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.

Wwmsnbc NCAA Football Betting News

<< Montero helping Sounders FC across the river
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a record of 12-7-11, a playoff spot as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, a U.S. Open Cup Championship, and almost half-a- million in paid attendance, Seattle Sounders FC was coming off one of the most successf

<< Devils, Kovalchuk finally seal the deal
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was anything but a smooth process, but Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils were finally able to consummate their long summer courtship in the early morning hours this past Saturday. Two months afte

<< Dolphins GM Ireland takes over full club operations
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have announced that general manager Jeff Ireland will assume full control over all aspects of the football team and support staff, effective immediately. Bill Parcells, who had be

<< Former UCLA stars ready to shine
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Labor Day has passed, the kids are back in school and the leaves will soon begin to fall here in the northeast. That means the calendar has flipped to September and most of America is gearing up for footba

<< Youzhny reaches Open quarters
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny was a fourth-round winner Tuesday at the 2010 U.S. Open. The 12th-seeded Youzhny handled former top-10 Spaniard Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 at the USTA Billie J

Magic name Foyle to front office position >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic on Tuesday named former NBA player Adonal Foyle as the team's director of player development. The 35-year-old Foyle retired in August following a 13-year career. He was originally selec

Orioles activate P Hernandez >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated pitcher David Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. He was placed on the DL August 5 with a left ankle sprain. The right-hander is 4-3 with two saves and a 3.29 e

Former two-year-old champ retired >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every year following the running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile the winner of the race is automatically declared the early favorite for the next year's Kentucky Derby. Street Sense is the only thoroug

White Sox recall Viciedo and Torres >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White recalled infielder Dayan Viciedo and pitcher Carlos Torres from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. Viciedo, 21, appeared in 27 games earlier this season with the major league club and hit

Habs ink Halpern >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed veteran forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year contract. As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. The 34-year-old Halpern split last season betwe

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.