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July 29, 2005
'Steele' your thoughts on sports betting
Phil Steele's College Football 2005 Preview magazine arrived here early this week. The cost on the newsstands is $8.95 U.S. or $10.95 Canadian. On the cover of the magazine which boasts the slogan "The book the experts cannot do without" are Texas quarterback Vince Young, Southern Cal QB Matt Leinart and Ohio State defensive back Ted Ginn. Each figures to play a prominent role in their team's quest for conference and national honors. Steele's preseason top 10 are 1. USC; 2. LSU; 3. Purdue; 4. Louisville; 5. Texas; 6. Miami, Fla.; 7. Michigan; 8. Oklahoma; 9. Ohio State, and 10. Georgia. Fresno State, expected to battle for the Western Athletic Conference championship, is ranked 23rd. Boise State, the preseason choice of WAC experts, is 26th. Steele believed the University of Nevada at Reno, coached by Chris Ault, "will flirt with a winning record. "(The Wolf Pack is) a deeper, more talented team than the 2004 version," wrote Steele. "Four of my seven sets of power ratings call Nevada one of the top four teams in the WAC this season," said Steele. Nevada opens at home Sept. 9 against Washington State; the following week, UNLV visits. UNLV has a new coach, Mike Sanford, who succeeds John Robinson. The Rebels were 2-9 in 2004 and not really exciting to watch. Writes Steele: "(UNLV) is changing schemes on both offense and defense, and while there is good talent to work with, this looks like it will be a rebuilding year. "With that said, due to the soft non-conference schedule, which trades Tennessee and Wisconsin for Idaho and Nevada, I think the Rebels have an excellent shot improving their record." The Rebels open Sept. 3 at New Mexico and make their home debut Sept. 10 against Idaho. On Sept. 17, the Rebels travel to Mackay Stadium in Reno for the annual intrastate shootout. Steele's slick publication is 328 pages filled with facts, opinions and statistics well worth keeping on the coffee table for reference. As for betting on his picks? What can I say? I ain't a sports gambling aficianado. Notes on disa and data... Cooling thoughts ... Four weeks from today, the 2005 high school football season begins in Nevada. The first Nye County team to play will be the Beatty Hornets, who will be at home against Laughlin in a Southern Nevada Class A interdivision game. The next day, Round Mountain goes to Coleville, Calif., for a non-league game. Pahrump Valley is at home against Northern 3-A power Spring Creek - and its all-universe running back James Edwards - Sept. 2. Tonopah opens the next day at Western 1-A title threat Eureka. Both the Trojans and the Muckers qualified for the playoffs in 2004. Pahrump Valley lost 45-28 to Overton Moapa Valley in a first-round Class 3-A game, while Tonopah went 1-1, beating Laughlin and losing to Pahranagat Valley Alamo in the 1-A post-season. For informational purposes ... Beatty, Tonopah and Round Mountain are in the Central Division of Southern 1-A football, along with Indian Springs, Spring Mountain and Lund. In the Southern Division are Alamo, Laughlin, Las Vegas Mountain View, Calvary Chapel and Keystone Academy. Pahrump Valley will once again go after the Southern 3- A title, with Moapa Valley, Boulder City, Mesquite Virgin Valley and Las Vegas Faith Lutheran in the quest. In the Northern 3-A League are defending state champion Truckee-Tahoe, Calif., Spring Creek, Dayton, North Tahoe, Winnemucca Lowry, Fernley and Sparks. Sixty-one Nevada high schools play in 10 leagues in football, outside of the city of Las Vegas. Arbor View will be the newest Vegas high school and will play an independent schedule in the fall. Among its opponents will be Pahrump Valley. |
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