10/10/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Dubinsky scored and had two assists, and the Rangers won their official home opener, 4-2, over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Aaron Voros and Nikolai Zherdev each had a goal and an assist for New York, which beat Tampa Bay twice last weekend in the Czech Republic. Wade Redden also scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers, who have won their last four Madison Square Garden openers. They're 3-0 for the first time since 1989.
Patrick Kane, last year's Calder Trophy winner, and Duncan Keith scored in the season-opener for Chicago.
Cristobal Huet, who was signed to a four-year deal over the summer, made 25 saves in defeat.
Voros scored 5:15 into the second on a shot from the left circle, and Dubinsky increased the margin to 3-1 just over 10 minutes later. He took the puck at center ice after a turnover from Brent Sopel and skated in alone on Huet before firing a wrist shot from the slot between the goaltender's pads.
Keith put in a slapshot about 30 feet from the net at 7:13 of the third, but the Rangers moved ahead by two again just 2:20 later on Zherdev's tally. Voros took the puck beyond the blue line and sent a pass to Zherdev, who scored on a shot from the slot.
The Rangers struck first with Redden scoring on a rebound at 6:47 of the opening period. Chris Drury took a shot from the right side. Huet made the stop, but Redden scored from the left circle.
Kane tied the game with 2:42 remaining in the first. Defenseman Brian Campbell, who was signed to an eight-year deal worth approximately $57 million in the offseason, played a huge part in the goal by skating end-to-end before firing a shot from the left side off the side of the net. Kane tapped in the rebound.
Game Notes
The Rangers play at Philadelphia Saturday night, trying for their first 4-0 start since winning their opening five games of the 1983-84 season...Chicago's next game is Saturday at Washington...Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play...Chicago has not won at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 11, 2002, a string of four straight losses...The Blackhawks have lost six of their last nine season openers.
<< Myers, Victorino pace Phils to 2-0 NLCS lead
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino and the hot-hitting Brett
Myers combined to drive in seven runs, as the Philadelphia Phillies downed the
Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-5, in Game 2 of the National League Championship
Series.
<< Rodgers rests again, but he's ready for Sunday
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
didn't throw at practice for a third straight day, but a sprained right
shoulder isn't expected to prevent him from starting Sunday's game at Seattle.
Rodg
<< Saints' Colston questionable, Shockey doubtful for Sunday
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans star wide receiver Marques
Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey are close to returning to the playing
field as each have not been officially ruled out for Sunday's home game
against
<< Bolts' Chambers doubtful for Sunday
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers wide receiver Chris
Chambers is listed as doubtful for Sunday's pivotal home matchup with the New
England Patriots with a sprained ankle.
Chambers was injured in last Sunday's 17-1
Kim leads Longs Drugs by one; Ochoa lurking two back >>
Danville, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-Kyung Kim carded a three-under 69 in cold,
windy conditions Friday to move into the lead after two rounds of the Longs
Drugs Challenge at Blackhawk Country Club.
Kim completed the first 36 holes at eigh
'Canes earn season-opening win over Panthers >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina got goals from six different players
and erased an early two-goal deficit with a 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers
in a Southeast Division battle and the regular-season opener for both squads
from th
Kotalik, Sabres edge Canadiens in shootout >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ales Kotalik scored the decisive goal in the
shootout, as the Buffalo Sabres opened the 2008-09 season with a 2-1 win over
the Montreal Canadiens at the HSBC Arena.
Thomas Vanek tallied in regulation for
Little comes up big for Thrashers in wild season-opener >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Little started a three-goal outburst in
the third period as the Atlanta Thrashers downed the Washington Capitals, 7-4,
in the season opener between two Southeast Division rivals.
Little finished with
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
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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