Five-a-Side: Ivy League's Robin Harris
NCAA Football Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The big question with Ivy League football often centers around the school presidents keeping the league champion on the sidelines during the FCS playoffs.
This week, another important issue developed for the Ivy League: the Patriot League announced it will begin to offer football scholarships with the 2013 season. It certainly isn't welcomed news for the Ivy League, which offers need-based financial aid to student-athletes, but not athletic scholarships.
The two leagues have enjoyed an outstanding relationship through the years, both in their commitment to academics and their regional proximity for scheduling games. Two-thirds of the Ivy's non-league games will be against Patriot opponents this coming season.
But as the scholarships in Patriot programs - 15 per recruiting class - add up, the playing field won't be so level. Ivy programs will be hard-pressed to be as competitive as they have been against their sister league.
Robin Harris, executive director for the Ivy League, wants to see the rivalries continue, but acknowledges there could be some change in future scheduling.
It might not even be the decision of the Ivy schools. Patriot programs may want to branch out with more non-league games against scholarship opponents.
In Five-a-Side - In the FCS Huddle's monthly feature of "five questions, five answers" with an influential person in the FCS - Harris discusses the Patriot League's decision to add football scholarships as well as that old elephant in the room, the Ivy football champion not going to the playoffs.
Let's kick off:
TSN: How will the Patriot League's decision affect the Ivy League?
RH: I don't think it will affect us that much, to be honest. Our schools were not offering athletic scholarships before the Patriot League was formed (in 1986) and will continue to not offer athletic scholarships. We enjoy playing Patriot League schools, they're not changing who they are academically, it's a good fit for us to play them when we can. I think that you'll still see our schools playing Patriot League schools, certainly in the near future. Even if there's diminishment of the number of games that we would play them, I still think there are natural rivalries and we're in the geographic region, our academic values are similar. Our schools are still going to have to play teams that offer athletic scholarships.
TSN: Obviously, some of your football programs play scholarship opponents even now, like Penn playing a Villanova or another school playing a Fordham with scholarships. Is it difficult to do that?
RH: Well, there's a difference, right, playing a Villanova who recently was in the championship game versus playing other scholarship schools that don't even qualify for the tournament. So I think it just varies. It's no different than any other sport, where we're playing scholarship schools in every other sport and we have wins in some of those and we have losses in some of those. So I think the same dynamics will be in play. We have great coaches and we have great tradition in the Ivy League. We have an ability to attract good student- athletes because of the schools that we are - the academics that are involved, the degree that they get and how that sets them up for a life beyond athletics.
TSN: Your programs often schedule games years in advance. Is it possible that feelings five years down the line could be different?
RH: Sure. I have no way of knowing that, how things will change. I think things tend to evolve. And I haven't had a chance to talk to the athletic directors since the decision, but I think they're going to continue to schedule programs that make sense for our schools to play. Same thing for our coaches. We have certain rivalries with the Patriot League that I think will continue. There may be other games that stop because there will be reasons to look at other athletic scholarship schools. But, certainly, I like the relationship that we have with the Patriot League and I hope that that continues.
TSN: How viable is it to schedule more games against Pioneer League teams (the only other FCS conference without football scholarships)?
RH: You know, then you start to get into travel issues. So I think that's the other key piece to this, is that the Patriot League is in our footprint. I think you may see occasional games where we go outside our footprint - that happens now - so we may see that a little bit more. But I don't know because that has a financial component and a time component to it.
TSN: So many people around your football teams, especially the coaches, continue to be in favor of sending the league champion to the FCS playoffs. Why aren't the school presidents changing that policy?
RH: There's an interest in focusing on the Ivy League season, that that should be the most important thing in football. We just have so much tradition and there's great value to be placed on the Ivy League season. There's also a concern with exams at that time of year.
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions signed defensive backs Ryan Phillips and Dante Marsh on Wednesday. Phillips returns for his eighth season with the defending Grey Cup champions and was eligible for free agenc
<< Argonauts ink WR Barnes
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Argonauts inked wideout Jason
Barnes, signing the fleet receiver through 2013.
Barnes, who was plucked from the Edmonton Eskimos, will be reunited with
former Esks quarterback and curren
<< The Sixth Man: Pacers fail big test
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A moral victory in professional sports
borders on being a contradiction, at least until you actually see one.
There are no participation trophies when the big boys play, only the cold,
hard reality of wins
<< Sam Houston State hires Ruse as offensive coordinator
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Ruse helped Western Illinois to a seven-win
improvement and a berth in the FCS playoffs in his first season as its
offensive coordinator in 2010.
It would seem hard to improve much upon Sam Houston State's
<< U.S. men head to Florida for key matches
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Men's National Team will be
heading to Florida for two crucial matches in the coming months, it was
announced Wednesday.
The U.S. Soccer Federation revealed that Jurgen Klinsmann'
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Eskimos found a replacement for the departed Jason Barnes on Wednesday, signing wide receiver Cary Koch. "Cary missed much of 2011 with an injury, but within the football fraternity his talen
Federer, Berdych, del Potro advance in Rotterdam >>
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss icon Roger Federer, former
Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych and former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin
del Potro were a trio of first-round winners Wednesday at the $1.6 million
ABN AMRO World
Line of Scrimmage: Moss far from the big catch of receiver pool >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leave it to a wide receiver to add a
little spice to what's customarily the blandest period of the NFL year.
With all relatively quiet on the Peyton Manning front for the time being, the
noisiest piece of
Animal Kingdom entered in Saturday allowance >>
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champion colt Animal Kingdom will
begin his four-year-old campaign on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The Team
Valor thoroughbred had been expected to start in a stakes race next week.
Trainer G
Erakovic wins Bogota opener; Dominguez Lino ousted >>
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Marina Erakovic of New
Zealand was an easy opening-round winner, while reigning champion Lourdes
Dominguez Lino went by way of a second-round upset at the $220,000 Copa BBVA
Colsani
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football gambling needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
Ryder Cup Top European scorer
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com