Report: Calhoun expected to receive extension on Friday

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

05/07/2010 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Connecticut is reportedly set to give men's head basketball coach Jim Calhoun a contract extension through the 2013-14 season.

According to the Hartford Courant, UConn will hold a press conference on Friday morning to announce the move. The report cites a source as saying the extension is worth $13 million over five years and is retroactive to the 2009-10 season.

If those figures are correct, Calhoun will receive a significant raise on the $1.6 million he earned in the final year of his current contract that was slated to expire in June.

The 67-year-old, who guided the Huskies to a pair of national titles in 1999 and 2004, experienced health problems during an up-and-down 2009-10 campaign and left the team for seven games.

A three-game winning streak shortly after Calhoun's return gave the Huskies hope for a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, but those dreams were dashed with a four-game losing streak to end the season, including an embarrassing 75-53 loss to St. John's in the first round of Big East tourney.

UConn ended the season 18-16, including a lowly 7-11 mark in conference play. They lost to Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT.

In his 24 years with the program, the Huskies have gone 575-221. He also coached 14 seasons at Northeastern, compiling a record of 248-137.

In 2009, Calhoun became the seventh Division I coach in NCAA history to reach 800 career wins.

Gambliung NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Hamilton, Guerrero power Rangers to wild win over Royals
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero clubbed back-to-back home runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Texas to a 13-12 win over Kansas City in the opener of a four-game series

<< Bergesen, Wigginton help Orioles blank Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Bergesen pitched 6 2/3 scoreless frames, and Ty Wigginton's two-run homer accounted for all the scoring, as the Baltimore Orioles opened up a four-game set at Target Field with a 2-0 win over th

<< Martinez knocks in four as BoSox sweep Angels
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and four runs batted in, leading the Red Sox in an 11-6 slugfest win over the Angels to sweep a four-game series at Fenway Park. Dustin Pedroia added

<< Magic pull away late, down Hawks in Eastern Conference semifinals
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 29 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, and the Magic pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 112-98 win over Atlanta in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Although the

<< Eveland pitches Jays to win over White Sox
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dana Eveland hurled seven shutout frames and Fred Lewis drove home the run support necessary, as Toronto blanked the White Sox, 2-0, in the opener of a four-game set at U.S. Cellular Field. Eveland (3-1) ou

Franzen's dandy period helps Wings stave off elimination >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Franzen notched a natural hat trick in a fabulous first period, sparking the Detroit Red Wings to a resounding 7-1 win over San Jose to stay alive after four games of their Western Conference semifin

Rays move to 12-1 on road, sweep Mariners >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Niemann hurled seven scoreless innings and Carl Crawford clubbed a two-run homer, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated Seattle, 8-0, to complete a three-game sweep at Safeco Field. Crawford finished 3-for-5 and

Mr. Clutch: Ethier's ninth-inning slam helps Dodgers avoid sweep >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier belted a game-ending grand slam with one out in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers topped Milwaukee, 7-3, to avert a three-game sweep. Jonathan Broxton (2-0) blew the save o

Wizards' Arenas out of halfway house for gun count >>
GREAT FALLS, Va. (AP) -Gilbert Arenas has arrived home from the halfway house where he lived for nearly a month as part of his sentence for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room.Arenas left the work-release facility in the Maryland s

UNC's Wear brothers to transfer >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina's basketball program took a hit for next season with the announcement that sophomore forward brothers David and Travis Wear are transferring. "Their father called me last night and asked f

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com