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04/21/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Ankiel finished with three hits and doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals bested the New York Mets, 6-4, in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
Yadier Molina also had three hits while Albert Pujols doubled in a pair for St. Louis, which had lost two of three to the Cubs in a rain-shortened series over the weekend.
Jason Motte (1-1) recorded the final two outs in the eighth to pick up the win, and Ryan Franklin set down New York in order in the ninth for his third save of the season.
Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright each had two hits and an RBI in the loss, which was credited to J.J. Putz (1-1) for his one-inning, two-run relief effort. The Mets were coming off a 3-3 homestand, their first at Citi Field.
Neither starter factored into the decision, with St. Louis' Todd Wellemeyer lasting five innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits, and New York's Oliver Perez surrendering four runs on six hits and five walks in 4 2/3 frames.
<< Pettitte solid in Yankees' win over Athletics
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte threw seven strong innings to lead
the New York Yankees in a 5-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the first
night game at the new Yankee Stadium.
Pettitte (2-0) gave up two runs on nine hit
<< Indians hold off Royals
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to
help the Cleveland Indians take an 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals in the
opener of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.
Victor Martinez was 4-for-5 with a tw
<< Jokinen's buzzer beater helps Carolina even series with Devils
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jussi Jokinen tipped in Dennis Seidenberg's
point shot at the third-period buzzer to lift Carolina over New Jersey, 4-3,
and tie the teams' Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
With the game tied at
<< Umpire Danley leaves game on stretcher
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley was taken
off the field on a stretcher during the Texas Rangers' 5-4 win over the
Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
With one out in the top of the sixth innin
Huff leads O's in pounding of ChiSox >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff blasted a pair of two-run homers
to support a solid effort by Brad Bergesen in his major league debut, as the
Baltimore Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox, 10-3, in the opener of a
three-g
Ramirez powers Cubs past Reds >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez had three hits and three runs
batted in, as the Chicago Cubs dealt the Cincinnati Reds a 7-2 final
in the opener of a three-game series from Wrigley Field.
Micah Hoffpauir hit a so
Nationals win two in a row, edge Braves >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shairon Martis now has two of Washington's
three wins on the season, throwing six solid innings as the Nationals managed
to slip by Atlanta, 4-3.
The 22-year-old Martis (2-0), who was credited with Washi
Phillies rout Brewers despite Braun's big night >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pedro Feliz went 3-for-4 with a homer,
three RBI, and two runs scored, while veteran Jamie Moyer pitched a solid six-
plus innings as the Philadelphia Phillies routed the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-4,
in the
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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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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