12/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will try to stop a season-high three-game losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
The Suns dropped their third in a row after Wednesday's 104-91 setback at New Orleans in the opener of a short two-game road trip. Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points while Leandro Barbosa and Grant Hill chipped in 19 and 17 points, respectively, in defeat.
Phoenix was without two-time MVP Steve Nash (flu) and Shaquille O'Neal (rest) against the Hornets, who took advantage without the big man inside and won the rebounding war by a 46-30 margin. Nash and O'Neal are expected to play tonight for the Suns, who are 7-3 as the guest. Nash is questionable and played with Dallas for six seasons. O'Neal is probable for Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks will continue a lengthy seven-game homestand tonight and opened the season-long residency with a 100-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday to improve to 3-4 as the host.
Jose Barea's three-pointer with 50.2 seconds to play lifted the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki added a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which has won two straight and seven of eight. Jason Terry scored 26 points and Barea finished with 15 in the win.
The Mavericks will also host the Hawks, Spurs, Bobcats, Thunder and Nuggets. In injury news for Dallas, forward Josh Howard is questionable against Phoenix due to a sprained left ankle.
Dallas went 2-1 against Phoenix a year ago and has won 10 of the past 17 matchups. The Mavs have scored more than 100 points against the Suns in 16 of the previous 17 meetings.
Phoenix has lost two of three games at American Airlines Center.
<< Cards pick up Greene from Padres
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly
acquired shortstop Khalil Greene from the San Diego Padres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two minor league relievers will be
heading the other way i
<< BC Lions release Clermont
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions released slotback
Jason Clermont Wednesday night.
A first-round draft pick by the Lions in 2002, Clermont has 428 career catches
for 5,917 yards, placing him sixth on the club'
<< Hansbrough leads No. 1 UNC in rout of Michigan State
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough scored 25 points and pulled
down 11 rebounds to pace top-ranked North Carolina to a 98-63 blowout of No.
13 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
By the way the Tar Heels (8-0) are
<< Yao fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles
Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei
Top-25 foes clash in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what promises to be an outstanding battle of
non-conference heavyweights, the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns play host to
the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins this evening in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
UCLA ope
UConn battle Buffalo in upstate New York >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Connecticut Huskies are set
to play their first true road game of the season tonight, as the Buffalo Bulls
play the role of host team in this non-conference clash.
UConn has opened the season
Villanova hosts Houston Baptist at the Pavilion >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what appears to be a monumental mismatch,
the undefeated and 17th-ranked Villanova Wildcats will play host to the
winless Houston Baptist Huskies this evening.
Houston Baptist opened the season against a r
Sixth-ranked Sooners host Trojans >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma Sooners have risen to the sixth
spot in the most recent poll, and they figure to be challenged at home tonight
by the USC Trojans in a non-conference clash as part of the Big 12/Pac-10
Hardwood Series.
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.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting