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International Bowl

Jan. 3, 2009, Noon

Toronto, Rogers Centre

Connecticut 38, Buffalo 20

The International Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto, Ontario. It is the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States, and the first since the Bacardi Bowl was played in Cuba on January 1, 1937. The inaugural game in 2007 matched up Western Michigan University with the University of Cincinnati and was televised live on ESPN2 in the United States and TSN in Canada. Ball State and Rutgers played in the 2009 edition.

The first game was played on January 6, 2007 at the Rogers Centre, home to the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts and multiple Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Vanier Cups (1989–2003, 2007). In 2004, a partnership led by the City of Toronto bid to host a bowl game in Toronto to help the city recover from its loss of tourism dollars due to the 2003 SARS outbreak[citation needed], but the NCAA sanctioned the new Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, California instead. Toronto re-launched the bid in 2005 and was successful, playing the first game at the end of 2006 season.

The bowl signed an agreement with two Division I conferences for annual representation. The Big East Conference, a Bowl Championship Series conference, will send a fourth placed team or higher to the game, and the Mid-American Conference will also select a top team for inclusion in the event. Each conference is composed of schools in the northern states of the American Midwest and Northeast, except for the University of South Florida.

The inaugural game was the first post-season bowl game played outside the United States since the Bacardi Bowl was played in Cuba on January 1, 1937,[1] and the first football game of significance to be played in Canada under American football rules since Simon Fraser University's football team left the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2001, and joined CIS, where Canadian universities play under Canadian football rules.

Football Betting News

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans 8:30 ET

Posted on 11/20/2009 12:00:00 AMby North Shore Sports, INC

Monday Night Football betting action heads to Reliant Stadium, where the Tennessee Titans (3-6, 4-5 ATS) will take on the Houston Texans (5-4, 5-3-1 ATS). The final game on the Week 11 NFL betting slate is arguably the most intriguing game on the schedule for Bookmaker Sportsbook customers to dig into. QB Vince Young will return to the Lone Star State, where the crowd will certainly be on his side considering that he led the Texas Longhorns to a National Championship. But the Texans are the upstarts of the league, and they'll want to kick off the second half of their season in a strong manner after their bye week.
 
The host Texans currently sit as 4.5-point home favorites with the game ‘total set at 48-points at Bookmaker.com for tonight’s MNF betting AFC South battle.
 
Since their bye week, the Titans have won and covered three straight games. HC Jeff Fisher's decision to change quarterbacks has apparently worked, as Young has led the Titans to 30+ points in each of their L/3 games. However, the game plan may be a large part of that as well. Young hasn't been asked to do much with his arm. He has only thrown for 507 yards in his three starts. Instead, the onus has fallen on RB Chris Johnson.
 
The East Carolina product is already a 1,000+ yard rusher this year, as he has rumbled for 1,091 yards and eight TDs. He also has 262 receiving yards on 30 receptions. The second-year back has turned himself into an MVP candidate very quickly, as he has accounted for 623 rushing yards and six TDs over the L/4 games. Johnson will be salivating at the idea of facing a Houston defense which he absolutely torched in Week 2, as he ran for 197 yards and received for another 87, accounting for three TDs in the process.
 
QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson had fantastic games against these Titans in Week 2 as well, though. Johnson caught ten passes for 149 yards and two scores, while Schaub won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for going 25/39 for 357 yards and four TDs without throwing a pick. There's no doubt that Houston can throw the ball around the field, as Schaub is pacing the #3 passing attack in the NFL at 283.7 yards per game.
 
The biggest question is whether an improving defense can figure out how to contain Johnson and keep Young in the pocket. Before taking their bye week last week, the Texans had gone 3-0-1 ATS and 3-1 SU in their L/4, and they came as close as any team has come to knocking off the Colts when they lost 20-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium two weeks ago.
 
The 34-31 victory for Houston in Week 2 marked the second straight win for the Texans in this series. The underdog has covered seven of the L/2 clashes between these two squads. The home team has won three straight. Last year at Reliant, the Texans used a stifling defensive effort and 207 receiving yards by Johnson to capture a 13-12 victory.
 
Tensions will be high between these division rivals, as playoff positioning is also on the line. You're not going to want to miss all of the NFL betting action under the bright lights of Monday Night with Bookmaker.com!

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