12/03/2008 - Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese remained perfect in Group D play in the UEFA Cup as the Italian side booked a spot in the next round with a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadio Friuli on Wednesday.
Fabio Quagliarella put Udinese ahead just five minutes into the match and Christian Obodo's goal with 12 minutes to play put the result out of reach for Zagreb, which pulled a goal back in stoppage time through Igor Biscan.
The result leaves Udinese on top of the group, three points clear of Tottenham and six ahead of NEC, Zagreb and Spartak Moscow, with just one round of matches left to be played.
Tottenham can secure passage with a draw at home against Spartak, while Zagreb must hope for huge losses by both Spartak and NEC to have a chance.
The home supporters could not have asked for a better start with Antonio Di Natale's cross finding Quagliarella in the middle of the box and the striker beating goalkeeper Tomislav Butina with a right-footed shot.
Zagreb was only able to muster a few long-range efforts on target in the first half, but although they were more positive in the second half, it was still difficult to break down a stubborn Udinese defense.
The home side finally extended its lead in the 78th minute when Simone Pepe's cross was met by Obodo to put the Italian side up two goals, while Biscan took advantage of some confusion in the Udinese defense to grab a late goal, preventing a clean sheet.
Spartak Moscow could have all but secured a berth in the next round but NEC rallied late to snatch all three points. Serghei Covalciuc put the Russian club ahead two minutes into the match, but the goal didn't hold up as Jhon Van Beukering equalized in the 84th minute and Lasse Schone scored three minutes later to put all three points in the bag.
Standard Liege had no trouble staying perfect in Group C as the Belgian side cruised to a 3-0 win over Sampdoria. Liege is now assured of a spot in the next round while Sevilla scored a huge 3-0 win over Partizan Belgrade to move into second place. Sevilla will travel to Sampdoria on the final day of matches needing a draw to advance while Sampdoria is level on points with Stuttgart for the third and final spot. Stuttgart holds an edge in goal difference and will be hosting Liege.
Manchester City has moved on despite playing to a dull 0-0 draw at home against PSG, while Twente scored a 2-1 win over Schalke to join City in the next round. Schalke has now played all four of its games and sits two points clear of both PSG and Racing, meaning that the German club can only advance if neither side records a win. PSG will be at home against Twente while Racing hosts City.
Galatasaray finished up its Group B play with a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin as Milan Baros converted from the penalty spot 20 minutes from time. The win leaves the Turkish side on top of the group, two points clear of Metalist Kharkiv, which also advanced with a 1-0 win over Olympiakos on Wednesday. The battle for the last spot involves Olympiakos, Hertha Berlin and Benfica, with the three teams separated by two points. The Greek side will likely advance with a draw at home against Hertha Berlin, while Benfica must win big against Metalist to even have a chance.
<< Seattle places center Spencer on IR
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer was
placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Spencer started all 11 games played this season, and 35 consecutive, before
being sidelined with a back injury during the
<< Line of Scrimmage: Week 14 - Weighing in on StarCaps
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After his team defeated the Chicago Bears
to take over first place in the NFC North this past Sunday night, Minnesota
Vikings head coach Brad Childress told the media he celebrated by having "a
vodka as big a
<< Flyers center Briere out 4-5 weeks
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers center Daniel Briere
will miss the next four to five weeks with a groin strain.
Briere left Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning after
taking a hit in the se
<< Giants ink Howry to one-year deal
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have signed
right-handed reliever Bob Howry to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the
deal were not released.
"We feel that Howry brings a tremendous amount of talente
Raptors fire coach Mitchell; Triano to take over >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors fired head coach Sam
Mitchell on Wednesday, as announced by team president and general manager
Bryan Colangelo.
"This is a difficult but necessary step the franchise must
Rice accepts bid for Texas Bowl >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rice University accepted a bid to the Texas
Bowl on Wednesday.
The Owls finished the 2008 season with a 9-3 mark, including a 7-1 record in
Conference USA.
It is the second bowl selection for the s
Mariners name pitching, bullpen coaches >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners Wednesday named Rick Adair
pitching coach and John Wetteland bullpen coach.
The two additions to new manager Don Wakamatsu's 2009 staff join bench coach
Ty Van Burkleo and first base coac
Wie five back after first round of Q School >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shiho Oyama, ranked 42nd in the Rolex
Rankings, fired an eight-under 64 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead of
the 90-hole LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
Amateur Mika Miyazato shot a six-unde
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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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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