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07/31/2010 - Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russians Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Istanbul Cup.
The third-seeded Pavlyuchenkova earned a 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 7-5 victory over Australia's Jarmila Groth, while Vesnina rallied for a 1-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2) triumph over sixth-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany.
Pavlyuchenkova will play in her second final of the year and her career. She claimed the Monterrey Open title back in March with a three-set win over Daniela Hantuchova.
Vesnina has never won a WTA crown and is 0-2 all-time in finals. She lost both of her title match appearances last year in Auckland and New Haven.
Prior to this week's run, Vesnina, who will turn 24 on Sunday, had lost seven straight matches. Included in that streak was a first-round loss to Petkovic at the French Open.
Petkovic won the first set on Saturday with ease, but Vesnina regrouped and won 25 of the 32 points played in the second set. Each player broke three times in a sloppy third set, but Vesnina dominated the tiebreak and finally finished off the match.
Pavlyuchenkova and Groth played an evenly-matched semifinal, as the two split the 200 total points contested.
Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova will meet for just the second time. Pavlyuchenkova won the first with a three-set triumph two years ago in Bratislava.
This week's champion will collect $37,000.
<< Indians scratch Westbrook
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have scratched pitcher
Jake Westbrook from Saturday's scheduled start against Toronto.
The MLB Network said Westbrook is on the verge of being traded and reports it
could be a three-way de
<< Fisher stumbles but still leads Irish Open
Killarney, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Fisher played his last 11 holes in
four-over par Saturday, but still managed an even-par 71 and held on to first
place after the third round of the Irish Open.
Fisher, who fired a tournament-record-
<< Almagro to face Gasquet for Gstaad crown
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Almagro of Spain and France's
Richard Gasquet were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at
the Swiss Open Gstaad.
The second-seeded Almagro earned a 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3 v
<< Arizona, Pittsburgh in 5-player trade
NEW YORK (AP) -The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded catcher Chris Snyder, minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Bobby Crosby, outfielder Ryan Church and right-hander D.J. Carrasco.Copyright © 2005
Yankees and Astros finalize deal for Berkman >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees and Houston Astros
have finalized a trade for first baseman Lance Berkman.
Berkman and cash considerations will head to the Yankees in exchange for
pitcher Mark Melancon and minor le
Cardinals get Westbrook from Tribe, send Ludwick to San Diego >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher
Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that also
involves the San Diego Padres.
Along with Westbrook, St. Louis acquired cash fr
Sharks re-sign Setoguchi >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have re-signed restricted
free agent forward Devin Setoguchi to a one-year contract. Financial terms of
the contract were not disclosed.
Setoguchi, 23, posted 20 goals and 16 assists i
Redskins' Haynesworth has swollen knee, sits out again >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert
Haynesworth did not practice for a third straight day, though this time
because of a swollen knee.
Haynesworth was held out of practice Thursday and Friday
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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Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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