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05/27/2010 -
NEW YORK (AP) -Desmond Howard scored two of the most memorable touchdowns in the storied history of Michigan football and struck the pose that Heisman contenders have been mimicking since.
Barry Alvarez resurrected a Wisconsin program that looked hopeless on the field and off and went on to become the only Big Ten coach to win consecutive Rose Bowls.
The game-breaker and the program-builder are now Hall of Famers.
Howard, Alvarez and the late Pat Tillman were among the 14 newly elected members of the College Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday by the National Football Foundation at a news conference at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in Manhattan.
The others included defensive lineman Dennis Byrd of North Carolina State; center Ronnie Caveness of Arkansas; defensive lineman Ray Childress of Texas A&M; guard Randy Cross of UCLA; running back Sam Cunningham of Southern California; quarterback Mark Herrmann of Purdue; receiver Clarkston Hines of Duke; defensive back Chet Moeller of Navy; halfback Jerry Stovall of LSU; and linebacker Alfred Williams of Colorado.
Gene Stallings, who led Alabama to a national title in 1992, was the other coach elected to the Hall of Fame.
Howard, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1991, found out from his mother he was elected.
``I just knew it was something special,'' he said recalling the phone call. ``Just to hear those words and the way she said them let me know it was something she was very proud of.''
The speedy and diminutive receiver dominated the Big Ten in 1991 for the Wolverines, scoring a school-record 23 touchdowns and 138 points.
But two plays stood out above all.
In September against Notre Dame, Howard's diving catch in the end zone on fourth-and-1 helped beat the Fighting Irish.
Then to put an exclamation mark on his spectacular season, Howard returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown against rival Ohio State. As he was being mobbed by teammates in the end zone, Howard lifted a knee high to his chest and jabbed out a stiff arm. And just like that a college football tradition was born. The Heisman pose.
The details of those touchdowns might fade, and even the fact that Howard was a Super Bowl MVP for the Green Bay Packers in 1997 gets lost amid the memories of Brett Favre celebrating his only NFL title.
But no football fan forgets Howard's Heisman pose.
``That thing resonates with everyone,'' said Howard, who now works for ESPN. ``When we travel, all the college kids, they're chanting, 'Do the Heisman.'''
Howard was the fourth pick in the 1992 draft by the Washington Redskins, but never reached the same stardom as a receiver in the pros that he did at Michigan.
But his 5-foot-10 frame didn't hold him back when he arrived at Ann Arbor from Cleveland as a tailback. He switched to receiver early in his career and finished with 134 receptions for 2,146 yards.
Alvarez found out while he was at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
``I was totally surprised - actually broke down,'' he said. ``The first thing you think about is all the people who have something to do with it.''
Three Hall of Fame coaches helped mold Alvarez.
He played at Nebraska under coach Bob Devaney, then worked as an assistant under Hayden Fry at Iowa and Lou Holtz at Notre Dame.
When he arrived in Madison in 1990, the Badgers hadn't been to a Rose Bowl since 1963 and the football program was losing money and games (36 over the previous four seasons) at an alarming rate.
The bar for the Badgers was set low when Alvarez took over.
``Pat Richter, our athletic director, said if you can ever win six games, these people will think you hung the moon,'' he said. ``We've been competitive since '92. So our people now, they expect you to be good.''
In 1994, Alvarez snapped Wisconsin's long Rose Bowl drought and led the Badgers to a 21-16 victory against UCLA. He added two more Rose Bowl victories in 1999 and 2000 and took on the role of athletic director in 2004. After two years of handling both duties, Alvarez stepped down as coach with a record of 118-73-4.
Tillman played linebacker for Arizona State from 1994-97 and gave up an NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army in 2002. He was killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2004.
The newest class will be inducted in December in New York and enshrined at the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., in the summer of 2011.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Friday return for Borel at Churchill Downs
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel
will return to the races on Friday at Churchill Downs after being off his
mounts with an eye infection. The condition has kept the Louisiana native away
from ri
<< Red Wings sign 2007 first-round pick Smith
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday signed
defenseman Brendan Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Smith, taken 27th overall by Detroit in the 2007 draft, was a finalist for the
Hobey Baker Award l
<< Suns try to deal Lakers another blow in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns climbed off the canvas to punch the Los
Angeles Lakers right in the mouth but if Alvin Gentry's club hopes to make it
to the NBA Finals, they will have to find a way to win in Los Angeles.
The Suns take an
<< Report: T'Wolves' Jefferson pleads guilty to DWI charge
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Al
Jefferson pleaded guilty Thursday to fourth-degree driving while impaired,
according to the Star Tribune.
Jefferson was arrested February 28 near downtown Mi
Jankovic, Dementieva advance at soggy French Open >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On a Thursday dominated by rain, former
top-ranked star Jelena Jankovic and former runner-up Elena Dementieva managed
to sneak in second-round victories at the French Open.
The fourth-seeded Jankovic was te
Murray, Roddick win second-rounders in rainy Paris >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray and
last year's Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick each managed to reach the third
round on a day when rain was the big winner at the 2010 French Open.
The fourth-seeded
New York fillies stakes gain sponsor >>
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NYRA stakes series, known as the Triple
Tiara, for three-year-old fillies has gained the sponsorship of Betfair TVG.
The series is comprised of the Acorn Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks, and
Alabama
Dodgers purchase contract of P Miller, designate Ortiz >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers purchased the contract
of right-handed relief pitcher Justin Miller from Triple-A Albuquerque and
designated veteran pitcher Ramon Ortiz for assignment Thursday.
The 32-year-old Mil
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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