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12/27/2006 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, Green Bay Packers defensive end Aaron Kampmann and Chicago kicker Robbie Gould have been selected as the NFC's top players for Week 16 of the season.
Jackson earned the offensive award after racking up 252 yards from scrimmage with a pair of touchdowns in the Rams' 37-31 overtime win over Washington. He had 33 carries for 150 yards and caught six passes for 102 yards.
The Pro Bowl back's 64-yard touchdown reception pulled St. Louis within 28-21 in the third quarter and he scored the winning touchdown in overtime with a 21-yard run to help keep the Rams' playoff hopes alive. It was also his first career Player of the Week honor.
Kampmann notched his second career defensive award -- and second of the season -- in Green Bay's 9-7 victory over Minnesota. He had a team-best seven tackles and tied his career high with three sacks to help the Packer defense hold the Vikings to just 104 total net yards as Green Bay kept its playoff hopes alive.
Gould drilled four field goals in Chicago's 26-21 win over Detroit to capture the special teams award for the second time. Three of his kicks came in the fourth quarter as the Bears rallied from a 21-17 deficit.
Other nominees for the offensive award included New Orleans running backs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. Bush had a career-high 126 rushing yards with a touchdown and caught two passes for 23 yards in a 30-7 rout of the New York Giants, while McAllister ran for 108 yards with a score.
A pair of Eagles were also considered, as quarterback Jeff Garcia threw for 238 yards with one touchdown and running back Brian Westbrook carried 26 times for 122 yards in a 23-7 Christmas Day win over Dallas.
Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks was among those nominated for defensive honors after notching six tackles and a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 22-7 win over Cleveland. Two other Bucs were considered, as safety Jermaine Phillips had seven tackles with a pair of interceptions and defensive tackle Greg Spires notched five tackles with two sacks.
Special teams consideration went to Packers kicker Dave Rayner, who accounted for all of Green Bay's nine points with three field goals, including the game- winner from 44 yards away with 1:34 remaining.
<< Terry to see specialist in France
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea and England national team captain
John Terry will reportedly see a specialist in France and to have exploratory
surgery on a disc problem in his lower back.
The center defender has missed the de
<< Young, Merriman and Brown earn AFC weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, San
Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman and Houston kicker Kris Brown have
been honored as the AFC's top players for Week 16 of the NFL season.
Young kept hi
<< Thrashers place Mellanby, Rucchin on IR; activate Exelby
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta has placed forwards Scott Mellanby and
Steve Rucchin on injured reserve, and activated defenseman Garnet Exelby, team
executive vice president and general manager Don Waddell announced on
Wednesd
<< Hurricanes and Wolf Pack meet for first time
Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of their last two bowl appearances, the
Nevada Wolf Pack try to bring an end to a torturous 2006 campaign for the
Miami Hurricanes in the 10th Annual MPC Computers Bowl from Bronco Stadium
in B
QB squeeze: Lemon to start for Dolphins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins will reportedly start Cleo
Lemon at quarterback for Sunday's season-finale against Indianapolis.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel cited a source as saying Lemon will get the nod
ahead of Joey
White Sox, Cintron agree to one-year contract >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms with
infielder Alex Cintron on a one-year contract worth $1.9 million, thus
avoiding arbitration.
Cintron, 28, batted .285 with five home runs and 41 RBI
Celtic's Balde out with broken leg >>
Glascow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic
suffered a blow after Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Dundee United.
Starting defender Bobo Balde suffered a broken leg and will be out for several
months.
"Celtic Fo
Sacramento can get back on track at home >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings are just 11-14 and need to start
winning some games. They have made the playoffs eight straight years and that
streak could be in jeopardy if the Kings don't come around.
The Kings are in fourt
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.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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