The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps with a 23 yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to earn the victory, erasing the lead that Calgary had earned with their own TD pass less than a half minute earlier.

After the game, winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed playing in the shootout:

“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”

Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:

“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”

Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year:

“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”

Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Roller Derby was never really a big deal in the US, but has been around forever and was a staple of the early days of television. It was similar in its promotional format to its better known “sports entertainment” cousin, professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad timeslots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the same loose confederation of promoters and businessmen that characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. That’s where the similarity to wrestling ends–it’s storylines made pro wrestling angles look like high drama. While there is a definite history to the sport–great teams like the LA T-Birds and Bay Bombers, and legendary skaters like Ann Calvello it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.

When the original purveyors of the sport quit promoting in the early’80s most thought it was dead and gone until a ‘new school’ of roller derby surfaced on cable TV via the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While much of the show dwelled in Lifetime style drama about binge drinking and bad relationships, it was the first clue that many had that roller derby had risen from the dead. A sport that had faded into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed the competitive format and renamed the competitions “bouts” a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock “do it yourself” mentality.

Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they’re having a good time. Between teams there’s a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie. In the US, these groups exist under the auspices of a national organization called the Womens Flat Track Derby Association. Las Vegas has the ‘Sin City Roller Girls’, Portland, Oregon the ‘Rose City Rollers” and Seattle the ‘Rat City Rollers’. There are now groups in not only the larger and traditionally “hipper” cities but also smaller communities such as Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska.

This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a result of young women taking what essentially was TV time filler and made it into their own distaff ‘action sport’. The roller derby circa 2009 is a matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the money, as these local groups are typically run as non-profit organization. The women involved have recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete in it on their own terms.

The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports’ pioneers much in the same way that skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony Alva. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello–regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby–is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

For some reason whenever people go traveling most of them always seem to carry way too much stuff in their cases. This can often lead to the cases being overweight and inevitably they end up paying too much excess baggage charges.

Whenever you go traveling it is always a good idea to check to make sure that you do not pack any items that are prohibited in the country you are visiting. There are quite a lot of items that you are no allowed to take into certain countries.

You should under no circumstances take along weapons of any kind with you when you are traveling. It does not matter if you are only thinking of your safety. Taking these with you is on certain way of being sent straight back home again.

The same rules apply for any type of sharp objects such as scissors or razors and you can even count things such as hammers and cigarette lighters shaped like a gun into the list of prohibited items. Many of the items listed above can be easily picked up in the country you are planning on visiting.

Also on the list of items that you cannot take with you on the plane is sports equipment such as golf clubs or baseball bats. These must be sent with your hold luggage if you plan on a sporting break. You cannot under any circumstances carry fireworks or lighter fluids with you on the plane.

Some liquids can be taken as long as they are carried in a transparent bag and are only in small amounts. The liquids that can be taken include such things as toothpaste, shampoo, gel products and other such items.

A lot of countries do not allow you to take in any food items either as a precaution. There are certain foods that can e take with you such as pineapple, olives or coffee berry but these must be clearly visible and not gift wrapped.

Multiple stopovers can cause a problem sometimes too. It is possible that one flight may allow you to take something that another flight may not do. So always check before you fly what is allowed.

The writer additionally frequently publishes articles about subject such as wooden lockers and decorative shelving.

South America will host the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2016, as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was awarded the honor on Friday. Rio beat out the US choice of Chicago, Illinois along with Tokyo, Japan and Madrid, Spain to earn the right to host the games. Despite a high pressure effort from the American power elite–including President Barack Obama and TV gabfest queen Oprah Winfrey–Chicago was the first city eliminated from contention. Tokyo was the next to go, before Rio got the nod over Madrid in the final round of balloting.

