11/20/2008 - 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 spoken to one of his former Zenit St. Petersburg teammates about moving back to last season's UEFA Cup winners.
However, Skrtel, who has been sidelined since early October when he damaged a posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the 3-2 win at Manchester City, insists the story has been fabricated.
"I am very happy here at Anfield. It was always my dream to play here in England and I'm with one of the biggest clubs in the world," he told the Reds' official website.
"I spoke to my friend in Russia and we talked about Zenit. I have great friends there but I never said I am not happy here, and I never said I didn't like the city.
"I didn't say the city is boring. That's just not true and I'd like to repeat I am very happy here. This is a special club and a city with a lot of history. I have been made to feel very welcome here at Liverpool."
"These sorts of stories always tend to come out during an international week," Benitez added. "I was talking with Martin at Melwood yesterday and it was clear that he is very happy and just wants to get back playing.
"He is working very hard to get himself fit again and he is very settled at Liverpool - both in the city and at the club."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Hull leads ADT Championship by one
West Palm Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull posted a four-under 68
Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the season-ending
ADT Championship.
Hull collected her first win earlier this season at the Canadian
<< Sunderland's Keane requests FA hearing
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Roy Keane has denied an
FA charge of improper conduct after he was sent to the stands by referee Martin
Atkinson for the second half of the 5-0 defeat at Chelsea earlier this month.
The
<< L.A.'s Donovan set to join Bayern Munich on loan
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States star Landon Donovan is set to
join Bayern Munich on loan in January, it was revealed Thursday, and the German
club hopes the likely two-and-a-half month deal could become permanent.
Donovan,
<< Kenseth signs contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing
Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roush Fenway Racing announced Thursday it has
signed Matt Kenseth to a multi-year contract extension. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup
Series champion, has been with the racing organization since 1998.
"It's been a g
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
Colorado Golf Club awarded 2010 Senior PGA >>
Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The PGA of America announced
Thursday that the Colorado Golf Club has been awarded the 2010 Senior PGA
Championship.
Colorado Golf Club just opened in 2007, but has been recognized as o
Newcastle's Owen set to start against Chelsea >>
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 r
Hamburg loses De Jong to knee injury >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg will be without midfielder Nigel de
Jong for the rest of the calendar year because of a knee injury.
The Netherlands midfielder, who has only just returned to action after a knee
ligament injury
Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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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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