(STATS) -- Everybody else across the FCS had a head start, but the Ivy League teams hope a lot of home-field advantage will tighten the gap this weekend.Six of the eight Ivy teams will play at home when their 10-game season kicks off. All but one of the opponents have played two games.Harvard begins the season Friday night by hosting Rhode Island (0-2) before five other Ivy teams open at home Saturday -- Columbia against Saint Francis (0-2), Yale against No. 23 Colgate (0-1), Penn against Lehigh (0-2), Princeton against Lafayette (1-1) and Dartmouth against No. 22 New Hampshire (1-1).Also Saturday, Brown visits Bryant (1-1) and Cornell goes to Bucknell (1-1).The Ivies are coming off a season in which Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn forged a three-way share of first place -- the first time that happened in the Ancient Eight since 1982.All three teams lost a number of key seniors. Harvard, which has won three straight Ivy titles and four in the last five years, was installed as a slight preseason favorite over Penn, and Dartmouth was third in the league poll. But the next tier of teams -- Yale, Princeton and Brown -- have veteran teams capable of creating a wide-open league race.A lot more question marks, obviously, Harvard coach Tim Murphy said, and thats the obvious result of losing arguably the most successful senior class in Harvard football history. Its a bit unprecedented for us. Were used to being successful, were to setting the bar high.You just hope the kids develop and rise to the occasion, Penn coach Ray Priore said, are opportunistic when given the opportunity to make their imprint in the program.Harvard, an impressive 24-4-2 against teams currently in CAA Football, is replacing quarterback Scott Hosch, the 2015 Ivy offensive player of the year, with 6-foot-5 senior Joe Viviano. The new starter broke his foot in early September last year and missed the season, then broke the other foot late during winter workouts.Penns losses include linebacker Tyler Drake, the 2015 Ivy defensive player of the year. The Quakers fell 42-21 at Lehigh in Priores head coaching debut last season. Priore and Mountain Hawks coach Andy Coen worked together as Penn coordinators for six seasons (2000-05), winning three league titles.Dartmouth owns the most Ivy titles in league history with 19 -- last years was the Big Greens first since 1996. Their 7 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday against rival New Hampshire makes them the final Division I team to open the season.Yales nine-game winning streak in season openers is the leagues longest active streak, including a 29-28 triumph at Colgate last season.Princeton has defeated Lafayette eight straight times, including 40-7 last year.Brown and Bryant are separated by about 15 miles, although they never played each other until 2013. They have split the two prior meetings.Columbia and Cornell were mired in last place a year ago. Columbia lists 10 freshmen on its two-deep for the start of coach Al Bagnolis second season, while Cornell enters the campaign with more playing experience than any of coach David Archers previous three seasons. Trent Taylor Super Bowl Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Jason Verrett Super Bowl Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. http://www.49ersofficialfanshop.com/deforest-buckner-jersey-sales.html . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Arik Armstead Super Bowl Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Fred Warner Super Bowl Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said.CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs have viewed Anthony Rizzo as a part of their future since they acquired him. Now hes locked in. The slugging first baseman and the Cubs agreed Monday to a $41 million, seven-year contract that could be worth up to $68 million over nine seasons. "We believe in Anthony," general manager Jed Hoyer said. "We think hes going to be a very big part of our future here in Chicago, and were excited to get a deal done. The 23-year-old is hitting .280 with a .352 on-base percentage. He also has nine home runs and 28 RBIs in his third major league season. Rizzo realized that he was taking "maybe a little bit of a discount now" but said "its security for now and its a huge weight off my shoulder, my familys shoulders, my kids shoulders, my grandkids shoulders." Hoyer said talks for a new deal began with about two weeks left in spring training but were halted before opening day. They restarted less than two weeks ago. Rizzo gets a $2 million signing bonus, of which $250,000 is payable within 30 days of the contracts approval by Major League Baseball and $1.75 million is payable next Jan. 15. He receives a $750,000 salary this year, up from $498,000 under the agreement he reached in March. He then will earn $1.25 million next year, $5 million apiece in 2015 and 2016, $7 million each in 2017 and 2018 and $11 million in 2019. Chicago has a $14.5 million option for 2020 with a $2 million buyout. If that is exercised, the Cubs will have a $14.5 million for 2021 with a $2 million buyout. "This day has come so fast," Rizzo said. "Looking back on it, when I was a young kid dreaming of this day, its a surreal moment." With chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein watching, the Cubs announced a deal that has the highest average annual value ($5,857,143) for a position player with less than two years of major league service. Among pitchers in that service group, Seattles Hisashi Iwakuma ($7 million), Torontos Ricky Romero ($6.02 million) and San Franciscos Madison Bumgarner ($5,592,667) have higher averages. "I think its a great matchup foor both sides," Hoyer said.dddddddddddd "It is unusual that it is early, but I think our knowledge of Anthony and our belief in him as a person makes that possible." Hoyer declined to say if the Cubs are negotiating new deals with other players, but said he "certainly" hopes there are others who follow Rizzo. Rizzo was selected out of high school in the sixth round of the 2007 amateur draft by Boston, a time when Epstein and Hoyer were running the Red Sox front office. Hoyer was the Padres general manager when San Diego dealt for Rizzo. He was treated for Hodgkins lymphoma in 2008 and played only 21 games that season. He recovered, became a top prospect and was dealt to San Diego in December 2010 as part of the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Rizzo then played 49 games for the Padres in 2011 but struggled, hitting .141 with one homer and RBIs. He was traded to Chicago in January 2012 for Andrew Cashner. Rizzo was batting just .173 heading into the game at Miami on April 26. He hit a 420-foot home run to centre and a 413-foot shot to the upper deck in right field that day for his second career two-homer game. It also gave him eight for the season, the most by a Cubs left-handed hitter in April. Last August, the Cubs gave shortstop Starlin Castro a $60 million, seven-year contract. "I feel happy because I feel like I have him and me for a long time here," Castro said. And manager Dale Sveum thought the deal bodes well for a team without a World Series title since 1908. Its pretty important to all of us, the city, the organization, to have somebody like that locked up for that long," he said. NOTES: If an option is declined, the buyout is payable the following Jan. 15. If he wins the NL MVP or finishes among the top five in MVP voting at least twice, his 2019 salary increases to $12 million and the option prices go up to $16.5 million. In addition, if he finishes among the top two in NL MVP voting in any year through 2019 and then is traded, he can void the 2021 option. Rizzo also gets a hotel suite for road trips. His deal was negotiated by agent Marc Pollack of Sports One Athlete Management. ' ' '