Football Betting

CFL announces final cutdowns

Football Betting Lines

06/25/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League on Thursday announced its final roster cutdowns before the start of the regular season.

Below is a list of players released, sorted by team and position:

The B.C. Lions have released wide receiver Otis Amey; linebacker Josh Bean, defensive linemen Melik Brown, Kyle Mitchell and Caesar Rayford; defensive back Trestin George; offensive linemen Darren Marquez and Matt Morencie; safeties Mike McEachern and David Mills, and running back Damian Sims.

The Edmonton Eskimos have released linebackers Andrea Bonaventura and Neil Ternovatsky, with defensive ends Montez Murphy and Chase Ortiz.

Hamilton has released defensive linemen J.P. Bekasiak, Brandon Guillory, Alan Harper and Mike McFadden; defensive backs Carlton Brown, Melvin Matlock and Desman Stephen; linebacker Matt Castelo; wide receivers Eddie Cohen, Cassidy Doneff and Jacob Willis; offensive linemen Francis Dorneau and Dan Oliphant, and safety Sean Manning.

Toronto has released offensive tackle Patrick Afif; running backs Tyler Ebell and Da'Shawn Thomas; linebacker Nick Hannah; wide receivers Kenny Higgins, Matt Lambros, Kinsmon Lancaster, Todd Lowber, Cleannord Saintil and Brad Smith; defensive back Pete Hunter; defensive lineman Kevin Huntley; defensive end Ben Ishola and David McMillan; cornerback Sammy Joseph; wide receiver/kick returners Jerome Mathis and Kenny O'Neal; offensive lineman Zachary Pollari; quarterback Stephen Reaves, offensive guard Gordon Sawler and offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl.

The Montreal Alouettes released cornerback Blue Adams; defensive end Rodney Hardeway; wide receivers Frantz Hardy, Kevin Marion, Dante Luciani and Alan Turner; offensive guard Robbie Powell; offensive tackle Chris Rutledge; linebacker Jay Staggs; offensive lineman Gerald Davis; defensive lineman Jim David; running back Ciatrick Faison; quarterback Lester Ricard; defensive backs Therrian Fontenot, Sammy Okpro, E.J. Underwood and Emanuel White.

Calgary has released wide receivers Jackie Chambers, John Kanaroski and Vincent Marshall; quarterback Matt D'Orazio; defensive backs Anthony Ivy and Perry Kyles; defensive linemen Julian Jenkins and E.J. Kuale; offensive lineman John Hashem; fullback Scott McHenry and running back Cedric Thompson.

Saskatchewan released defensive linemen Nuvraj Bassi, David Patterson and Seante Williams; wide receivers Todd Blythe, Brandon Childress, Casey McGahee and Byron Ross; kicker Jeff Bolen; running back Jason Geathers; defensive backs Sasha Glavic and Jerron Wisham; quarterback Juan Joseph; linebackers Sam Olajabutu and Brandon Perkins; offensive lineman Brad Peters.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers released defensive backs Patrick Body, Ronyell Whitaker, Jasper Johnson and Nick Kordic; wide receivers Terry Firr, SJ Green, Chris Nickson and Marco Thomas; offensive linemen Jean-Francois Morin-Roberge, Matt O'Meara and Thaddeus Coleman; running back Joe Smith; defensive tackles Joshua Thompson, Sean Ortiz and Martavius Prince; linebackers Jamaine Winborne, Reggie Hunt, John Mohring and Stan van Sichem; quarterback Brad Banks and defensive end Ivan Brown.


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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris and Josh Bard each finished with three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Washington spoiled the Red Sox debut of John Smoltz with a 9-3 thrashing in the finale of a three-game interle

Votto helps Reds down Jays >>
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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson
rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Best Horse Betting Online

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.