Alexander set for Burnley return

Soccer Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - Burnley, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Burnley midfielder Graham Alexander has declared himself fit after a five-week calf injury absence.

The veteran Scotland international has been sidelined since late January but is hoping to make his comeback during Saturday's Premier League trip to Arsenal.

Speaking about his appearance for the reserves this week, Alexander told the club's official website: "I was dying to get out there because it's been five weeks since I've been on the pitch.

"It wasn't the greatest performance from any of us but I was glad to get through it unscathed and give my calf and legs a workout.

"I felt quite good on Tuesday morning - better than I thought I would - so I was quite pleased with that."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Las-vagas Soccer Betting News

<< Southwest trio ready for war
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets, thanks to general manager Daryl Morey, should be rewarded with a playoff spot for just getting rid of Tracy McGrady's expiring and ungodly contract. Unfortunately they're no such accommodations at this

<< Sabres' Gaustad sidelined with upper-body injury
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said on Wednesday that center Paul Gaustad will miss at least a week of action because of an upper-body injury. Gaustad was hurt in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins d

<< Macclesfield's Alexander dies at 53
Macclesfield, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Macclesfield Town manager Keith Alexander has passed away at the age of 53. He died after returning to his home following his side's 1-0 League Two defeat at Notts County on Tuesday evening.

<< Greece moves into top 10 in FIFA Rankings
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca- Cola Men's Rankings was released on Wednesday, and for the first time since June 2008, Greece has returned to the top 10. The top four teams remain unchanged

<< 2010 West Coast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the 10th year in a row, the Gonzaga Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, as they finished 12-2 within the league. The Bulldogs are out to repeat in this tournament after winning th

Bruins pick up Seidenberg from Florida >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Byron Bitz and Craig Weller, as well as a second-round pick in the 2010 NH

Bulls release G Hunter, sign Richard >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls released veteran guard Lindsey Hunter and signed forward Chris Richard to a contract for the rest of the season on Wednesday. The 39-year-old Hunter appeared in 13 games this season an

Mutuel Field early favorite in second Kentucky Derby Future Wager >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second Kentucky Derby Future Wager of 2010 picks up where the first ended. The mutuel field is the 7-2 morning-line favorite among the 24 betting interests. The pool begins Friday at noon (et) and

Hurricanes trade defenseman Ward to Ducks >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to force their way into the Western Conference playoff picture, the Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes. In exchange for the 6-foot-2 defenseman, the

Aurelio suffers another injury setback >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio will miss up to three weeks with a thigh injury he picked up during Sunday's 2-1 victory over Blackburn. The 30-year-old Brazilian's season has been blighted by inj

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

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.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com