11/18/2008 - Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal striker Joseba Llorente will miss the next month after suffering a leg muscle injury.
The in-form forward has scored nine goals in 15 appearances since joining the Yellow Submarine from Valladolid during the summer.
However, the 28-year-old suffered a leg injury during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Malaga, in which he scored his side's second goal.
"He will be out for a month," confirmed Villarreal in a brief statement.
Llorente is now likely to miss the league matches against his former club, Recreativo Huelva, Getafe and Sevilla, as well as the Champions League games against Manchester United and Celtic.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Everton's Moyes baffled by Pienaar situation
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton manager David Moyes is baffled
as to why South Africa are upset by his refusal to allow Steven Pienaar to team
up with the rest of the Bafana Bafana squad.
South Africa are scheduled to play C
<< NFC South: Saints hoping win serves as a springboard
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Things haven't quite gone as planned for the New Orleans
Saints for much of the 2008 season, with injuries, inconsistency and even a
little in-fighting all contributing to the unwanted 4-5 record the team
brought into this p
<< AC Milan denies reports linking Shevchenko to Real
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan has dismissed reports that Andriy
Shevchenko is poised to join Real Madrid.
The Ukraine striker was linked with a move to the Bernabeu as cover for Real's
injured striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
<< Stoke City's Lawrence hopes to return next month
Stoke-in-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City midfielder Liam Lawrence
believes he will be ready for a first-team return in time for the busy festive
programme.
The 26-year-old former Mansfield Town star has been sidelined since t
NFC West: Real test begins for the Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a four-game lead in the NFC West after Sunday's
26-20 victory over Seattle -- the club that has won the last four division
titles -- the Arizona Cardinals appear a lock to win their first division
crown since claiming th
Portsmouth's Diarra likely to miss several weeks >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth boss Tony Adams fears that
key midfielder Lassana Diarra may be sidelined for several weeks with the ankle
injury he suffered in the goalless draw at West Ham United.
The 23-year-old form
Ex-Inter boss Mancini named top coach in Serie A >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has
been named the Serie A coach of the year for last season.
Mancini, 43, was dumped by Inter in favor of Jose Mourinho during the summer
despite leading the clu
Arshavin's 'dream' to play at Bayern Munich >>
St. Petersburg, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Arshavin's potential move to
one of Europe's major leagues has taken another twist after the Russia star
claimed it would be "a dream" to join Bayern Munich.
The 27-year-old midfielder
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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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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