07/04/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs signed newly acquired centerman Mikhail Grabovski to a one-year contract on Friday.
Grabovski, 24, was obtained on Thursday from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the rights to 2008 draft pick Greg Pateryn and a second-round choice in the 2010 draft.
The native of Potsdam, East Germany notched three goals and six assists in 24 games for the Canadiens last season and missed 25 games because of an ankle injury. He also posted 20 points in 12 games with Hamilton of the American Hockey League.
<< Yankees' Damon leaves game vs. Red Sox
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees left fielder
Johnny Damon left Friday's game with the Boston Red Sox after suffering a
left shoulder contusion on a bizarre play in the third inning.
Boston's Kevin You
<< Jones, Garciaparra return for Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers received a boost
on Friday when Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra returned from the disabled
list.
Garciaparra will play shortstop for the Dodgers in their afternoon contes
<< Canucks acquire Bernier
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Steve
Bernier from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a pair of draft picks on
Friday.
The Sabres will receive a 2010 second round draft pick and a 2009 third ro
<< Harang has start moved back; Hopper out for season
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds right-hander Aaron Harang
is having his next start moved back to Tuesday because of stiffness in his
right forearm.
Harang has been struggling this season despite being a candidate
It's in the Cards: Cubs' Zambrano makes return >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano will
start Friday's matchup, the opener of a three-game set with the St. Louis
Cardinals, after a two-week stint on the disabled list with a strained right
shoulder.
Zambr
Sabres acquire Rivet from Sharks >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres have acquired defenseman
Craig Rivet and a 2010 seventh-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks in
exchange for second-round picks in 2009 and 2010.
The Sabres dealt restricted free
Fire searching for spark against Crew >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Fire coach Denis Hamlett admitted after
last week's 0-0 tie against the San Jose Earthquakes that his strikers "need to
finish."
The Fire, who scored 20 goals in their first 10 games, failed to score i
Arroyo Oh Boy-O! Reds swat Nats >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bronson Arroyo earned his second
consecutive win as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals 3-0 in
the second game of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Arroyo (6-7) pitche
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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