friday, november 21. 2003
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the university daily kansar
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Campus gambling trend hits close to home for students
By David Theard
The Reveille via U-Wire
Louisiana State University
BATON ROUGE, La. — In Baton Rouge, La., it is not hard to find a place to legally gamble.
By the Mississippi River, Casino Rouge and Argosy Casino offer patrons hundreds of opportunities to gamble any day of the year and any hour of the day.
Of course, with LSU being minutes away from the casinos students often make the trip to try their luck.
But if a casino does not fit the needs of the students, or if it is filled with too much smoke or is
too noisy, opportunities arise elsewhere.
At LSU and other higher education campuses throughout the country, illegal betting on sports among students runs rampant, and it is not just the typical "I'll bet you five dollars my team wins" kind of bets.
Two student bookies said activities ranging from student bookies to in-home blackjack tables are commonplace at LSU. They are commonplace on nearly every college campus in America.
A study performed by researchers from several universities around the country said 33 percent of male students and 15 percent of female students gamble at least once a week.
Not only are the illegal betting outlets available, but they are easy to find. Whether it be a bookie in a residence hall or a student handing out parlay cards at his apartment, all that is needed is a phone and curiosity.
"When I first moved into my apartment my freshman year in college, I started hearing about betting on sports and playing parlay cards," said Ben Dichiara, an LSU kinesiology junior who has bet in the past. "All I had to do was talk to my neighbor, and he set me up with his bookie, and I've been betting ever since."
While betting on sports is illegal in 49 states, that does not stop
students from trying to earn an extra buck.
Bookies, experienced and beginners, are continuing to pop up around LSU's campus.
After years of placing bets through illegal bookies, he figured it was his turn to take the bets and make his piece of the pie.
A student bookie, who spoke of people betting on the home team, just got into the "game."
But he did not go in alone. He ventured into it with two friends about four months ago to limit the damages he would experience, if any.
"Everyone splits the losses and proceeds by a third," the bookie said, "So you're not putting up the
large bulk of it."
Early on, the bookie said he experienced some troubles with his service, mainly because in a college town it is hard to form a clientele base and even harder to get people to call their bets in on time.
"It's hard to get really good clients that are in college," the bookie said. "But when people lose, it hasn't been a problem getting them to pay up."
But what if it was a problem?
What if a student made a $1,000 bet and refused to pay up?
The bookie said if money is not collected on each Tuesday when he makes his rounds to collect, there is not much he can do. Since
he is in college, he said physical violence is not an option, and all he can do is stop taking bets from that person. The bookie said working in a college town does have its advantages, like easy, free advertising and reliable customers.
The bookie said it really is not hard to find people, whether knowledgeable in sports or not, willing to bet for the thrill of it.
Winning or losing depends on the client, the bookie said, so the less knowledgeable, the better. And since a losing bet must pay an extra 10 percent of what the bet is, the odds are stacked in the bookie's favor to come out on top.
Penn State coach's tactics get recruits
Bv Rob Riva
BY ROB RIVA
Daily Collegian via U-Wire
Pennsylvania State University
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A lot of things have changed for Penn State since the football team joined the ranks of the Big Ten a decade ago.
One area that has been arguably the most dynamic in nature is recruiting.
Since the Nittany Lions became a member of the Big Ten, Penn State has lost its dominance in certain areas of the East Coast to other teams in the conference, but has also gotten its foot in the door of previously unrecurred regions of the country.
"Most of the kids we want, we get," Penn State football coach Ioe Paterno said.
In this year's recruiting class, the Fighting Irish won a recent
recruiting battle with the Lions over California wide receiver Anthony Vernaglia. Last season, running back Jason Evans decommitted from Penn State and ultimately signed with Stanford.
This isn't to say that the Lions haven't been able to land top-rated players. In the 2004 class alone, they have verbals from top-ranked linebacker Dan Connor, nationally ranked defensive lineman A.Q. Shipley and nationally ranked offensive lineman Greg Harrison. Both Stanford and Notre Dame showed heavy interest in all three prospects.
But Paterno said he expected this to happen once the program jumped aboard the Big Ten.
"One of the benefits that Penn State brought to the Big Ten was the fact that we were going to give
the Big Ten a more visible appearance in the East," Paterno said. "When I got into the Big Ten, I told the coaches that 'we are going to open up an awful lot of opportunities for you guys to recruit from New Jersey and New York.' I foresaw that and talked to coaches about that."
Some of the conference's coaches have confirmed Paterno's original prediction.
As Penn State's grip on the Eastern part of the country declined a little, its clout in the Midwest and Southeast increased. It became mutually beneficial.
At least one other aspect of the Penn State football program is enough to have recruits drooling to don the blue and white — Paterno, the man himself.
Some critics of the Lions' program consider Paterno a weak
link in the chain of recruiting specifically that the septuagenarian can't relate to 18-year old kids.
