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

Wevshots Football Betting News

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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