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03/07/2010 - Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Keane scored a goal in each half and Celtic defeated Falkirk 2-0 on Sunday at Falkirk Stadium for its first win over the struggling club in three matches this season.
Celtic settled for draws in its first two games with Falkirk, 3-3 on the road, and 1-1 at Parkhead. The Bhoys claimed the third meeting against the side last in the Scottish Premier League to move back within 10 points of Rangers.
Rangers dropped Celtic 10 points off the pace last Sunday with a 1-0 victory in the Old Firm, and beat St. Mirren 3-1 on Saturday to push its lead to 13.
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray considered benching Keane following his match with Ireland earlier this week against Brazil, but the Tottenham loanee started and rewarded his coach with his third and fourth goals.
"I was half tempted to put Robbie on the bench after (the Brazil game) midweek but I started him and he got his goals," Celtic boss Tony Mowbray said on the league's website.
Keane, who is Ireland's captain, turned an assist from Morten Rasmussen into the opener in the 34th when he slotted low past Falkirk goalie Robert Olejnik.
Keane added his second in the 79th when he met a free kick from Marc Crosas to beat Olejnik for the second time.
Celtic kept its slim title hopes alive, but would still need a collapse in the closing weeks from Rangers to dethrone the defending champions.
Falkirk boss Steven Pressley was pleased with the effort, but his side sits in last place and three points behind Hamilton and St. Mirren.
"I thought we controlled the game for long periods and I'm devastated for the players," Pressley said.
Morgaro Gomis scored in the 78th as Dundee United reclaimed third with a 1-0 win over Hearts at Tannadice Park.
<< Jaguars sign Kampman
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have
signed defensive end Aaron Kampman, the team announced Sunday. Terms and
length of the deal were not disclosed.
Kampman had spent all eight of his NFL seaso
<< Czechs settle for 4-1 Davis Cup victory over Belgians
Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic wound up with a 4-1
victory over host Belgium in a first-round Davis Cup tie in Bree.
In a pair of dead rubbers on Sunday, Steve Darcis got Belgium on the
scoreboard with a
<< Everton cruises past Hull City
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikel Arteta scored his first two goals
of the season, Landon Donovan added a goal and an assist, and Everton defeated
Hull City 5-1 on Sunday at Goodison Park.
Arteta, limited to six EPL matches due to
<< Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas
Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their
first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.
The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalban
Pavlyuchenkova sets up Monterrey final showdown with Hantuchova >>
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova got past Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in Sunday's semifinal at
the $220,000 Monterrey Open. Pavlyuchenkova will face second-seeded Slovakian
Daniela Hantu
Royals' Gordon to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals announced Sunday that
third baseman Alex Gordon is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks
with a broken right thumb, leaving his status for Opening Day unclear.
Gordon was
Young scores 32 as Sixers down Raptors >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 32 points
and Jrue Holiday had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, as the
Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 114-101 win over
the Tor
Dodgers C Martin out 4-6 weeks >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin
will miss four to six weeks of action due to a pulled groin muscle.
The injury will sideline Martin for the remainder of Spring Training and
Opening Day.
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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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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