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01/18/2007 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer will take to the courts Friday at the 2007 Australian Open, but a third-round match between former world No. 1s Andy Roddick and Marat Safin will mark the marquee bout of the day at Melbourne Park.
The sixth-seeded Roddick and 26th-seeded Safin have split six career matchups, but the big Russian is 1-0 against the American here in Melbourne, with the victory coming three years ago in the Aussie Open quarters.
Both the 2006 U.S. Open runner-up Roddick and Safin are former U.S. Open champions and the Russian has also titled here in Melbourne (2005) to go along with his pair of runner-up finishes at this Aussie fortnight.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer, currently riding a 31-match winning streak, will face 25th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who is a dismal 0-7 lifetime against the mighty Swiss.
Federer captured the Aussie Open last year and in 2004 and is seeking his 10th career Grand Slam title. He currently holds the Aussie, Wimbledon and U.S. Open crowns.
Seventh-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo will battle American Sam Querrey on Day 5, while ninth-seeded Croat Mario Ancic will be opposed by 22nd-seeded Slovak Dominik Hrbaty.
Other third-round bouts will pit 14th-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic against Thai Danai Udomchoke, 16th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer versus 20th-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek and 18th-seeded Richard Gasquet against his fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils. Djokovic is already a perfect 7-0 this season, including a title in Adelaide two weeks ago.
One other crowd-pleasing match will pit veteran Aussie favorite Wayne Arthurs against capable American Mardy Fish.
<< Streaking Sharks take on Coyotes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks will aim for their fourth consecutive
victory this evening, when they open the doors of HP Pavilion for the Phoenix
Coyotes.
The Sharks are 6-1-0 in their last seven games and are coming off Monday's w
<< Kings get the Blues in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will attempt to avoid their longest
losing streak of the season tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues to
Staples Center.
The Kings have dropped five straight contests (0-4-1), matching the l
<< Oilers welcome Ducks to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will kick off a five-game homestand
this evening with an intraconference test against the suddenly-struggling
Anaheim Ducks at Rexall Place.
The Ducks still reside at the top of the Pacific Division but
<< Predators try Blue Jackets on for size
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to get back in the win
column tonight, when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to Gaylord
Entertainment Center.
The Predators had won six straight before losing in Detroit on Wednesday
Davenport to West Ham >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham has completed the signing of Calum
Davenport, a former Tottenham defender, to boost the team's effort to get out
of the Premiership's relegation zone.
Davenport, 24, was with Tottenham for a li
Rossi joins relegation battle in Serie A >>
Parma, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serie A bottom-feeder Parma, have signed 19-
year-old striker Giuseppe Rossi - on loan from Manchester United - for the
remainder of the season.
"It gives us particular pleasure to announce the news
Lauren joins Portsmouth from Arsenal >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameroonian, Lauren, joined Portsmouth
from Arsenal on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee
between the two Premiership teams.
Lauren will join fellow former Arsenal player
Borriello expected to receive lengthy ban >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan midfielder Marco Borriello has been
confirmed by the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping agency to have used
two banned substances.
Borriello was originally suspended in December after fai
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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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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