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02/21/2012 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees made it official on Tuesday and signed outfielder Raul Ibanez to a one-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the New York Daily News had reported the deal to be worth $1.1 million.
The 39-year-old Ibanez will fill a need for a lefty-swinging designated hitter and will add depth to the team's outfield that will be manned by Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher.
Other candidates that were reportedly in the mix were former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
The Yankees were able to free up some money to add a bat this past weekend when they finalized a trade that sent pitcher A.J. Burnett to Pittsburgh.
Ibanez appeared in 144 games last season, including 134 in left field, for the Phillies and batted .245 with 20 homers and 84 runs batted in. He spent three seasons in Philadelphia, driving in at least 80 runs each year.
In 1,817 games over 16 seasons with Seattle, Kansas City and Philadelphia, Ibanez has 252 homers, 1,054 runs batted in and a .280 batting average. He was an All-Star for the first and only time with the Phillies in 2009, and appeared in the playoffs with Philadelphia each of the last three years.
Ibanez, born in New York City, has reached the 30-double plateau in each of the last 10 seasons, the longest such active streak in the majors.
<< Stoppage Time: Plenty at stake for Chelsea's Villas-Boas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been a recurring story throughout the English
Premier League season, but Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has not been
under as much pressure as he is now.
The club's FA Cup aspirations took a hit this past weekend
<< Red Sox get Chris Carpenter from Cubs; place Jenks on 60-day DL
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have acquired pitcher
Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Chicago Cubs in
exchange for a player to be named later.
The Red Sox also placed right-handed p
<< Braves' Hanson has mild concussion after accident
Lake Buena Vista, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson
suffered a mild concussion after being involved in a one-car accident on
Monday.
Hanson was on his way to the club's spring training camp in Florida on Mon
<< United loans GK Kuszczak to Watford
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United loaned goalie Tomasz
Kuszczak to Championship side Watford on Tuesday for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old Kuszczak was a surplus for United coach Sir Alex Ferguson and
had fa
Drake reportedly will name McCaslin as DC >>
Des Moines, Iowa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drake University will name former
Nebraska-Omaha assistant football coach Brad McCaslin as its new defensive
coordinator, according to a report Tuesday.
Footballscoop.com first reported the hiring.
McCa
Broken foot sidelines Blues F Langenbrunner >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues placed forward Jamie
Langenbrunner on injured reserve Tuesday because of a broken foot suffered
over the weekend.
Langenbrunner sustained the injury to his left foot in Sunday's 3
Sixers' Brand to miss game against Grizzlies >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand will
miss Tuesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a right thumb sprain.
Brand has averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 30 games for the Sixers
this
Red Sox, Cubs work out compensation for Epstein >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have acquired pitcher
Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Chicago Cubs in
exchange for a player to be named later.
The trade finalizes the compensation the
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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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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