The Wiz of Odds

Big 12 Teams Avoid BCS Opponents in Nonleague Games

Nobody lines up Bowl Championship Series opponents for nonconference games like the Pacific 10. And nobody dodges BCS teams quite like the Big 12.

Pac-10 teams will play half of their nonleague games (15 of 30) against teams from BCS conferences, according to data compiled by Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman.

The Big 12 averages less than one legitimate opponent per team. Only Baylor, which plays Wake Forest and Connecticut, has more than one BCS team on its nonleague schedule. Texas and Texas Tech have none.

Reporters Notebooks

Rob White, Rich Kaipust and Tom Shatel, Omaha World-Herald: New Nebraska Omaha athletic director Trev Alberts will earn $150,000 a year, with $25,000 of that coming from private contributions. Alberts said he's convinced "this is the right thing. And I'm thrilled to be part of the Maverick family." As crazy as this seems, it just might work.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports.com: A House subcommittee will hold a hearing Friday on whether the Bowl Championship Series is fair. BCS commissioner John Swofford, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, Football Bowl Association president Paul Hoolahan and Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier have been invited to testify.

Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News: The Big 12's athletic directors have directed their coaches to discuss the conference's controversial tiebreaking procedure at the league meetings next week in Phoenix.

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Mike Leach won't let it rest: "The remarkable thing is, all my life I've never been upset with the Aggies one time. They get upset with me anywhere from every four to six months. However, of all the times they've gotten upset with me, our fans or anything I've ever said, it takes a heck of a detective to find something offensive in what I had to say about the draft."

George Schroeder, Football Writers Association of America: Joe Paterno was not alone in restricting access to players. BCS commissioners adopted a rule to mandate access to standout players during pregame interview sessions at BCS games — a direct response to actions of Ohio State's Jim Tressel during the Buckeyes' last two bowl appearances.

First the Sack, Then the Plaque

I've had the privilege of working with a lot of talented people in the newspaper business. One of the best was Melissa Isaacson, who has been crafting stories for the Chicago Tribune since 1990. She is also the author of two books, "Transition Game: An Inside Look at Life With the Chicago Bulls" and "Sweet Lou: Lou Pinella: A Life in Baseball."

Melissa got the call last week that her job had been eliminated, a crummy way to end nearly 20 years of service. Unfortunately, this is happening to way too many journalists in this transition of the information delivery system from print to cyberspace.

After a day of gathering her thoughts, Melissa started a blog, which already has several terrific entries. But that's not the end of the story.

Alberts Set to Become A.D. at Nebraska Omaha

Trev Alberts, who was terminated in 2005 by ESPN for declining to report to work, will be named athletic director at Nebraska Omaha. The school has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to make Alberts' appointment official.

Alberts, who has been an analyst for CBS College Sports, wouldn't confirm that he was the choice. "I hope you understand ... I want all communication to come from UNO at this point," he told the Omaha World-Herald.

But the newspaper reported that the other three finalists were told they were no longer being considered.

Reporters Notebooks

Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News: The war of words between Texas A&M's Mike Sherman and Texas Tech's Mike Leach involving former Aggie quarterback Stephen McGee continued. Sherman: "There is nothing Mike Leach could ever say that would offend me. I do find it unfortunate, however, that a college coach feels the need to question the handling of a player by a staff particularly without any knowledge of the facts or the extent of a player's injury. It is equally bothersome that a football coach would question the draft status of a player. This doesn't make any sense to me."

Vince Grippi, Spokesman-Review: Washington and Washington State administrators are trash-talking after a bill to renovate Husky Stadium failed in the legislature. Husky athletic director Scott Woodard said Cougar fans who protested against the bill are partially to blame for it failing to pass. "The most disappointing thing about it is that [WSU president] Elson Floyd and [WSU athletic director] Jim Sterk didn't do anything to try to contain that little group of Cougars that were out there doing that. It was a shame that they didn't show leadership or courage to curtail something like that."

Jon Nyatawa, Omaha World-Herald: Former Nebraska linebacker Cody Glenn is backtracking on his story that he was suspended last fall for selling tickets, but did not disclose the reason. One of his new bosses, Washington Redskins executive vice president Vinny Cerrato, said on Sunday the suspension was ticket-related, which would be an NCAA violation. "That was for the ticket sales," Cerrato said. "You know what? Our scouts do a good job with all the information we get. I talked to their people down there, and we felt comfortable with everything."

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Former Duke guard Greg Paulus, looking for a home to play quarterback, is tentatively scheduled to visit Nebraska this weekend, possibly as early as Thursday.

Texas A&M Offended Over Leach's Comments

Texas Tech's Mike Leach isn't backing down from comments made about Stephen McGee after the former Texas A&M quarterback was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

"The Dallas Cowboys like him more than his coaches at A&M did," Leach said.

Enter A&M coach Mike Sherman, who said: "Coach Leach is in no position to comment about my relationship with Stephen McGee."