The betting lines in Vegas, how they move and change as the money flows in on one side or the other, have always fascinated me. Vegas doesn’t care who wins or loses a game, all they want is for an equal amount of money to be bet on both sides so they can cash in on the 10 percent vigorish they charge on each bet. The “vig” or the “juice” means Vegas will always make money, as long as they are not too heavy on one side.

Here is an example. Say, for instance, Ohio State is a seven point favorite over Michigan. Now imagine everyone thinks the Buckeyes will win by more than a touchdown. They will lay the points. So if they want to bet the Buckeyes for $500 they will pay $550 for their bet, the additional $50 going to the bookmaker.

Now imagine everyone is betting on Ohio State and the bookmaker has $5,000 from various bets on Ohio State and just $200 on Michigan. The bookie will then move the line a half-point or a point, meaning they are now posting Ohio State minus eight (Ohio State -8 at Michigan). They hope this will get people to start betting on the Wolverines because they are $4,800 heavy on Ohio State.

If people continue to bet the Buckeyes they might move the line another half-point or point. They will continue to manipulate the betting line until their books even out. In a perfect world for the bookmaker there would be exactly the same amount bet on each team. If there is $10,000 bet on Ohio State and $10,000 bet on Michigan, no matter which team wins or covers the spread, the bookie is going to make $2,000 on this game (10 percent of the $20,000 wagered).

There are seven games on the Mid-American Conference schedule this weekend and some very interesting betting lines. Here is how I think things will go. Remember, this is for entertainment purposes only. Don’t go betting your mortgage money on these games because I confirm what you have been thinking about a certain game. That, my friend, would be foolish.

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Ron English had a very good gig.

As defensive coordinator at Louisville, one of the top football programs in the Big East year after year, English was one of those names that always popped up when there a head football coaching position became available because of a firing or resignation. He had just joined the Louisville staff when Charlie Strong replaced Bobby Petrino at the helm if the Cardinals program after spending five seasons in Ann Arbor, where he was the secondary coach for four seasons and defensive coordinator for one.

A four-year letterwinner as a defensive back for the Cal Golden Bears, English had built an impressive resume after his playing days ended, on the staffs of San Diego State (secondary coach 1996-97) and Arizona State (secondary coach 1998-02).

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Northern Illinois made a statement with its 31-17 victory over Temple, establishing itself as the dominant team in the Mid-American Conference. But the Huskies have a long way to go before they can start celebrating a berth in the MAC Championship Game.

In fact, this MAC season has been as confusing as any this writer can remember, and we’re only in the second week of steady conference play.

Though the Huskies are in the driver’s seat in the race for the West title, if they were to face the Owls again in Detroit they would probably have to deal with sophomore running back Bernard Pierce, who missed Saturday’s game with an injured ankle. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

There are quite a few teams with legitimate division title aspirations in both divisions, but no one has, with the exception of the Huskies, proven to be consistent enough to be tabbed as the favorite in the East or West.

Take Ohio University for instance. The Bobcats (3-3, 2-1) just pinned a 49-25 whipping on Bowling Green, but they lost to Toledo earlier this season at home. And what about Toledo? The Rockets (3-3, 2-0) looked like world-beaters after toppling Purdue at home a few weeks ago, but have since lost to Wyoming at home, 20-15, and hammered on the road at Boise State, 57-14. This after winning three games in a row following a season-opening blowout loss to Arizona in the Glass Bowl. One thing in the Rockets’ favor is that all three of their losses have come outside the conference.

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 Kent and Akron will get together tomorrow to do battle for the Wagon Wheel. As far as those “rivalry game” trophies are concerned the Wagon Wheel is somewhere in the middle as far as cheesiness is concerned.

Think about it, there are buckets, ax handles, bells, whistles, etc. Are these obscure items supposed to get players fired up? I know Kent and Akron are not the best of friends and they have plenty of incentive to pound on each other anyway, but The Wagon Wheel is just icing on the cake.

All of these rivalry trophies have stories as to how they came about.

I wanted to take the reader on a journey across the country to become more familiar with this unique hardware. So strap the helmet on and get ready for a journey into the sublime…

First of all you have to trust me. Some of these are going to sound made-up but I assure you these are actual rivalry trophies. Some of the editorial comments about the trophies…well, let’s just say this writer took some creative license.

