Six truly Canadian bets to make on this 150th Canada Day
Canada celebrates its 150th birthday on July 1 and we are paying homage to its Canadian roots with bets on the CFL, Blue Jays, MLS, and other Canuck clubs.
This July 1 is a biggie for those of us north of the border. Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, which isn’t very old when you size it up against some other countries. Just think, it took the Cubs 108 years to win a World Series. The “True North” was just 41 years old when that drought started.
Many people don’t know but Covers is Canadian, eh. That’s right. While we have roots in Nevada and a network that spans the entire sports betting globe, we’re headquartered in tranquil Atlantic Canada. And for all the glitz and glam of the Vegas Strip or the betting-friendly culture overseas, we wouldn’t change a thing. We love it here. We love Canada.
So, it is with great national pride that we share the most Canadian bets you can make during the Canada Day Weekend. Bet them. Fade them. Do whatever you like. As long as you have fun… and some cold beer in the fridge.
CFL
It doesn’t get any more Canadian than three-down football. The CFL will be at the tail end of Week 2 on July 1, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders as 1-point road favorites.
Underdogs have been the hot play in the early workings of the CFL the past two seasons and that trend is holding steady again in 2017. Playing into that pattern is the fact that the Riders are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home stands against the Bombers and have gone 30-13 ATS in their last 43 games as home underdogs. If you know any Riders fans, you know why Saskatchewan is cash money when getting points in front of the Regina faithful.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays are at home to the hated Red Sox for a Canada Day matinee, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET Saturday. Given the weather, I’ll either be mowing the lawn and listening the game on the radio or hunkered inside away from the rain watching it on TV. Either way, booze is involved.
Toronto was on a bit of a July 1 run last year, having won three straight Canada Day games while outscoring opponents 23-6 in those holiday matchups. Then they ran into a red-hot Cleveland squad last summer, and dropped a 2-1 decision in a 19-inning marathon in front of the T.O. faithful.
The Blue Jays are struggling with four wins in their last 10 outings, including losing two of three games with the Orioles this week. Toronto sends lefty Francisco Liriano to the mound Saturday, while the BoSox trot out strikeout machine Chris Sale. You really know how to spoil the celebration, don't you Boston?
Liriano has been great at home, with the team winning each of his last five starts at the Rogers Centre, where he boasts a 4.06 ERA – a massive improvement over his road ERA which is north of 7.00. If you’ve just GOT TO bet the Blue Jays on Canada Day, at least you’ll be getting an OK price on them with Sale drawing major juice.
MLS
All three Canadian Major League Soccer franchises are in action Saturday, but only Montreal is at home. The Impact host D.C. United as -140 favorites in the three-way betting at SportsInteraction.com, while Toronto FC is +237 at FC Dallas, and Vancouver is +377 visiting Chicago.
Toronto is at the top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-2-5, fueled by last year’s heartbreaking loss on penalty kicks to Seattle in the MLS Championship. It has, however, struggled with Dallas FC in the past. Toronto picked up a 1-0 win over Dallas last May – its lone victory over Dallas FC going back to 2009. In that 10-game span, Toronto FC is just 1-6-3 versus Dallas and 0-3-3 inside Toyota Stadium. The +249 on the draw for Saturday looks mighty tempting.
Wimbledon
Time for a little Canadian history on the July 1 holiday. In 1867, Canada’s confederation birthed a new country and independence from Britain (kind of… the Queen is still on our money) but there are plenty of ties to the old country. We still call a couch a “chesterfield” and dinner is often referred to as “supper”.
With Wimbledon serving up tennis action at the All England Club for a fortnight, the best Canadian bet on the British grass is Milos Raonic, who is priced at +1,600 to win the third Grand Slam of the season. Raonic, who has already garnered some notable action at sportsbooks, lost in the 2016 Wimbledon final to Andy Murray in straights sets.
On the women’s side, Canadian cover girl Eugenie Bouchard, known more for her bikini pics on Instagram than her success on the court, is set as a +6,600 long shot to win Wimbledon. Bouchard, who is terribly inconsistent and has been plagued by injuries, was a Wimbledon finalist in 2014. She lost to Petra Kvitová 6-3, 6-0 and then bowed out in the first and third rounds the next two years respectively.
NHL futures
Gawd, the NHL playoffs were fun. And that good time has rolled right into the offseason, thanks to the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft and a flurry of trades and signings that will only continue throughout the summer.
For Canadian hockey fans, the hopes of bringing the Stanley Cup back over the border – for the first time since Montreal won in 1993 – rests on the shoulders of the young Edmonton Oilers, who are currently the second overall favorite at +1,000 to hoist Lord Stanley at SportsInteraction.com (behind Pittsburgh at +700).
Edmonton has the league’s top talent in Connor McDavid and was one of the most balanced teams in the NHL, ranked eighth in both goals for and goals against. The Oilers have been a very popular futures bet already into the offseason, and aren’t alone among Canadian teams drawing futures money.
Surprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have taken some notable action in Las Vegas, and are around +1,600 to win the Cup for the first time since 1967. If you thought the 150th Canada Day celebrations were impressive, they wouldn’t hold a candle to the party the country would throw if the Leafs won the Cup.
NBA futures
Toronto stands alone as Canada’s NBA franchise, ever since the Vancouver Grizzlies took off for Memphis back in 2001. The Grizz drafting "Big Country" as the face of the franchise is still one of the biggest black eyes for Canadian sports, right up there with trading Wayne Gretzky to L.A. and Ben Johnson's bullshit at the 1988 Olympic Games. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! (To Vancouver's defense, the back end of that 1995 draft class was straight-up rotten and Bryant Reeves wasn't all that bad: 12.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg).
But I digress. The Raptors are in a tough spot. They’re one of the Top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference, and don’t really have a chance to win the East until LeBron calls it quits or jumps to the West. They’re too good to nab a top lottery pick and Canadian tax laws and cold winter nights have kept big-time free agents from knocking on the door. The franchise may have hit its ceiling - and not in that good but confusing Michael Jordan kind of way.
Toronto is currently +12,500 to win the NBA title – behind teams like New Orleans, Milwaukee, and even the damn Lakers and Sixers have better odds at this point – and is set at +3,000 to at least win the East. The Raptors have to make a decision on Kyle Lowry, who’s a free agent this summer, and beyond him the realistic free agent pool is about as sexy as late, great Canadian comedian John Candy in booty shorts.
If you want to make a Canadian-inspired futures bet this July 1, why not take a swing on our greatest basketball product since Steve Nash: Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves were +20,000 to win the NBA title before trading for superstar guard Jimmy Butler during the draft. Adding his scoring prowess alongside Wiggins and Carl-Anthony Towns has trimmed Minny to as low as +5,000 at some books. Whoa Canada!