Cal Poly, UC Davis to join Big Sky Conference
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-rumored talk of the Big Sky
Conference losing the University of Montana, and perhaps other schools, took
on another twist Tuesday.
Big Sky football is expanding.
One of the top conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision, the Big
Sky announced that UC Davis and Cal Poly have accepted invitations to become
affiliate members in football only, bringing the membership up to 11 teams. A
timeline for the switch was not announced, but the move seems feasible for the
2012 season.
UC Davis and Cal Poly have the strongest programs in the five-school Great
West Football Conference, which will have to seek new membership or, more
likely, fall apart. The majority of UC Davis and Cal Poly teams compete in the
Big West Conference.
"The Big Sky is recognized as one of the top Football Championship Subdivision
conferences in the nation," Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton
said in a statement. "The addition of two great institutions like Cal Poly and
UC Davis gives us more depth to compete for additional playoff berths and
enhances our profile throughout California. This is a great fit for both
institutions and the Big Sky Conference. We are bringing in two strong western
FCS programs. They will benefit from us in having access to an automatic
playoff bid and a full slate of conference games.
"We worked in cooperation with Big West Conference commissioner Dennis
Farrell," Fullerton added. "The Big West fully supports this effort, as it
gives its two football-playing members a home."
UC Davis and Cal Poly will have to adhere to the withdrawal procedure of the
Great West - a process which could take a year. Most of the Big Sky schools
have nine or 10 games scheduled for 2011, but the change could happen in 2012.
UC Davis and Cal Poly, which were Division II powers before moving up to
Division I, would join Sacramento State as Big Sky programs in California,
where high school talent is rich. Both schools have excellent facilities and
fan bases.
Cal Poly, whose head coach, Tim Walsh, coached Big Sky member Portland State
from 1993-2006, won the Great West championship in 2008, and UC Davis captured
it last year. In 2009, UC Davis averaged 9,908 fans for five home games and Cal
Poly averaged 9,588 for five home games, which would have ranked fourth and
fifth, respectively, among Big Sky programs.
"This is an extremely exciting day for our football program and the
institution," UC Davis athletic director Greg Warzecka said. "Our fans
will not only be able to watch some great teams come to Aggie Stadium, but
they will have a much better opportunity to travel to road games."
"Our goal all along has been to find stability for our football program, and
the Big Sky Conference gives us exactly what we needed," Cal Poly athletic
director Alison Cone said. "The Big Sky Conference is one of the best FCS
conferences in the country and offers great competition with teams that are
natural rivals in our region."
Fullerton said the Big Sky will seek future expansion to create a 12-team
football conference which would split into two six-team divisions.
The announcement comes during a week in which Cal Poly will host top-ranked
Montana and UC Davis will host Portland State.
The nine Big Sky programs in 2009 are Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana,
Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento
State and Weber State.
Besides UC Davis and Cal Poly, the Great West's members are North Dakota, South
Dakota and Southern Utah. The latter three programs could be expansion
possibilities for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has nine
programs.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
NFL Super Bowl Betting
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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