The Wiz of Odds

Reporters Notebooks

Ron Morris, Columbia State: If you needed a perfect example of how television runs college football, you got one this week when North Carolina pulled out of its scheduled 2010 game against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.

C.L. Brown, Louisville Courier-Journal: Louisville has asked the social networking site Twitter to shut down accounts that it says were falsely established in the names of coaches Steve Kragthorpe and Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii coach Greg McMackin has apologized for a gay slur he uttered three times to describe a chant by Notre Dame players at a banquet preceding last year's Hawaii Bowl. Audio of slur and apology.

David Wharton, Los Angeles Times: UCLA coaches Rick Neuheisel and Ben Howland and athletic director Dan Guerrero have agreed to take pay cuts of up to 10%. The three were not required to take the cuts, but agreed to do so after state employees were ordered to take cuts to help ease California's budget crisis.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: USC can't win the Pacific 10 every year, can it?

Join Me Friday on the Finebaum Radio Network

I'll be a guest Friday on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network at 2:30 p.m. (Central). The program is syndicated by ABC Radio and heard on 31 stations in five Southeastern states.

The show can also be heard over the Internet at Finebaum.com.

Update: You can listen to my appearance by clicking here. It's about halfway through the show's first hour.

If you're looking for a guest for your radio show or podcast, drop me an email: jayzuma (at) gmail.com.

Duke

To put David Cutcliffe's first season in perspective, consider this: The Blue Devils won four games in 2008, which equaled the victory total of the previous four seasons. Cutcliffe took over a program that was so far gone, it once backed out of the final three games of a four-game contract with Louisville. The contract called for a penalty of $150,000 a game if a date with a "team of similar stature" could not be arranged, and the Cardinals took the Blue Devils to court, expecting to collect $450,000. Duke won the case by arguing that its team was so bad, any team would be a suitable replacement. The Blue Devils could easily start 3-1 this fall, but getting to a bowl game will require stepping up their game in the balanced Atlantic Coast Conference. Thanks to Bart and Jeff.

Reporters Notebooks

Michael Lev, Orange County Register: USC coach Pete Carroll said he and the school went through "all the proper channels" in hiring a special-teams consultant last season. "We've documented it," he said. "The topic has just come up because there's an article on it. We dealt with this thing way back when to do it properly and do it the right way." Carroll said consultant Pete Rodriguez was paid by the school but declined to discuss further details of the arrangement.

Iliana Limón, Orlando Sentinel: Coaches pay at big-time programs continues to skyrocket despite the economic slump. A look at the salaries of all head coaches in Division I-A. Alabama will spend more for its 10-member staff this fall than 32 Division I-A teams from outside Bowl Championship Series leagues spent operating their entire programs in 2007. Plus, a look at Mountain West teams versus BCS opponents since 2005. The MWC is 29-32 (47.5%), with 34 of the games played at the BCS opponent's stadium (55.7%).

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: The idea for the Southeastern Conference's new digital network, set to launch Aug. 27, comes straight out of iTunes but with a football twist. Viewing the content is expected to be free. Downloading it or ordering a DVD will cost money, creating a new revenue stream for the league, which negotiated its copyright away from ESPN and CBS in the latest TV rights deals. Plus, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Pacific 10 will look into the possibility of creating a single national channel.

Bud Withers, Seattle Times: New Pacific 10 commissioner Larry Scott is shrugging off the fixation over East Coast bias and promoting the league's "West Coast advantage" in places like Beijing and Shanghai.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Former San Diego State coach Chuck Long has recommended the school increase the number of special admits for athletics, reduce academic requirements for transfers and move players to the Cuicacalli Suites, a fashionable on-campus residence that includes a pool and grill. It's part of a 23-page report Long produced as part of his new on-campus job doing special projects. Long was fired as coach in November, but his contract called for him to be reassigned at SDSU, making $715,900 per year, until Dec. 31, 2010. Thanks to Mike.

Wiz Podcast: Joe Ovies of 850 The Buzz in Raleigh

Joe Ovies is one busy man. Not only is he the morning co-host with Adam Gold on 850 The Buzz, Joe also feeds and nurtures the station's blog and writes for ACC Sports Journal.

There is no better authority on the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Joe took time out from his busy schedule to break down storylines entering the 2009 season, including his surprise pick to win the Atlantic Division.

The podcast runs a snappy 8:14 and you can listen by clicking here.

A reminder that if you've been a subscriber in the past through iTunes, you'll need to re-subscribe. The feed URL for iTunes was changed and according to Apple, old subscribers will not be redirected. Click here to go to our link on iTunes or search the iTunes store for "The Wiz of Odds." For a complete list of past podcasts on the site, click here.

Southern Methodist

Receiver Emmanuel Sanders gets featured play for the Mustangs, who return 15 starters for second-year coach June Jones. The Mustangs are saddled with a 10-game losing streak and tied with Iowa State for the second-longest skid in the country. Only Washington has a longer streak with 14. SMU turned the ball over 32 times in 2008, often putting the defense, which gave up 30 or more points 11 times, in a tough spot. But Jones is known for his rebuilding efforts and the Mustangs should be improved this fall. Thanks to Brad!