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08/14/2007 - Huntersville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the worst kept secrets was made official when Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday that it had signed 22- year-old Kyle Busch to a contract. The younger brother of 2004 Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch will get behind the wheel of the No.18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet beginning in 2008.
"It just felt right...they have a great track record," said Busch.
"Kyle could have gone to almost any team he wanted to," said Team President J.D. Gibbs.
Kyle Busch will join two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and budding superstar Denny Hamlin to make up a formidable team. Busch replaces J.J. Yeley. Yeley was 21st in points after finished 29th in the standings last year.
Busch has driven the last three and-a-half years for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, but was the odd-man out when Dale Earnhardt Jr. agreed to drive for the team earlier this season. He is currently eighth in the standings and preparing for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup" which begins in just a few weeks.
In 100 career Nextel Cup starts, Kyle Busch has earned four wins, 43 top-10s and two poles.
<< Blue Jays sent Halladay to hill versus Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim target their fourth
straight win this evening when they open a three-game series with the Toronto
Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.
Los Angeles, which will be starting a seven-game road trip
<< White Sox kick off road swing in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox begin a week-long West Coast road
trip tonight with the first of three consecutive meetings with the Oakland
Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Chicago took two of three games from the A's at the Coliseum
<< Mariners, Twins continue set at Safeco Field
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After coming through with another thrilling victory on
Monday, the Seattle Mariners will attempt to continue their recent roll in
tonight's middle test of a three-game set with the struggling Minnesota Twins
from Safeco Fiel
<< Lester returns to Fenway as Red Sox continue series with Rays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester returns to the Fenway Park mound for the first
time in nearly a full year when the Boston Red Sox resume a three-game series
with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this evening.
Lester hasn't pitched in Boston since a s
Padres begin key series with playoff-hopeful Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francis will try to keep his unbeaten streak intact
when he takes the mound this evening for the Colorado Rockies in the opener of
a three-game series with the NL West-rival San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Francis
Downtrodden Dodgers continue home set with Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stop a three-game slide
when they resume a four-game series this evening versus the Houston Astros at
Chavez Ravine.
Los Angeles, which has lost nine of 11 and is 4-14 over its last
Jacobs Field no longer a safe haven for the Tribe >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once upon a time, the Cleveland Indians could turn to
Jacobs Field to ease their troubles.
The Indians spent much of the season with the top home record in the majors,
but lately they've been getting hammered pretty good i
Cardinals in must win situation >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have done everything they can to
stay within striking distance in the race for the National League Central.
However, the Cardinals' poor start has made it difficult for the team to make
any real headwa
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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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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