07/04/2008 - Edmonton, AB (Football Betting) - Ricky Ray threw for 448 yards on 27-of-41 passing, and completed a go-ahead touchdown pass to Jason Tucker with 55 seconds left, lifting the Edmonton Eskimos to a 34-31 win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Ray had three touchdown passes overall, and Kelly Campbell caught two of them, finishing with eight receptions for 158 yards for the Eskimos (1-1). Tucker had four catches for 93 yards as Edmonton won the Battle of Alberta.
Henry Burris went 23-for-35 passing and accumulated 330 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two interceptions as Calgary (1-1) lost its first game of the season.
Jeremaine Copeland and Nik Lewis each caught four passes, one for a touchdown, while Joffrey Reynolds ran for 74 yards and one touchdown on 11 attempts.
The Eskimos led 25-17 heading into the fourth quarter, and kicker Noel Prefontaine missed a 47-yard field goal with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining. Edmonton got the single, but left the door open for the Stampeders to come back.
Burris then led Calgary on a quick drive punctuated by a quick strike. After a 10-yard pass to Ken-Yon Rambo brought the club up to its own 45-yard line, Burris connected with Ralph for 65 yards and a touchdown. Sandro DeAngelis converted the kick, bringing Calgary within 26-24.
After Edmonton added another single, Calgary got the ball back with 2:04 remaining. Burris made passes of 33 yards, to Ryan Thelwell, and 27 yards to Ralph. A 20-yard pass to Lewis completed the drive, and vaulted the Stampeders to a 31-27 lead, their first lead of the game.
But the Eskimos took the ball with about 1 1/2 minutes on the clock. After Ray completed a 27-yard pass to Campbell, Ray connected with Tucker for a touchdown as Edmonton took the lead right back.
Jordan Younger then intercepted a Burris pass on the ensuing Calgary possession to seal the win.
Ray got Edmonton on the board in the first quarter with a 32-yard touchdown strike to Campbell, though Burris' 15-yard touchdown throw with one second left in the stanza knotted things headed into the second.
There, the Eskimos started to pull away; Campbell caught an eight-yard throw to end a three-play, 71-yard drive with a touchdown, and Prefontaine had field goals of 26 and 19 yards. Edmonton also added a single in the quarter, boosting its lead to 21-7 at the half.
Reynolds, though, opened the third-quarter scoring a little more than two minutes in by scampering into the end zone from eight yards out, to get Calgary back in the game.
Prefontaine and DeAngelis each booted a field goal, and Edmonton added another single, keeping the Eskimos in front headed into the final quarter.
Game Notes
Edmonton committed just one turnover, while Calgary had three...Calvin McCarty was the Eskimos' leading rusher with 31 yards on two attempts; the team had only 51 rushing yards total...Ralph finished with two catches for 92 yards for Calgary.
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Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Spilborghs' two-run single in the bottom of
the 11th inning lifted the Colorado Rockies to a 6-5 win over the Florida
Marlins in the opener of a four-game set at Coors Field.
The Rockies threatened in
<< RSL, Dynamo battle to scoreless draw
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite dominating almost every aspect
of the game on Thursday night, Real Salt Lake had to settle for a 0-0 draw
with the Houston Dynamo at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
RSL, which is now 4-0-5 on its hom
<< Lester shuts out Yankees as Red Sox snap five-game slide
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester threw a complete game gem, while
Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Lowell both drove in two runs, and the Boston Red Sox
shut down the New York Yankees, 7-0, in the opener of a four-game set from
Yankee
<< Aurilia, Lincecum help Giants defeat Cubs
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Aurilia drilled a three-run homer
to lift the San Francisco Giants to an 8-3 win and a split of a four-game
series with the Chicago Cubs.
Aaron Rowand went 2-for-4 with two runs scored wh
Jagr to play in Russia >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Russian hockey team Avangard Omsk
announced it has signed former New York Rangers star Jaromir Jagr on Friday.
The team confirmed the deal on its Web site, but did not disclose
financ
Williams sisters reach Wimbledon doubles final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters -- Venus
and Serena -- will play for the women's doubles championship Saturday at
Wimbledon. The American sisters, of course, will also decide the singles
victor
Serena, Venus prepare for Saturday's all-sister Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the third time in seven years
the mighty Williams sisters -- Serena and Venus -- will square off in an all-
American, all-sister final on the Wimbledon grass.
The sixth-seeded former world
Braves option slumping Francoeur to minors >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves optioned slumping
outfielder Jeff Francoeur to Double-A Mississippi on Friday.
Francoeur went 0-for-4 against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night,
dropping his batting a
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 Smith and 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 Bears in 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 back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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