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10/21/2009 - Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unseeded Marat Safin toppled top-seeded fellow Russian Nikolay Davydenko in opening-round action Wednesday at the $1.08 million Kremlin Cup tennis event.
The former world No. 1 Safin, who expects to retire from the ATP at season's end, overcame and outlasted last week's Shanghai Masters champion Davydenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on the indoor hardcourts at Olympic Stadium. Safin moved on in just under two hours with the help of 10 aces and three service breaks.
The three-time Moscow titlist Davdyenko, who surprised former top-ranked star Rafael Nadal in last week's Shanghai finale, captured this tournament in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
The Muscovite Safin was last year's Moscow runner-up to fellow Russian Igor Kunitysn and was the 2006 runner-up here to Davdyenko.
Kunitsyn will not repeat as the titlist this year, as he succumbed to compatriot Evgeny Korolev 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in round one on Wednesday. Korolev will battle the two-time major champion Safin on Thursday.
In second-round play on Day 3, third-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny whipped Italian Potito Starace 6-1, 6-1, fifth-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay came back to beat Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and another Ukrainian qualifier, Sergiy Stakhovsky, upended seventh-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 7-5, 6-1. Santoro, like Safin, expects to retire this year.
One other first-round match saw Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko take out Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 1-6, 6-4, 4-1, retired, as Istomin gave way to a throat infection.
The 2009 Moscow champ will collect $170,000.
<< Nationwide Tour adds new event in Jacksonville
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nationwide Tour has announced a
new event for next season, adding the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open to the
schedule for 2010.
The event will be played in October on the Dye's Valley
<< Rays tab Shelton as hitting coach
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have named Derek
Shelton as the team's new hitting coach.
"Derek has proven himself to be one of the better minds in baseball when it
comes to hitting," Rays executive vice pre
<< Kiffin signs contract
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee head football
coach Lane Kiffin has officially signed his contract.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Tuesday that Kiffin was delayed in
signing the agreement due to
<< Longhorns and Tigers collide in Columbia
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Texas Longhorns make the trip
to Columbia this week to take on the Missouri Tigers in a key Big 12 tussle.
Mack Brown's Longhorns took a huge step toward a Big 12 title, with last
weekend's 16
Michigan AD Martin to retire in 2010 >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Michigan director of
athletics Bill Martin will retire from his position on September 4, 2010, he
announced Wednesday.
Martin notified school president Mary Sue Coleman with a le
Wilkie suffers injury setback >>
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United captain Lee Wilkie has been
rocked by suffering yet another injury setback.
The 29-year-old was injured during training, with the Terrors fearing that
Wilkie has damaged his knee as well
Pugh pens Potters extension >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Manchester United midfielder
Danny Pugh has penned a one-year contract extension with Stoke City that will
keep him at the Britannia Stadium until the summer of 2012.
The 27-year-old accep
Bologna sacks Papadopulo >>
Bologna, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Struggling Bologna have fired coach Giuseppe
Papadopulo after winning only one of their first eight Serie A games this
season.
Former player Franco Colomba has been named as Papadopulo's successor hav
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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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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