09/03/2008 - Nyon, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's rankings were released on Wednesday and they saw Spain maintain a comfortable lead over the rest of the table, while Italy regained the second spot by edging out Germany.
The European champions own a lead of over 200 points on second-place Italy, but things are tight after that with Germany (3rd, down 1) and the Netherlands (4th, no change) right behind the Italians.
Croatia remains in fifth place while Brazil, Argentina, the Czech Republic and Portugal make up six through nine respectively.
Turkey (10th, up 3) jumped into the top 10 ahead of France (11th, up 1), Russia (12th, down 2) and Romania (13th, down 2), while England (15th, down 1) fell behind Cameroon (14th, up 1).
Mexico (24th, up 8) made a big move in the rankings to regain the top spot in CONCACAF, while the United States (28th, up 3) also made an improvement.
Colombia (29th, down 6), Sweden (31st, down 5) and Norway (34th, down 5) were a few of the teams that suffered the biggest drops, while the Republic of Ireland (38th, up 3) Tunisia (44th, up 3) and Saudi Arabia (48th, up 4) each made slight jumps.
October's rankings, which will be published on October 8, 2008, promise some more significant movement with the start of European World Cup qualifying.
<< Wheldon rejoining Panther Racing
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series
champion Dan Wheldon will return to Panther Racing six years after he made his
series debut with the team.
Wheldon, who made his first IndyCar start with Panther
<< Cowboys sign Davis
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys signed free agent safety
Keith Davis on Wednesday.
Davis, who was signed by Miami in the offseason and released last week, will
be entering his sixth season in the NFL, all with Dallas.
<< Steelers bring in TE McHugh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers signed tight end
Sean McHugh to a one-year deal on Wednesday.
McHugh spent the past three seasons with the Detroit Lions and over 24 games
with the team (14 starts), he totaled
<< Upset specialist ECU hosts West Virginia in Greenville
Greenville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East Carolina Pirates will try to knock
off a Top 25 opponent for the third straight time, as they entertain the
eighth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this
weekend.
In arguab
Lee named AL Pitcher of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee
was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for August, posting
a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.86 earned run average.
It was the second time this
Fulham goalkeeper Niemi forced to retire >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi has
been forced to retire from professional football because of a wrist injury.
The 36-year-old former Finland international made 64 first-team appearances
for the
Kahn bids farewell in final Bayern match >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oliver Kahn paid an emotional farewell to
the Bayern Munich fans after playing in his last game for the club on Tuesday.
The 39-year-old goalkeeper featured in Bayern's 1-1 friendly draw against a
Germ
Boller placed on injured reserve; Bouman signed >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens have placed
quarterback Kyle Boller on injured reserve because of a shoulder problem and
filled the roster spot by signing quarterback Todd Bouman.
Boller injured his sho
Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back
With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.
"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."
Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .
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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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