Lions welcome Roughriders to Empire Field

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07/07/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having avenged their difficult loss to Montreal in last year's Grey Cup meeting, the Saskatchewan Roughriders now turn their attention to the British Columbia Lions for the lone contest between undefeated programs in the second week of the CFL's 2010 campaign at Empire Field.

Saskatchewan, which suffered a painful 28-27 loss to the Alouettes in the 2009 title game, came out on the winning side of a thrilling 54-51 final in this year's opener versus Montreal. In a game that was the highest-scoring opening day game of all-time and was the third-highest scoring contest in league history overall, the Roughriders nearly cost themselves the game yet again when they were flagged for too many men on the field. However, this time around Saskatchewan did not go away quietly as Darian Durant's three-yard pass to Weston Dressler in overtime proved to be the game winner after the Roughriders defense held Montreal to a field goal in the second OT.

Durant, who has his team atop the power rankings entering the second week of the campaign, connected on 30-of-44 passes for an astounding 478 yards and five touchdowns and just as importantly, did not throw a single interception. Dressler, appearing in his first game since suffering a broken leg last season, reeled in 10 balls for a game-high 154 yards. Rob Bagg stretched his four catches into another 121 yards and a score, while Andy Fantuz had two TD catches as he set up the Roughriders for a shot at overtime and then hit the end zone first in the bonus frame. Running back Wes Cates tacked on a game- high 112 yards rushing, his effort alone topping that of the entire Montreal contingent. Add to that another 52 yards on five carries for Durant and it was easy to see how Saskatchewan finished with an astounding 641 yards of total offense.

Even though the Saskatchewan defense gave up 417 yards of offense and allowed Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo to connect on four touchdowns, in the end the Roughriders played big when it meant the most.

As for the Lions, it was their defense that came ready to play versus Edmonton on the road last Sunday as they limited Ricky Ray to just 229 yards passing and sacked the quarterback a total of five times in order to keep him off balance. The offense for British Columbia didn't exactly shine, but at least the squad could lean on kicker Paul McCallum who knocked through all six of his field goal attempts and his lone extra point as he alone outscored the Eskimos in their 25-10 decision. Running back Jamal Robertson carried the ball just 11 times for the program, yet still finished with a game-high 168 yards and a score for BC. Robertson added three pass receptions as well, yet those he stretched for just two net yards. Last season Robertson was a solid performer in the league as he gained not only 1,031 yards rushing but another 482 yards on 59 receptions as well.

Casey Printers, one of several players to handle some of the quarterbacking duties for the Lions last season, completed 20-of-34 pass attempts for 218 yards in an effort to keep the ball moving for the British Columbia offense. An overlooked source of offense for a number of years now, Printers has thrown a total of just 18 touchdowns since his standout year of 2004 when he threw for more than 5,000 yards and 35 scores.

With the offense in somewhat of disarray in 2009, the Lions had to settle for just under 24 ppg, which had them placed sixth in the league ahead of only Winnipeg and Toronto, two teams which finished a combined 10-26. Unfortunately for the Lions this season they will have to find a replacement for Martell Mallett who, after placing fourth in the league in rushing with 1,240 yards and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie of the Year in 2009, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.

Last season, Durant placed second in the league in passing touchdowns for the Roughriders with a total of 24, but he was also charged with a season-high 21 interceptions and that is an area that he'll have to guard against this year as defenses aim to put him in challenging positions.

These teams met a total of four times last season, with each taking a pair of meetings at home. The Roughriders logged a couple of close calls (28-24 and 33-30 in overtime) on their field, and the Lions put up a 35-20 triumph in early August and then followed that up with a 19-16 victory the first week of October. As a result of the split, Saskatchewan leads the series by a count of 88-76-4, accounting for regular season matchups dating back to 1954.

Assuming that the offensive outburst by the Roughriders was no fluke and that the team can come back with the same sort of intensity it showed in the second half of its win over Montreal, expect to see Saskatchewan come away with the convincing win, even on the road, this weekend.

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LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.