Some Bears will hit tables when in Vegas
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY — Viva Las Vegas! Well, Elvis isn't around, the Rat Pack is no more, and Siegfried and Roy have their own issues — a tiger mauling and being stalked by former Oakland Raiders kicker Cole Ford. But Vegas is Vegas, and that means glitz, glamour and gambling. This is the atmosphere that awaits Cal as it meets BYU in next Thursday's Las Vegas Bowl. Does Cal even gamble outside of, say, fourth-and-one at its 40? "From time to time, I've played blackjack," said coach Jeff Tedford. "But I lose all the time. I'm not patient at all. I'm greedy. I'll win $2 a hand, then lose $10 all at once. I'm a bad gambler." Cal (7-4, 4-4 Pac-10) isn't going to Las Vegas to win at the tables, but to win against BYU (6-5, 5-3 Mountain West). Tedford wants his players to know that this isn't a party trip. "Looking at the schedule, there will be very little down time, three hours here or there," he said Thursday. "It needs to be a fun experience. You can't take them to a bowl game and handcuff them to their room. There needs to be trust. They need to have fun, but they need to stay focused." This is Cal's third straight bowl, and the Bears are a 7-point pick to beat BYU. Odds take on more significance when it's Las Vegas. "I'll play blackjack," offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan said, "but I've only played in Tahoe. They're nicer. They say 'split' or what to do. I know I'm going to lose, so I've budgeted myself for $400 in Vegas. Counting cards? It's too much work. Football's easier." "I like to play blackjack, and I like to think I do as well as possible," said linebacker Ryan Foltz. "But I wouldn't call myself a serious gambler — $5 a game. I'll play in Vegas if I have the time." "I enjoy gambling," fullback Chris Manderino said. "We have our poker games on the team every once in a while, but it's not out of control. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. I'm taking $400 to Vegas, most of it in cash. I'm leaving my ATM card at home."
Manderino has been to Las Vegas before, and also Lake Tahoe, to gamble. What's the most money he has won? "Maybe a couple of hundred here and there," he said. "It's all luck."
When it comes to the game, BYU's defense has been known to gamble a bit. "They're very physical up front," Tedford said, "with an unorthodox defense — a 3-3-5 defense you don't normally see. They can cause problems the way they blitz everybody. Always five, six guys rushing from different directions." Offensively, the Cougars play the same spread offense as Texas Tech — which upset Cal 45-31 in last year's Holiday Bowl — with some variations. "BYU runs the ball a little more than Tech, and throws to the tight end more than Tech," Tedford said. "And they have a 1,000-yard rusher (Curtis Brown) who is their second leading receiver."
BEAR TRACKS: Cal's last two bowls were played after Christmas, but the Las Vegas Bowl catches Cal in the middle of finals. Most of the team leaves for Vegas on Sunday. Cornerback Tim Mixon and wide receiver DeSean Jackson won't practice on Monday because they'll be taking finals. Other Bears will have finals next week. ... Tedford looks at bowl appearances as recruiting tools. "We've had more early commitments than we've ever had," he said. "But it's a lot more competitive because of who we're competing against." It's not just USC, but Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU and others on a national scale.
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