Bookmakers offered odds on the host city choice, with Rio listed as second favorite at +200. Chicago had been the wagering favorite at most books, particularly after President Obama got involved personally in the US bid effort. Chicago was bet as high as a -300 favorite, while Madrid and Tokyo were priced in the +250 range. Some suggest that Tokyo didnt deserve to have such short odds, but was the beneficiary of regional pride from the notoriously enthusiastic betting population of Japan.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, got the better of his US counterpart with a passionate speech that stood in marked contrast to Obamas typically baleful collection of talking points. The Brazilian leader stressed the unfairness that South America had never hosted the games in his speech to the committee;

“It is a time to address this imbalance. It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

The Olympic committee was apparently swayed by this presentation and paid no mind to Rios many downsides. It is without a doubt the most dangerous of the finalist cities, where drug cartels and armed bands of thugs roam without impunity. Well do to Rio citizens are used to removing watches and jewelry before they drive anywhere lest they be targeted by carjacking brigands. Rios murder rate is also one of the highest in the world. Brazilian bid officials have stressed that security will be a priority at the games and it better be lest the Olympics turn into a bloodbath.

Some IOC members suggested that the summary dismissal of Chicagos bid was more of a rebuke of the notoriously corrupt USOC. The last two Olympics held in the US were tainted by crime and corruption. The’96 Atlanta Olympics were disrupted by a terrorist bombing, while the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games were marred by a well known bribery and corruption scandal.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Sports betting futures wagers can be an entertaining and profitable investment, but there are a number of pitfalls. These are some things to avoid:

Search for the best price: A common mistake is to assume that the price on a specific futures wager position will be the same at every sportsbook. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, you’ll often see a greater degree of difference between futures prices from book to book than any other form of bet. This is because that books aren’t as worried about what price other outfits are offering as they are about keeping their own financial position balanced.

In a competitive field, don’t obsess with picking the winner: This may sound like a strange concept, but once you understand the theory behind it it makes perfect sense. In a large field–the NCAA basketball tournament is a perfect example–the top few favorites are invariably priced at odds that are less than the ‘true odds’ of them winning. On the other hand, there are always teams that fly ‘under the radar’ available at higher prices that present a betting overlay.

In more theoretical terms, the ‘true odds’ of a Duke or similar top team winning the tournament are almost always higher than the price offered. Think of it this way–say we’re betting Duke to win the national title at 2/1. This means that the Blue Devils would have to win more than 33% of the time to break even. So lets say, for the sake of argument, that we could play the tournament over 100 times. Would Duke come out on top more than 33 of these times? If not, they represent a poor value. Let’s say that they win 30 of 100 times. This means that any price under +333 or thereabouts is a poor wagering value.

Note that the more competitive the market, the more difficult it is to find good value on a favorite. In a smaller field, or in a field with one dominant competitor it can be easier. For example, say the UFC were to have a tournament involving heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and three male figure skaters. Even if Lesnar was slightly injured, or not at the top of his game he’d essentially have a 100% chance of beating the smaller, effeminate men who are untrained to fight. If a book installed Lesnar as a -1000 favorite in this spot, it could still be considered a good value. It’s never easy to risk a lot to win a little, but from strictly a mathematical standpoint it makes sense.

Don’t get seduced by big underdogs: Sports betting is not a place to make the “big killing”. It may happen occasionally, but more often it doesn’t. While a sports book might offer a huge price on a cellar dwelling team to win the World Series, the big payback does not mean its a good value. On a practical level, there’s probably nothing wrong with throwing a few bucks on a wager like this with a huge payback if the impossible occurs. My only problem with this is that making too many bets like this just perpetuates bad sports betting habits. If you’re strictly a recreational player, no big deal. If you aspire to bet professionally, or at least want to pursue it with some degree of seriousness I’ve always maintained that you need to develop discipline that’s not situational. In other words, if you want to be a serious sports bettor you need to approach it with a consistent level of seriousness at all times. If you want to chase a huge, life altering jackpot go to Las Vegas and play the Megabucks slots or buy a Powerball ticket.

Wagering value is just as important at the bottom of the barrel as it is at the top. Just because you’re getting a huge potential payback on a big dog doesn’t make it a good value. Make sure that the payback you’re getting presents an overlay situation–even on a huge underdog.

