Stanford is tough on road

UCLA can wrap up the regular-season championship in the Pacific 10 Conference with a victory tonight over visiting Stanford.

Already owners of a 76-67 victory in Palo Alto in early January and 4-3 in their last seven games with the Cardinal, the Bruins have won 16 of 18 at home, but there are reasons to believe Stanford can keep it close in the most anticipated Pac-10 game of the season.

As good as UCLA has been at home, the Bruins have not been adept at covering the point spread. According to the website Vegasinsider.com, they are only 9-7 against the spread at Pauley Pavilion.

A winner of eight of 11 on the road, Stanford also has been good against the number away from Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal has covered the spread in four of its last five road games.

Pro football

One day after Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre announced his retirement, there was a shift in the future odds on the Packers and their chances of winning the NFC championship and the Super Bowl in the upcoming season.

The 11-4 favorite on Vegasinsider.com to win the NFC on Tuesday morning, the Packers and new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers are now the 5-1 third choice.

Dallas, which lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in its lone playoff game last season, is the 2-1 favorite. The Giants are next at 4-1.

The soaring odds on Green Bay reduced the price on three other NFC teams. Seattle dropped from 7-1 to 6-1; Chicago, which won the NFC in 2006 before losing to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl, went from 10-1 to 8-1; and Minnesota is 14-1 compared with 15-1 on Tuesday.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Packers are 12-1 compared with 7-1 before Favre’s decision to walk away.

While New England remains the 5-2 favorite, the odds dropped on five teams -- the Cowboys (6-1 to 9-2), Giants (12-1 to 10-1), Seahawks (18-1 to 15-1), Bears (25-1 to 18-1) and Vikings (38-1 to 30-1).

Golf

Those bettors who believe Ernie Els can make it two wins in a row at the PODS Championship, which begins today in Palm Harbor, Fla., can get 6-1 on the golfer, according to Vegasinsider.com

Consecutive victories would not be a first for Els, who ended a drought extending to 2004 when he won the Honda Classic last weekend. In 2003, Els won the Mercedes Benz Championship and Sony Open in succession.

The field is the 6-5 favorite to win the PODS. Among individuals, the 15-1 second choice behind Els is Steve Stricker. Then come four golfers -- Stewart Cink, Stuart Appleby, Paul Casey and Justin Rose -- at 20-1. Defending champion Mark Calcavecchia, who defeated John Senden by one stroke a year ago, is 35-1.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com