According to numerous players Paterno was able to sign, this is merely a construct other programs have drubbed up in a campaign to "dirty recruit" and smear Penn State.
"Other coaches tell you he won't be around much longer," linebacker T.C. Cosby said.
"Coach Johnson and coach Paterno said they would be here for four years and I didn't worry about that," he said. "It wasn't too big a choice and I was very happy I knew coach would be here."
For others like quarterback Michael Robinson, the Paterno aura was all he needed to sign with the Lions back in 2001.
Said Robinson: "How can you say no to a living legend?"
Irish to look for players to step up on court
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Losing two scorers like Matt Carroll and Dan Miller left Notre Dame looking to replace 33.4 points each night they step on the court. Naturally, Irish coach Mike Brey is looking to his role players from last year namely Jordan Cornette, Torrian Jones and Chris Quinn—to become bigger scorers this year. Last season, that tri averaged a combined 11.8 points per game. That's a major jump for those three players to make, but if the Irish are to continue to score a lot of points, that jump is necessary, and they are ready.
By Matt Lozar
The Observer via U-Wire
University of Notre Dame
"Over the years, I've kind of
"I'm the energy guy. That's my role since I was a freshman."
Torrian Jones
Notre Dame basketball player
played hesitant on the offensive end," Jones said. "I think this year, with coach Brey really encouraging me and letting me know that he has confidence in me on the court, that's helping me go out on the court and play free of mind."
Friday night against the Illinois All-Stars, Jones did just that. In the second half, when the Irish had cooled down from their torrid first-half 3-point shooting,
Jones took advantage of his slower defender and made a number of moves to the basket. Each of those drives resulted in an easy bucket. Using his athletic ability, which has been so present on the defensive end, is something his teammates were glad to see.
Being named one of four captains for the Irish this year, Jones had a chance in the exhibition season to display that leadership. The Irish needed two free throws against the Illinois All-Stars with 1.4 seconds remaining to avoid an exhibition loss. Jones was just a 67.2 percent shooter from the charity strip last year. While he doesn't want to discard what made him a shutdown defensive player in his first three years with the Irish, he's ready to
undertake new roles this year.
"I'm the energy guy. That's my role since I was a freshman. Even though I'm looking to be more of a scoreer this year, I'm still trying to find ways to bring energy offensively," Jones said.
Cornette took on a newrole in the first half, keeping the Irish in the game on 4-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers, including scoring nine straight points for the Irish at one point.
Punt returns, blocks fall short in Nebraska
Quinn also helped the Irish match the Illinois All-Stars' hot shootin Friday night, going 4-of-4 from behind the arc. With Brey planning on using Thomas and Quinn on the court at the same time a lot this season, Quinn will see a lot of minutes this year along with Cornette and Jones.
By David Diehl Daily Nebraskan via U-Wire University of Nebraska
The former Nebraska halfback, who holds the current Nebraska record for punt return average — 21.2 yards per return in 1960 — won't be threatened by anyone on this Husker squad that, as a team, averages just 9.9 yards per return, better than only three other teams in the Big 12 Conference.
LINCOLN, Neb. — Pat Pischer, you can relax.
Your single-season record for punt return average is safe for another year.
So far through Nebraska's 8-3 campaign this year, returning punts and blocking punts hasn't been a forte on special teams.
Nebraska's punt returner, I-back and kick returner Josh Davis, is getting just 8.8 yards per return, which would rank as the lowest average since Kareem Moss could muster just 7.5 yards per return in Nebraska's national championship season in 1994.
Just what Nebraska's poor showing in punt returns has cost the Huskers is hard to quantify, coach Frank Solich said. A team can overcome that aspect if the other special teams, specifically kickoff and punt coverage, can help neutralize the field-position battle.
touchdown returns and was named a second team All-American by The Associated
Running with All-American Dejuan Groce, Nebraska ranked fifth in the nation a year ago in punt returns, averaging more than 16 yards per chance. Groce, who is now the St. Louis Rams' priary punt returner, tied an NCAA record last year with four
Associated Press.
Davis said he realized it was hard to keep up that type of success anywhere.
"I don't think you can always be satisfied however you do," Davis said. "I've been disappointed, you know. I have high expectations whatever I do."
In Davis' place, Solich has tried running back Cory Ross at punt returner at times this season with few results. Solich tried Josh Bullocks at the spot in practice before Saturday's game against Kansas State, but Solich said the sophomore hasn't practiced this week, so it had been hard to completely gauge his progress.
Solich said he would like to get Bullocks some return opportunities in games by the end of this year.
Davis, who holds Nebraska's game, season and career records for kick return yards, said he had gotten winded at times holding down three positions at the same time, though he wouldn't say if it greatly affected his play.
The senior said he critically assessed every position he plays, and Solich was continuing to assess the performances of his returners. He said he won't announce any changes, if there are any to announce, until his next weekly press conference Nov.25.
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