Don’t waste your money on ridiculous prop bets: Occasionally sports books offer ridiculous bets to get press or to be funny. For example, a book once offered odds on Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Bruce Willis all hopping into bed together and releasing a video tape of the proceedings. You’d no doubt get a huge payback were this to happen, but the ‘true odds’ of such an event transpiring far exceeded even a big potential payback.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

One of the reasons that the popularity of sports gambling has skyrocketed in recent years is its accessibility. It’s easy to bet on most major sports because everyone understands the basics, which teams are good and why they win. Horse handicapping, on the other hand, is a completely different and somewhat arcane discipline. Where there are some shared concepts, success at sports betting doesn’t guarantee the same playing the ponies. Legendary sports handicapper Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder was famous for killing the books with his sports plays–and giving it all back with his inept horse bets.

The information below is the bare bones basics of what you need to know to enjoy a day at the horse track. If you’re interested in becoming a serious horse handicapper, you’re best advice to start with one of the countless books or DVDs that deal specifically with the discipline.

Arm yourself with information: The first step for any horse handicapper is to pick up a copy of the Daily Racing Form (DRF) and the track program. The publications give the names of the horses, jockeys and trainers, the morning line odds, and the types of bets available for each race. You’ll also have past performance charts, which are crucial for serious horse handicappers. These charts reveal a lot about a horse and what they’ve done on the racetrack, including its record, where it ran, the quality of competition it ran against, and what position the horse was in at various points in the race.

You’re playing against other bettors, not the racetrack: A big difference between sports wagering and horse betting is the function of ‘the house’. In horse racing, you’re not playing against the track–instead, you’re betting against the other patrons. The track simply serves as a ‘banker’, accepting money and paying bets. For this service, they take a percentage of the money bet on each race (called the ‘takeout’). The odds on a horse aren’t set by the track, but rather by the amount of money bet on each entry.

So where do odds in the newspaper or program originate? These are known as the ‘morning odds’ or ‘morning line’ and is basically an educated guess as to where the betting will go. They can be helpful as a handicapping tool, but may or may not reflect what will happen in the actual betting.

The Basics of Handicapping: Even expert handicappers approach the sport differently and, like his sports gambling counterpart, may place greater emphasis on the importance of certain data than other handicappers. Some handicappers place a great deal of weight on a horses past performances, including the quality of opposition hes run against. Others place greater value on recent workouts, and still others go to the paddock to eyeball the horses and try to determine which ones are ready to run.

Once a handicapper gets an idea what will happen in the race, he has to factor the available odds into the proposition. A favorite may be an unattractive wagering prospect due to a prohibitively high price, while a long shot may be a good wagering value based on a high potential payback. It all boils down to wagering value, which is simply a matter of doing a math. Teaching the youth of America solid math skills is crucial for no other reason than to help them gamble effectively and profitably.

Training and bloodlines: Handicappers often focus on a horse’s breeding lineage, considering the quality of the bloodlines and the racing pedigree of his parents and grandparents. Others put great focus on a horse’s trainers. An ‘A-list’ trainer can often get the most out of a horse much in the same way an elite level NFL coach can cause a team to ‘over perform’.

The Jockeys: In the simplest terms, jockeys are independent contractors and thus to make money they need to do well. In theory, a jockey wants to get on the best horse possible in each race to maximize his chances of winning. That also results in sort of a chicken and the egg conundrum–are the horses winning because the best jockeys are aboard, or are the best jockeys merely adept at getting on the best horses? Most serious horse players look to the jockey as a secondary consideration. Its sort of a situation where a good jockey cant win with a bad horse, but a bad jockey can cause a good horse not to win.

Find your own style, and maintain discipline: Basically, there’s not a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to handicap a horse race. Figure out what works for you, and develop and refine your own methodology. As in any form of gambling, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose and in particular when you’re starting out there’s no reason to be making big wagers. If you want to learn more, there’s a number of good internet resources including the Daily Racing Form website.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Though it is sometimes overshadowed by more famous tracks back East like Churchill downs and Belmont Park, Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California has a rich and fascinating history. Located 20 miles north of San Diego and known for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf”, Del Mar has not only hosted the best horses and jockeys on the planet but a ‘who’s who’ of show biz elite.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded by a group of well heeled enthusiasts in the mid’30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment–most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar quickly gained a reputation for being a player in the industry.

