Celtics moving on after D.J.

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03/02/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I used to collect professional sports action figures called Starting Lineups as a kid, and still have them today.

One of the many sports heroes I owned was former Celtics great Dennis Johnson. But at the time Dee Brown was hot on the scene for Boston, especially with his no-look jam in the 1991 Slam Dunk contest and black Reebok pumps with white laces.

Kenner didn't make a Brown Starting Lineup at the time, so I moronically decided to scrape off Johnson's last name and No. 3 on the toy to create my own #7. I obviously wasn't too familiar with Johnson but his play against the Detroit Pistons in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals is my fondest memory.

I can still hear Celtics announcer Johnny Most saying in his raspy, cigarette- induced voice, "Now there's a steal by (Larry) Bird. Underneath to D.J. He lays it in."

Bird came up with an awesome steal and fired a sweet pass to a cutting Johnson, who sent his bench into an uproar with a successful layup. Boston went on to win the series in seven games, but lost in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

But after a successful NBA career, Johnson passed away last week at the young age of 52 after an apparent heart attack. D.J. was a five-time All-Star and a 14-year NBA veteran, something I should have known before I broke out the X- Acto knife on the toy. I'm sure, though, Johnson would have chuckled upon hearing my story of trying to turn him into Brown.

Now my nephew plays with the Starting Lineups, and I am prepared to explain to him how stupid I was for ruining one of the best in the bunch.

The Celtics are still mourning the loss of one of the best to play for the organization, and have won two straight since a four-game losing streak. They have just three wins over their last 25 games and will hit the road to New Jersey on Saturday night. After the Nets game, Boston will open a four-game homestand at TD Banknorth Garden where they are 6-21 this season.

In other team news, Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell apologized on the air during Wednesday's win over New York for his sexist remarks about female referee Violet Palmer. Maxwell allegedly stated Palmer should "go back to the kitchen" after he disagreed with one of her calls in Monday's loss to Houston.

Maxwell, a former Celtics player, also added "go in there and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?"

I thought the buzz of a female referee was over with a few days after she made her professional debut. Apparently it still hasn't set in for Maxwell, whose number is retired by the infamous franchise. Maxwell was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals.

In injury news, Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak is slated to undergo season- ending ankle surgery next week. Szczerbiak missed 24 games this season because of injury, and averaged 15 points and 3.1 rebounds in 32 contests.

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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.

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