March Madness 2010

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Dec. 30, 2010. 8:00 pm EST - ESPN

San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium

Nebraska 33 - Arizona 0

The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. The game is currently sponsored by Pacific Life Insurance, so it is known as the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl; previous title sponsors have been SeaWorld, Thrifty Car Rental, Plymouth, and Culligan.

The bowl was founded in 1978 pitting the Western Athletic Conference champion against an at-large opponent. In the early days, that champion was invariably Brigham Young University. In the inaugural game on December 22, The Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy came in with an 8-3 record and a commander in chief's trophy and then capped the remarkable season with a 23-16 comeback victory over the highly favored BYU. BYU played in the first seven Holiday Bowls, and later competed in an additional four games, prompting some to call it the "BYU Bowl." Fans remember the 1980 game as having one of the most exciting four minutes in NCAA history when BYU erased a 20 point Southern Methodist lead to win on the final play of the football game. BYU fans simply call the game "The Miracle Bowl."

Four years later, the Cougars, led by their coach, LaVell Edwards, won the national championship in the Holiday Bowl by defeating the University of Michigan, coached by Bo Schembechler, 24–17. It was the first — and only — time that the title was won in a December Bowl Game. Because of the WAC's contract with the Holiday Bowl, BYU, #1 ranked and the only undefeated team in Division I-A going into that season's bowls, was obligated to play in the mid-tier Holiday Bowl against a mediocre (6-5) Michigan squad, a state of affairs that did not go unnoticed by the so-called major bowl games and the five (at the time) top-tier football-playing conferences. A series of bowl game structure changes over the next twenty years served to prevent a repeat of the 1984 Holiday Bowl scenario.

As of 2007, the game features the 2nd place Pac-10 team and the 3rd place Big 12 team. The game has recently become a type of "upset" bowl. For the past three years, teams rejected by the BCS have lost to heavy underdogs. In 2005, an Oregon team playing without its star quarterback (10–1) lost to a battered Oklahoma team, 17–14, solidifying many people's opinions that Oregon was unworthy of a BCS bid. In 2004, one-loss California was blown out by Big 12 middleweight Texas Tech, 45–31. Sonny Cumbie, Tech's quarterback, had one of the most memorable performances in Holiday Bowl history, quite an accomplishment after following BYU's long line of All-American quarterbacks. In 2003, Big 12 third-place Texas was knocked off by Pac-10 second-place Washington State, led by Matt Kegel.

One of the more popular (yet unusual) events associated with the Holiday Bowl is the Wiener Nationals, the national championships for the U.S. dachshund racing circuit.

The Holiday Bowl is not to be confused with an unrelated game called the Holiday Bowl which was played in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1957-1960.

Football Betting News

NBA Friday/Saturday Outlook

Posted on 3/17/2010 12:00:00 AMby Getchalk

Need a break from the madness of March? The NBA has plenty of wagering options this weekend starting with a busy schedule Friday night. Here's a look at the best bets in pro hoops this weekend:

Friday - Washington Wizards at Portland Trail Blazers

For a few brief moments the Washington Wizards were the best bet in the NBA. After shipping out their top two stars during the trade deadline, while also suffering through the suspension of Gilbert Arenas, oddsmakers pitied the Wizards to the point where you couldn't bet against them.

However, things are back to normal in D.C. - which means Washington is losing and failing to cover the spread. The Wizards have lost nine games in a row, going just 3-6 ATS in that span and conclude their current four-game road trip in Portland and Los Angeles.

Washington comes into Friday's game off a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. The Wizards actually led by six points after the first quarter but were overwhelmed by the Nuggets on both ends of the floor. They gave up 32 points in the fourth quarter but managed to stay within the 14.5-point spread, losing 97-87. Andray Blatche, who led Washington with 23 points, tweaked his ankle in the loss but is expected to play Friday night.

The Blazers are heading in the opposite direction, winning four straight games and improving to 8-2 in their last 10 outings. Portland has covered the spread in six of those contests including its two most recent wins over Sacramento and Toronto.

The Trail Blazers face the Wizards before taking to the road for a one-game swing to Phoenix on Sunday. They are 22-13 at the Rose Garden this season but books have sucked most of the value out of their home court, leaving backers to go 16-18-1 ATS in those games.

Portland got a great all-around effort from their starting five against the Raptors on Sunday. All five starters scored in double figures while Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Nicolas Batum each scored 20 or more points.

The Blazers' offense is on fire, averaging almost 110 points per game in their last three outings while playing over the betting total in all three games. On the season, Portland scores 98.4 points a night and boasts a 38-31 over/under record.

Saturday - Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks

Boston heads west for three games, starting with Houston on Friday then visiting the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. The Celtics are solid on the road, posting a 22-12 record away from Beantown heading into Friday.

They are 17-16-1 against the spread in opposing gyms and have gone 2-1-1 ATS in their four most recent away games. Dallas knocked off Boston inside the Garden back in January, winning 99-90 as a 4.5-point road underdog.

The Celtics are under a lot of scrutiny in the past week after losing three of their last five games heading into Wednesday's meeting with the New York Knicks. Former teammate Leon Powe, who now plays for the rival Cleveland Cavaliers, told the media he thinks Boston looks old. These comments came after the Cavaliers beat Boston 104-93 last weekend.

However, the Celtics' Big 5 continue to produce, including veterans Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Heading into Wednesday, Boston's offense had averaged more than 104 points per game in the past four outings – playing over the total in each of those contests.

Dallas is enjoying a four-game homestand which wraps against the Celtics on Saturday. The Mavericks welcome the Chicago Bulls to the American Airlines Center on Wednesday before getting the rest of the week to prepare for Boston.

Dallas will be trying to put a loss to the Knicks behind them after giving up 128 points to New York on Saturday. They hope to have high-scoring shooting guard Jason Terry back this week after he missed most of the month with a broken orbital bone in his face.