Football is BACK - Toronto vs. Hamilton

Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats 7:00 ET

The Canadian Football League season kicks off on Wednesday night with a great double-header worth of games, and BetUS.com customers can finally sink their teeth into some great football betting action! To kick off the Canada Day double dip, the Toronto Argonauts (4-14, 6-10-2 ATS in 2008) will look to erase the memories from a miserable 2008 season when they square off with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-15, 6-11-1 ATS in 2008) from Ivor-Wynne Stadium. The Battle of Ontario is one of the fiercest rivalries in the CFL, and the oddsmakers are expecting it to be a tight one on Wednesday.

Hamilton currently sits as slender two-point favorites after opening up as 1.5-point underdogs; the game ‘total’ has been set at 51.5.

The Boatmen were expected to be the cream of the crop last year in the CFL, but instead, they ended up being the laughing stock of the league. Age was a major issue for Toronto last year, but most of those aging veterans have been replaced by proven commodities with some tread left on the tires, most notably OLs Dominic Picard and Rob Murphy as well as LB Zeke Moreno. For a team that was supposed to be an offensive juggernaut behind QB Kerry Joseph, only scoring 21.0 points per game a year ago was just unacceptable. Perhaps even worse was the play of the normally stout defense, which surrendered a whopping 30.5 points per game and looked very disinterested down the stretch. The addition of Moreno should help, but he can’t do it alone. There is still a lot of work to do on this team.

Speaking of needing work, the Ti-Cats haven’t had a decent season in seemingly forever! Last year’s 3-15 season wasn’t exactly unexpected though there were flashes of true promise out there. The play of RBs Tre Smith and Terry Caulley (combined 878 yards and eight TDs in 2008) made Jesse Lumsden expendable, and the duo looks to be arguably the best one-two punch at the running back position in the CFL this season. The biggest question is whether QB Quinton Porter is ready to spark the squad or not. The fans in Steeltown were treated to Porter for the final six games of the season, and he responded by finishing up the year with four fantastic starts. He averaged 277 yards per game and completed 71.5% of his passes, throwing eight TDs against just two picks in those four games.

This is the year for the Ti-Cats to turn it around, and it absolutely has to begin tonight! The fans in Hamilton have stuck around for many a losing season and they’d love nothing more than to see their team add to the woes of their rivals and start ’09 off right. Porter has proven that he has the tools to compete in the CFL, and the hope is that the newly revamped defense will give him enough help to lead the Tabbies to some victories. Bank on the first to come tonight.

Rose’s Recommendation: 4* Hamilton Tiger-Cats (-2)

(Rating Scale 1* - 5*)