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02/13/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) released a pair of pre-season 'Kick-Off' polls for the 2012 racing season. Performances are through Sunday, February 12.
Game On Dude is first in the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll and Algorithms is atop the Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude won his 2012 debut in the San Antonio at Santa Anita Park. Second in last year's final poll, the five-year-old gelding received 20 first-place votes and 393 points.
Defending Horse of the Year Havre de Grace is second with 17 top votes and 350 points. Owned by Fox Hill Farm, the five-year-old mare has yet to race this year.
Fresh off a victory in the Donn Handicap is third-place horse Hymn Book. The six-year-old gelding picked up three first-place votes and 206 points.
In fourth is 2011 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic champ Royal Delta with 186 points. The four-year-old filly is followed by Mucho Macho Man (144), Acclamation (138), Awesome Feather (138), Animal Kingdom (112). Caleb's Posse (90) and Mission Impazible (83).
Algorithms, winner of the Holy Bull Stakes, garnered nine first-place votes and 390 points to slip past Union Rags in the voting. Union Rags received 23 top votes and 386 points.
Alpha, undefeated this year, is third with four first-place votes and 245.points. The colt has victories in the Count Fleet and Withers Stakes.
Creative Cause, third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is fourth with two top votes and 215 points. Rounding out the top 10 are Out of Bounds (203), Hansen (178), El Padrino (156), I'll Have Another (138), Gemologist (116) and Fed Biz (76).
The Polls will resume on Monday, March 12.
<< Reports: A's land Cuban slugger Cespedes
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics and coveted Cuban
outfielder Yoenis Cespedes agreed to terms on a four-year contract Monday,
according to reports.
The deal is worth $36 million and won't be officially announc
<< Not all flash: Kentucky's blue-collar defense sets it apart
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While it may appear that Kentucky head
coach John Calipari comfortably plays the part of a New York stockbroker,
cynics may believe he is a no-stone-unturned salesman more interested in the
commodity's worth
<< Bombers re-sign QB Brink
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers re-signed
quarterback Alex Brink to a new contract on Monday. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
In eight games last season, including two starts, Brink threw for 1,023
<< Jeremy Lin highlights NBA Players of the Week
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin was
further acknowledged for his surprising play on Monday, earning Eastern
Conference Player of the Week honors for games completed through February 12.
Oklah
CAA gets deal with NBC Sports Group >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colonial Athletic Association announced
Monday a five-year agreement with the NBC Sports Group to broadcast conference
football and men's and women's basketball games.
The agreement begins with the 2012-13
Patriot League adding football scholarships in 2013 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Touchdown.
After exhaustive debate in recent years, the Patriot League has decided to
start awarding athletic scholarships in football - 15 each year - beginning
with the 2013 season.
The league
Napoli tops Chievo to snap winless skid >>
Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Napoli snapped a five-game winless streak on
Monday by securing a 2-0 home win against Chievo which improves the club's
European hopes.
Napoli had been held without a goal in its last two games but scor
Sociedad piles more misery on Sevilla >>
San Sebastian, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sevilla's struggles continued on
Monday at Real Sociedad as the visitors saw their winless streak reach eight
games following a 2-0 defeat.
The two sides entered the final 30 minutes of the
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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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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