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03/12/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire Soccer signed 24-year-old Dutch forward Collins John, the Major League Soccer club announced on Friday.
"We are very excited to have Collins join the Chicago Fire," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas said. "Collins is a talented player and he will be a great addition to the club. He is a quick and powerful forward with a nose for goal and we believe he will be a good fit to the attacking style we will play this season."
John, who has been on trial with the Fire since Feb. 4, joins the club as a free agent. He began his professional career in 2002 with Eredivisie side FC Twente, where he appeared in 35 matches over an 18-month span before being sold to English premier League side Fulham FC in January of 2004.
During his time with Fulham FC, John partnered with current Fire forward Brian McBride, scoring 20 goals in 95 matches. Since leaving Fulham in 2007, John has spent time with English clubs Leceister City and Watford FC, and Holland side NEC Nijimegen, before signing with K.S.V. Roselare in Belgium in 2009.
John will be officially added to the roster pending receipt of his visa and International Transfer Certificate. Per league and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
<< Bulls, Heat set to battle in Miami
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams battling for playoff spots in the Eastern
Conference square off tonight at Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena, where the
surging Heat continue an important homestand by taking on the slumping Chicago
Bulls.
<< Pistons resume homestand with visit from Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Eastern Conference also-rans continue playing out
the string tonight in Auburn Hills, where the Detroit Pistons play host to the
Washington Wizards.
The Pistons fell to 1-1 on a three-game homestand Wednesday, wh
<< Lakers visit Phoenix for key Pacific showdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two top teams in the Pacific Division meet for the last
time in the regular season tonight, when the second-place Phoenix Suns welcome
the front-running Los Angeles Lakers to the U.S. Airways Center.
The defending NBA
<< Stars return home to face Williams and Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Stars haven't done much to further their playoff
chances since the Olympic break, but an upcoming six-game homestand for a team
that has been strong this year as the host could do the trick.
Dallas begins that residenc
George Karl to miss 3 more road games >>
DENVER (AP) -George Karl will skip the last three games on the Denver Nuggets' road trip as he adjusts to a feeding tube that was placed into his stomach as part of his cancer treatment.The Nuggets coach has already missed two games since being diag
Bengals make it official with Bryant >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals announced the
signings of wide receivers Antonio Bryant and Chris Davis Friday.
Terms of the contracts were not released, but Bryant's deal is believed to be
for $28 million
Karl to miss remainder of Denver road trip >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Nuggets coach George Karl will miss the
remaining three games of the team's road trip as he continues his treatment
for neck and throat cancer.
Karl missed the opening game of the trip on Wednesd
Eagles bring back WR Baskett >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles announced Friday
they have signed wide receiver Hank Baskett to a one-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Baskett spent his first four years in th
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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