11/15/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray's sky-high ride to the lucrative Tennis Masters Cup semifinals came to an abrupt end Saturday, as Nikolay Davydenko closed strong in both sets to reach the final at the $4.45 million season-ending tournament.
Murray, coming off a dramatic and emotional three-set victory over Roger Federer on Friday, started on solid footing in both sets, but couldn't withstand a fierce Davydenko barrage late. The Russian downed Scotland's young star, 7-5, 6-2.
The round-robin format brought plenty of casualties to the courts in Shanghai, leaving Murray the only player unscathed entering Saturday's semifinals. Murray went 3-0 to win the Red Group, while Davydenko finished 2-1 in the Gold Group, with a loss earlier in the week to Serbian Novak Djokovic, who will be his opponent in Sunday's final.
The Australian Open champion Djokovic rallied to down Frenchman Gilles Simon, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in Saturday's other semifinal. Simon finished 2-1 in Red Group play, and like Murray, defeated Federer at the beginning of red-round play.
Federer's stunning exit still permeated the event on Saturday. It was the first time the Swiss superstar hadn't reached the semifinals at the season- ending event in seven tries.
Murray was to thank for that, yet the Scot's fortunes changed on Saturday. Davydenko used a powerful first serve and broke through on 2-of-8 break chances to steal the opening set. Murray was below 50 percent on his first serve and had just one break opportunity in the first set.
The second set was a tidal wave of Davydenko forehands and flawless play. He was a perfect 8-for-8 on first-serve point opportunities and didn't face a break over his four service games.
Djokovic's trip to the finals was slightly more arduous in a match that extended to nearly three hours. Simon was nearly unbeatable with his first serve in the opening set, winning 13-of-14 first serve points. He won just 1- of-6 break chances, but it was good enough to take the set.
The second set was a complete 180-degree turn, as Djokovic had all of the break opportunities, and like Simon, he converted on just one. However, also like the Frenchman, the one break was good enough to force a third and deciding set.
Three double faults from Simon in the third set weighed heavily on his service games, and Djokovic took two breaks to slip into the winner's circle.
<< Dodgers withdraw offer to Manny
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have
withdrawn the franchise record-setting offer they made to left fielder
Manny Ramirez last week, but the club is still interested in bringing the
slugger
<< Yankees offer Sabathia six years, $140 million
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees offered free agent pitcher
CC Sabathia a six-year, $140 million contract on Friday.
Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the offer in a story on the
team's Web site. The deal
<< Wallace, Pistons send Lakers to first loss
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rasheed Wallace notched a season-high 25
points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons captured a
106-95 win against the Lakers, sending Los Angeles to its first loss of the
season.
<< Stoudemire's jumper, block help Suns edge Kings in OT
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire hit the game-winning jumper
with 4.5 seconds left in overtime and blocked the final shot attempt, and
Shaquille O'Neal recorded 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, as the
Phoenix
No. 10 Gonzaga hosts Montana State-Billings in season opener >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs are set to
host the Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets in the season opener for both
teams.
For Montana State-Billings, there is no where to go but up under the guidance
of f
No. 14 Tennessee opens season at home versus Chattanooga >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending Southeastern Conference
Champion Tennessee Volunteers begin their quest for a repeat, as they tip off
the 2008-09 season against the visiting Chattanooga Mocs of the Southern
Conference.
Chatta
Top-ranked Tar Heels host Quakers in season opener >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-anticipated season opener in
Chapel Hill will finally take place this afternoon, as the top-ranked North
Carolina Tar Heels hit the Smith Center floor against the Penn Quakers.
Roy Williams' team e
No. 13 Memphis begins season against visiting Fairfield >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Memphis Tigers open up their
2008-09 season at home this evening, as they welcome the Fairfield Stags to
FedExForum for a non-conference matchup.
John Calipari's Tigers are probably in a for a b
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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