The Wiz of Odds

The Expanding World of College Athletics

While the Big Ten and Pac-10 are expected to make the splashy moves in expansion, don't rule out a preemptive strike by the Mountain West.

Pacific 10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott, left, and Mountain West counterpart Craig Thompson were guests this week of Jack Cronin and Ted Mendenhall on XX 1090 Sports Radio in San Diego. Thompson made it clear his league is considering a proactive approach.

Not All Bowl Games Got the Stamp of Approval

Lost amid last week's announcement that the NCAA had certified 35 bowl games through January 2014: Two games were actually denied a license — the Cure Bowl in Orlando and Christmas Bowl in Los Angeles.

The Cure Bowl was to feature a matchup of teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt in Bright House Networks Stadium. Proceeds would have gone to organizations that fight breast cancer.

The Christmas Bowl was a mystery. Frankly, nobody in Southern California had heard of the proposed game, even though it was to be played at the L.A. Coliseum.

Now that the bid for the game was turned down, founder Derek Dearwater has provided a glimpse into the Christmas Bowl, which was to feature a matchup of Pacific 10 and Western Athletic Conference teams. He has posted a pdf of his proposed game, which you can download by clicking here.

'The Tillman Story' Is a Lesson for Journalists

It has been six years since Pat Tillman was shot three times in the head on a rocky hillside in Afghanistan. The Army initially claimed Tillman was killed in a firefight with hostile forces.

Dannie Tillman, Tillman's mom, didn't buy it. She pressed for the truth, and the Army eventually acknowledged that there were no hostile forces in the firefight. Tillman was killed by friendly fire.

Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times writes that journalists — himself included — got caught up chronicling Tillman's heroic story. Instead, they should have followed Dannie's lead and pressed for the truth.

Reporters Notebooks

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: If the Mountain West Conference is to gain entrance into the Bowl Championship Series country club, it's going to need better performances from bottom-dwellers San Diego State and New Mexico.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a Nebraska football leadership seminar on May 25. Thomas ran onto the field with the Cornhuskers before Bo Pelini’s first spring game as coach. He also addressed the team before the 2007 home game against USC.

Rowan Kavner, Daily Reveille: Louisiana State counts media members and people working events in attendance figures at Tiger Stadium.

Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune: According to Connecticut's Randy Edsall, there is growing sentiment that supports an ultimatum for Notre Dame: Join the Big East completely, or leave altogether.

Lake The Posts: Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune talks Big Ten expansion.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive, in his scholarly way, goes Dirty Harry on Big Ten counterpart Jim Delany.

Chase Goodbread, Tuscaloosa News: The SEC's efforts to reduce the number of idled opponents Alabama will play in 2010 may find cooperation from Mississippi State.

Michael Rothstein, Ann Arbor.com: Big Ten medical staffs will examine concussion policies next week.

Darren Rovell, CNBC: The microphone flag is the next advertising space in sports.

Stanford's 'What's the Deal' Ticket Plan

Remember that exchange between Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll after Stanford's 55-21 bludgeoning of USC last November?

"What's your deal? What's your deal?" Carroll asked Harbaugh at midfield. The Trojan coach was angry with Harbaugh, who decided to go for two with a 27-point lead.

"What's your deal?" Harbaugh retorted.

Now Stanford is using that exchange to sell tickets, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.

Reporters Notebooks

Bud Withers, Seattle Times: Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington, was named president of the NCAA, effective Nov. 1. Eighteen months ago, he said: "I happen to be one that thinks it's inevitable we'll have a [Division I-A football] playoff."

Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star: Emmert can talk about change, can talk himself blue in the face about an NCAA-led playoff, but ultimately, he's powerless to do anything about it.

Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times: A Pacific 10 Conference coach has been found in violation of NCAA rules for retaining a paid consultant to attend practices and watch games — circumstances identical to those surrounding former USC coach Pete Carroll's hiring of an NFL veteran to help with the Trojans' punting and kicking teams — according to an internal Pac-10 report.

Matt Murschel, College Gridiron 365: While the average person will change jobs 10 times between the ages of 18 and 42, the life expectancy of a college football coach is much smaller. In the past decade, there have been 190 coaching changes among teams in Division I-A — an average of 19 openings per season. More than half of those changes (98) have occurred in the past five seasons, with 23 openings this past season.

Penn State Clips: Penn State is planning to make Beaver Stadium louder next season, thanks to a team of acoustic scientists.

Lee Barfnecht, Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman echoes statements made earlier by athletic director Tom Osborne, who said the Cornhuskers plan to be a player in any expansion talks. Thanks to Billy.

John Solomon, Birmingham News: Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive said that, "if there's going to be a significant shift in the conference paradigm, the SEC will be strategic and thoughtful in order to maintain its position as one of the nation's premiere conferences."

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Former SEC commissioner Harvey Schiller said Texas nearly joined the SEC in 1992. "The state legislature [in Texas] somehow got wind of it through Texas A&M and said we had to bring in both schools or we couldn't take Texas," Schiller said. The SEC didn't want A&M and ultimately the teams would leave the Southwest Conference and join the Big 12.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Boise State's window of opportunity to join the Mountain West Conference appears to be closing. Plus, estimated 2010-11 Bowl Championship Series revenue distribution.