08/20/2008 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louisville has reportedly suspended backup quarterback Matt Simms -- the son of former NFL QB Phil Simms -- for the first four games of the season due to a violation of team policy.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Tuesday that Cardinals head coach Steve Kragthorpe had suspended the backup QB for four games for the unspecified rules violation. A redshirt freshman, Simms is battling sophomore Tyler Wolfe for the No. 2 QB spot behind starter Hunter Cantwell.
According to the paper, Simms -- the brother of former Texas QB and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Chris Simms -- will miss Louisville's games against Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Kansas State, and Connecticut. He will be eligible to return on October 10, when the Cardinals visit Memphis.
<< Rangers' Bradley leaves game
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers designated hitter Milton
Bradley left Tuesday's 11-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers with soreness in his
left knee.
Bradley was 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored before being removed fr
<< Royals starter Hochevar leaves games
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke
Hochevar left Tuesday's 9-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians with tightness in
his right ribcage.
Hochevar hurled five innings but did not return for the six
<< Joyce homers twice as Tigers rout Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Joyce hit a pair of homers and finished
with four runs driven in, as the Detroit Tigers used a nine-run seventh to
crush the Texas Rangers, 11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set.
Edgar Re
<< Snell leads Pirates over Cards
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Snell mastered the Cardinal bats for
seven shutout innings and Ryan Doumit had three hits and an RBI, as Pittsburgh
took the opener of an abbreviated two-game series from St. Louis, 4-1.
Snell (5-10
Bartoli, Mauresmo, Szavay post wins in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli,
fourth-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of
France were all winners Tuesday at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a
final h
This Week in Auto Racing August 20 - 24 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR roars into "Thunder Valley" as all
three of its national touring series race under the lights at Bristol Motor
Speedway in Tennessee this week. The IndyCar Series heads to Northern
Califor
Nolasco's near no-no allow Marlins to spear Giants >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Nolasco was dominant, fanning 11 in
a two-hit shutout as the Marlins cruised to a 6-0 win over the San Francisco
Giants in the opener of a three-game set.
Nolasco (12-7) walked one in his first
Arizona edges San Diego to take NL West lead >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in his home
debut and Conor Jackson chipped in two RBI, as Arizona held off San Diego for
a 7-6 victory, in the opener of a three-game set.
Chris Snyder, Chris Burke and M
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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