11/15/2008 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 32 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as the Calgary Stampeders held off the B.C. Lions 22-18 to win the West Division final and advance to the 2008 Grey Cup game.
Mike Labinjo had three sacks and eight tackles for Calgary (14-5), which will travel to Montreal to take on the Alouettes in the 96th Grey Cup game, set for next Sunday. The Stampeders will play for the championship for the first time since 2001, when they topped Winnipeg for the Grey Cup.
Burris completed 17-of-27 passes and was intercepted once, and Ken-Yon Rambo had four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown for Calgary, which swept four games from the Lions this season.
Stefan Logan rushed for 130 yards on 18 carries to lead the Lions offense. Buck Pierce completed 16-of-29 passes for 262 yards and an interception for B.C. (12-8), which failed to advance to its second Grey Cup game in three years. The Lions defeated Montreal for the title in 2006.
Geroy Simon had five catches for 118 yards, and Ryan Grice-Mullen gained 107 yards on six catches for the Lions.
B.C. led 15-9 after Paul McCallum's 12-yard field goal early in the third quarter, but Sandro DeAngelis made two kicks, from 42 and 27 yards, later in the frame to tie the game at 15-15 entering the final quarter.
Burris led Calgary on an eight-play, 69-yard drive, and his one-yard scoring dive gave the Stampeders a 22-15 lead with 11:18 to play.
McCallum made a 30-yard field goal to cut the deficit to four points with 8:36 left, though. Grice-Mullen looked to have the ball wrestled away by Brandon Browner on what wound up being a 36-yard gain after a review with a minute and a half to go, setting B.C. up near midfield, but Pierce threw the ball deep and up for grabs on the next play, and Browner came up with the interception.
B.C. got one last chance when Burris failed to run off the last seconds of regulation before throwing the ball away on third down from the Calgary 41, but Pierce's Hail Mary pass was batted down to end the game.
McCallum connected on four field goals in the first half and conceded one safety as B.C. took an early 12-2 lead. Burris and Rambo connected on a 22- yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the half, though, cutting the deficit to 12-9 at the intermission.
Game Notes
McCallum was 6-for-6 on field goals...Lions running back Joffrey Reynolds was held to 43 yards on 10 carries...Nikolas Lewis had four catches for 62 yards for the Stampeders.
<< Rodgers brothers, Oregon State inch closer to Pac-10 title with win
Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Rodgers rushed for a score and returned
a kick 86 yards for a touchdown, while little brother Jacquizz Rodgers rushed
for 144 yards on 27 carries with a score, as the Oregon State Beavers
continu
<< Edwards wins at Homestead, but Bowyer clinches Nationwide title
Homestead, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won Saturday's Ford 300 at the
Homestead Miami Speedway, but came up 21 points short of defending his
Nationwide Series championship as Clint Bowyer clinched his first title in one
of NASC
<< Rodgers brothers, Oregon State stay atop Pac-10 with win over Cal
Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Rodgers rushed for a score and returned
a kick 86 yards for a touchdown, while little brother Jacquizz Rodgers rushed
for 144 yards on 27 carries with a score, as the Oregon State Beavers
continu
<< Terps topple Tar Heels on late field goal
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Obi Egekeze booted the game-winning field
goal with 1:42 to play and the Maryland Terrapins downed the 17th-ranked North
Carolina Tar Heels, 17-15, at Byrd Stadium.
Maryland was trailing by a point when t
Still unbeaten: Boise State bombards Idaho >>
Moscow, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Avery rushed for a career-high 156 yards
and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries, as the ninth-ranked Boise State
Broncos routed the Idaho Vandals, 45-10, to keep their BCS hopes alive.
Kellen Moo
Daye, Gonzaga cruise in season opener >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Daye had 15 points and 12 rebounds, as
10th-ranked Gonzaga crushed Montana State-Billings, 83-52, in the season
opener for both teams.
Josh Heytvelt had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Mat
Sharks winger DaSilva suspended >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League suspended
Worcester Sharks right winger Dan DaSilva for one game as a result of his
actions in a game at Providence on Friday.
The suspension is automatic, by AHL
Sixers slam Thunder >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thaddeus Young scored 23 and Samuel
Dalembert had 13 points and 16 rebounds, as the Philadelphia 76ers manhandled
the Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-85, at the Wachovia Center.
Elton Brand and Andre
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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