Our first stop takes us to the beautiful northwest where Boise State and Fresno State have hooked up every year with the Milk Can on the line. Now what the connection between these two schools and milk is I have no idea, but it’s kind of hard to believe the players get too fired up for this one. In fact, most of the players, unless their parents are antique collectors, probably have never even seen a milk can.

The modern football player comes from a carton generation, and even that is going by the wayside. Now you see the plastic jugs everywhere…even cartons are getting outdated.

If Boise State wants to see its chances of appearing in the BCS title game it might want to check out the side of a milk carton, however. The Rose Bowl, yes, but a national championship football team in Boise, Idaho? Get serious.

The deep south is known for its barbeque, and this brings us to the “Battle for the Bones.” For some bizarre reason The University of Alabama-Birmingham and Memphis play for “The Bones.” I guess this is a reference to barbeque because there is a cookout competition that benefits the “Battle for the Bones” theme. That’s right… they have a barbeque competition that benefits the barbeque theme. If that sounds confusing to you, you are not alone. Couldn’t they come up with a charity or something? Then again, look at how ugly this trophy is (photo accompanies this story). Maybe they should save the money raised to buy a nicer trophy, or maybe they should play for something a little more sensible.

Can you just see the UAB Blazers running around, jumping all over each other hoisting a rack of ribs in the air? “WE GOT THE BONES, BABY!!!” Thrilling stuff.

This next trophy, if you drive on the wonderful highways and byways of this great country, has a name very familiar to you.

Since 1925 Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University (now there are some bluebloods for you) have locked horns with the Iron Skillet on the line. No, this has nothing to do with the chain of truck stops that serve, perhaps, the worst spaghetti in the world, it goes back to the game in ’25. Legend has it that some SMU fans were tailgating, cooking up frog legs in a skillet. Horned Frog fans, seeing this clear desecration of their beloved mascot, made a deal with these unruly Mustangs fans that stated the fans of the winning team should get the skillet of frog legs. And a twisted, pretty disgusting tradition was born.

Now the skillet goes back and forth to the winning team each season. No word on if the frog legs are still in it.

Oregon and Oregon State hate each other. The fans hate each other, the players hate each other, heck, even the announcing crews hate each other. Now the bragging rights come with the ultimate reward. The winning team and its fans can now, after the contest, holler “Platypus, Beeeoooch.” The Platypus Trophy is big. Huge. The ultimate in collegiate hardware. And Oregon is big platypus country. Actually, this animal was chosen as the model for this trophy because it has a bill like a duck (Oregon Ducks) and a tail like a Beaver (Oregon State Beavers). That’s actually pretty clever.

The greatest small school rivalry trophy has to go to the winner of the annual showdown between two small schools in Minnesota, Carleton College and Macalester College…The Book of Knowledge. Think about it, you win a football game and all the answers to the world’s problems are right at your fingertips. Forget some cheap little trophy or goofy tradition, The Book of Knowledge is all you really need. I do wonder how, after the initial game in 1999, the loser of the game could ever expect to win the book for themselves. Once your rival has all the knowledge it needs at its disposal I would think it would be fairly hard to game-plan for that.

Here are a few more trophies for your entertainment. So get out there and root, root, root for your team. You never know what kind of knick-knack is on the line:

The Apple Cup (Washington-Washington St.), The Fremont Cannon (Nevada-UNLV), The Golden Boot (Arkansas-LSU), The Silver Spade (New Mexico State-UTEP), The Peace Pipe (Bowling Green-Toledo), The Hardee’s Trophy (Clemson-South Carolina…by the way, nothing like corporate sponsorship to jazz up your rivalry), The Indian War Drum (Kansas-Missouri), The Golden Egg Trophy (Ole Miss-Mississippi St.),  The Okefenokee Oar (Florida-Georgia…I guess because the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party isn’t enough. If you can ever get to Jacksonville for this weekend you MUST do so. Put it on your Bucket List), The Golden Screwdriver (Fresno St.-Hawaii), the Keg of Nails (Cincinnati-Louisville), The Causeway Carriage (Sacramento St.-UC-Davis), The Hickory Stick (Northwest Missouri State-Truman State) and The Coal Miner’s Pail (California, Pa.-Indiana University of Pennsylvania).