toronto Argonauts

Football Betting Lines

06/23/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record: 4-14. Playoff Result: None. Stadium - Rogers Centre. Capacity - 53,000. Colors: Oxford blue, Cambridge blue, White

The 2008 season was a disaster for the Toronto Argonauts. The club scored the fewest points in the eight-team CFL (397) and allowed the most points (627) en route to a 4-14 record. Their home record (2-7) matched their road mark, and there was virtually nothing to cheer about.

So why should fans take an interest in the 2009 squad, aside from loyalty to the home team, of course? Well, ownership made it blatantly obvious that the poor showing would not be tolerated and spent a ton of money on free agents in the off-season.

There is also a new man running the show, as Bart Andrus was hired as the team's head coach. Andrus comes with 25 years of coaching experience, including his work with the NFL's Tennessee Titans in an assistant role.

Toronto decided to begin the rebuilding process up front with the signing of two big-time linemen, Rob Murphy and Dominic Picard. The addition of those two players alone make the team more formidable, giving quarterback Kerry Joseph protection.

With the offense seemingly addressed, Toronto turned its attention to the defensive side of the ball.

The biggest move was not a signing but a trade, as the Argonauts acquired stud middle linebacker Zeke Moreno from Winnipeg for defensive end Riall Johnson. Moreno makes plays from sideline to sideline, and he will get help from Jason Pottinger.

The most notable loss for Toronto, aside from Johnson, was Dominique Dorsey, as he took his game to the NFL.

Ultimately, the team will only go as far as Joseph can take it, and he certainly has his critics as the season begins. Last year, the signal caller completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 4,174 yards with 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also ran for 493 yards and four scores, but he did commit some costly fumbles.

It remains to be seen if Jamal Richardson can emerge as a true workhorse tailback, something he failed to do last season with his inconsistent play.

Overall, this Toronto team should be better, especially with the improved offensive line. Still, expect more losses than wins.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: Third

Thebigbok Football Betting News


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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

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.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.