Argos start season on right foot, blow out Tiger-Cats
Football Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kerry Joseph threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, as the Toronto Argonauts got the CFL season started with a 30-17 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a battle of 2008 also-rans.
Joseph completed 14-of-29 passes for Toronto (1-0), which snapped a nine-game losing streak, dating back to last season, and won in new head coach Bart Andrus' debut with the club. Jamal Robertson added 124 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Arland Bruce caught five passes for 73 yards and a score.
Toronto and Hamilton were the only two teams that didn't qualify for the Grey Cup playoffs last season, as the Argonauts finished with a 4-14 record while the Tiger-Cats were 3-15.
Quincy Porter went 26-of-40 through the air for 229 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Hamilton (0-1), which has lost five straight, dating back to 2008, and 11 of 12 overall. Prechae Rodriguez hauled in seven balls for 55 yards and a score, while Terry Caulley scored Hamilton's other touchdown through the air.
Toronto jumped out to a big lead with 20 points in the first quarter.
Four minutes into the game, Joseph found Bruce from 21 yards out for a touchdown for an early 6-0 lead after a missed PAT attempt.
With 4:43 left in the quarter, Joseph hit Reggie McNeal on a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap a 10-play drive, and the extra point made it 13-0.
Then, on the final play of the opening frame, Robertson ran from five yards out to finish a three-play, 39-yard drive in just 44 seconds to give Toronto a commanding 20-0 lead.
Hamilton finally got on the board, as Caulley hauled in a three-yard touchdown reception from Porter a little over two minutes into the second period, cutting the team's deficit to 20-7.
The Tiger-Cats added three more points on Nick Setta's 18-yard field goal with three minutes left until halftime, but Eddie Johnson answered for the Argonauts with a 25-yard field goal 43 seconds later, accounting for the 23-10 halftime score.
Toronto restored its 20-point cushion early in the second half, as Joseph tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Matt Lambros two minutes into the quarter.
Hamilton added a touchdown late, as Rodriguez caught a 21-yard scoring pass from Porter with just over a minute to go in the fourth. The Tiger-Cats, though, were stopped from that point, and Toronto went home victorious.
Game Notes
Robertson also caught three passes for 53 yards...Porter was Hamilton's leading rusher with 61 yards on nine attempts...Hamilton went 2-1 last season against Toronto, accounting for 67 percent of the Tiger-Cats' wins.
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Problem with Bears?
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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