Additionally, the star power involved with the project also provided a trendy cachet that the tonier race courses back East lacked. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late’30s and early’40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour.

In’38, Del Mar hosted an internationally anticipated match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. This event drew a record crowd and gained worldwide notoriety for the track. Seabiscuit won the $25,000 winner-take-all duel by a nose, and would forever be enshrined in the annals of American popular culture. Horse racing at Del Mar continued to be a smash until the facility went dark in’41 due to World War II. It would remain closed until’45, and for a time was used as a training facility by the military.

After the war, Del Mar reopened with a bang. Following the surrender of Japan, President Harry S. Truman declared a national holiday for August 15,’45 and on that day Del Mar attracted over 20,000 fans through its gates who wagered what at the time was a record $958,476. The postwar prosperity was also a boon to Del Mar, which also benefitted from the Santa Fe Railroads daily Racetrack Special that brought bettors down from Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the track. During the latter part of the decade a new crop of Hollywood glitterati would flock to Del Mar, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante. Durante would become such a regular that the turf course at Del Mar would later be renamed in his honor.

The annual race meet at Del Mar remains a highlight of the summer to this day. Del Mar remains one of the top tracks in the country, and have recently upgraded their facility with a state of the art grandstand and was one of the first tracks to install a new synthetic racing surface.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Its that time of the year again–Americans are getting ready for football. In a few months NFL teams will be opening training camp and college football teams starting practice. Up north, however, the footballs are already flying as pro football is in full swing up in Canada with the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Most Americans dont realize that the CFL has a lengthy and storied history. The league itself has been around since’30, and the Canadian Football championship–known as the Grey Cup–has been contended since’09. More recently, American fans are aware that a number of NFL stars got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

The most obvious difference is the football itself–the CFL football is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL still has their goal posts on the goal line, which the NFL moved to the back of the end zone years ago. The field is 10 yards longer and 12 yards wider than the NFL field, and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep instead of the NFL’s 10 yards.

CFL teams are allowed an extra offensive player (a wide receiver), and on defense they’re allowed an extra defensive back. This means that 12 players can be on the field at one time as opposed to 11 in the NFL. CFL football also differs in that teams only have three downs to gain ten yards, as opposed to four in US football. The phrase “two and out” is as commonplace in CFL football as is “three and out” in the US game.

There are also differences in the scoring of the game. The first time I saw a CFL score tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter I thought I was hallucinating. A major rule difference between the CFL and NFL is the fact that teams can score a single point, which those clever Canadians call a single. Basically, a team is awarded a single point for a missed field goal or a punt that lands in the end zone.

The rule differences also extend into the front office, where teams are required to have a certain quota of their roster be Canadian born. In an effort to prevent the CFL from becoming an NFL farm system, and to protect the unique identity of Canadian football’ of the 40 players on the roster must be natives.

Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding is that the average NFL fan looks at the rules of the Canadian game with more players, a wider field, and fewer downs and concludes that the game is a wide open shootout similar to Arena Football. Thats not really the case–you’ll see some offensive battles but most games end up with final score totals in the mid to high 40s. In Arena Football, youll frequently see teams with potent offenses enforcing their will over and over again against teams with porous defenses. You don’t see that too often in the CFL. The rules may be different, but as is the case in American pro football you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

There’s also more parity in the CFL than even the NFL, which is famous for the competitive equality of their teams. The reason is fairly simple–football at the high school and college level in Canada simply isn’t as competitive as in the US. That means the mandated ratio of native players also serves to facilitate parity within the CFL.

Among the ‘non-Canadians’ on the team, its also important to note that the CFL doesn’t get the highest level US college players. Most with NFL ability are in the NFL, or on a NFL team’s practice or developmental squad. There’s definitely some American players that are uniquely suited to the CFL game, but the general level of talent is similar to that seen in the Arena Football League.

Despite the differences between the CFL and American football, at the end of the day its still high level, professional football. Once you understand the unique aspects of the CFL, it’ll become second nature much as NFL viewers quickly assimilate rule changes there.

In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.