Only in the Super Bowl can a golfer (Phil Mickelson), a hockey star (Sidney Crosby) and a socialite/TV personality (Kim Kardashian) figure into the outcome of a wager. This is a football game unlike any other.
The betting public has already picked a side. The Indianapolis Colts are 51/2-point favorites over the New Orleans Saints on Feb. 7 in Miami, and Las Vegas sports books are getting flooded with cash on the Colts.
The books and contrarians will pull for Drew Brees and the Saints to slay the NFL’s Goliath quarterback, Peyton Manning.
Football
It was at the Super Bowl a few years back, during the commissioner’s annual news conference two days before kickoff, when I asked Roger Goodell about the possibility of an NFL team ever making Las Vegas home.
Betting against Peyton Manning is rarely advised. It’s not as dumb as staring into the summer sun, which is a no-win situation, but it does fall in the category of playing with fire.
If a year ago, Brigham Young’s football team showed up disinterested, on Tuesday night, the Cougars were more than ready to play.
HOW THEY SCORED
They made a movie about wind in the early 1990s, about a couple of experienced sailors determined to win the America’s Cup yacht race.
You can define most college football bowl games by the roller coaster of your choice. Teams either arrive at the top of the first drop or have already plummeted to its base.
Dennis Pitta admits Brigham Young was “a little flat” in last year’s bowl appearance in Las Vegas, a 31-21 loss to Arizona. … But the Cougars senior tight end insists tonight’s game will be a different story. … No. 15 BYU (10-2) faces 16th-ranked Oregon State (8-4) in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas at 5 p.m. before a sellout crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium. … The bowl features two ranked teams for the first time in its 18-year history and might be the best matchup outside of the Bowl Championship Series games.
Under the best of circumstances, Oregon State would have its hands full trying to defend Brigham Young quarterback Max Hall.
Tailback Jacquizz Rodgers was stopped at the 1-yard line against UCLA at Pasadena last season, and when he scored on the next play, that wasn’t good enough for his older brother.
As a player and an assistant coach at Oregon State, about all Bronco Mendenhall knew was losing and playing in front of empty seats. The pressure was trying just to win any game.
Thankfully, things might not be as crazy around here as I feared last week.
Brigham Young playing a bowl in Las Vegas is old hat, but this year’s game has a new name and will break fresh ground from a competitive standpoint.
Instead of representing her bowl game Saturday in Provo, Utah, where potential invitees Utah and Brigham Young will meet, MAACO Bowl Las Vegas executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy will attend alma mater UNLV’s season finale against San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium.
