11/20/2008 - Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United striker Michael Owen is set to make his first start since the beginning of October in Saturday's match with Chelsea.
Owen, 28, has made three substitute appearances following his return from a latest groin injury.
He scored in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic, but following a week on the training ground free from international distractions, the England striker is in line to start at Stamford Bridge.
"I would say he's close to 100 percent now," said interim manager Joe Kinnear. "Michael is frustrated because he feels he is almost there, but he's getting better and better and sharper and sharper.
"He has his own private coach and he has been doing an hour's special work with him before training starts. That is the type of professional he is."
Meanwhile, Kinnear also confirmed that defender Steven Taylor will miss the trip to the capital as he remains troubled by a groin strain.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Rams' Jackson won't play Sunday, again
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
will not play Sunday against the Chicago Bears because of a strained right
thigh muscle.
Jackson was hurt during the October 19 game against Dallas, despit
<< Atletico's Franco expects to extend contract
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goalie Leo Franco is confident of agreeing a
new contract to remain with Atletico Madrid.
Franco, 31, is out of contract at the end of the current season but remains the
Rojiblancos' number one choice des
<< Liverpool's Skrtel denies Zenit rumors
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and defender
Martin Skrtel have denied reports linking the Slovakia international with a
return to the club he left in January.
Reports in Russia suggested Skrtel had s
<< Roma plans to keep Vucinic, Aquilani
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AS Roma has dismissed reports which suggested
they could lose both Mirko Vucinic and Alberto Aquilani during the January
transfer window.
Montenegro international striker Vucinic has been linked wit
Rangers ship righty Loe to Japan >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have sold the rights to
right-handed pitcher Kameron Loe to the Fukuoka SouthBank Hawks of Japan's
Pacific League for an undisclosed amount.
Loe, the club's 20th round pick in 2002,
Iona will no longer have football >>
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iona College has announced that it is
terminating its football program, effective immediately, on Thursday.
"It is with a heavy heart and careful deliberations that we have come to this
extremely di
Portsmouth signs goalkeeping coach to new contract >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth has successfully headed off
reported interest from Spurs in David Coles after agreeing a new contract with
their goalkeeping coach.
Coles, 44, had been strongly linked with a move to W
Celtic's Hartley suffers ankle injury in friendly >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley fears that
he faces a spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle knock in Scotland's
friendly international defeat to Argentina.
The former Hearts star could miss Sat
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
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting