05/09/2008 - Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Carlisle has reportedly come to terms on a four-year contract to become head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Morning News, citing an NBA source, reported Carlisle had agreed in principle to the deal to become the ninth head coach in franchise history.
Carlisle would take over for the recently fired Avery Johnson.
In six seasons as a coach, two with Detroit and four with Indiana, Carlisle has compiled a 281-211 record. He was the league's Coach of the Year in 2002 when he guided the Pistons to a 50-win season.
Carlisle's career playoff record stands at 30-32. Indiana finished just 35-47 in 2006-07, and Carlisle didn't return to the team for the following season. In four seasons as the Pacers mentor, Carlisle compiled a 181-147 record and the team made the NBA playoffs in three of his four seasons at the helm.
His best season in Indianapolis was his first. In 2003-04 the Pacers posted a 61-21 record -- the best mark in franchise history -- and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Despite having three years left on a five-year deal he signed after Dallas' run to the 2006 NBA Finals, Johnson finds himself unemployed after two straight exits in the first round of the playoffs. Johnson led the Mavs to a 194-70 record during the regular season, but his postseason mark is 23-24. The Mavericks have lost 12 of their last 15 playoff games.
Dallas lost to New Orleans in five games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The first-round defeat was the second straight for Dallas, which was eliminated by Golden State in the 2007 conference quarterfinals in one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.
<< Gonzalez, Marlins dominate Nats in nation's capital
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Gonzalez stroked a three-run double and
Ricky Nolasco threw six strong innings in Florida's 7-3 win over the
Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game series.
Jorge Cantu had a pair
<< Malkin guides Pens past Flyers in Game 1
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin scored twice and added an
assist, as Pittsburgh doubled up Philadelphia, 4-2, in Game 1 of the Eastern
Conference finals from Mellon Arena.
Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora also tallied f
<< Sanchez lifts Pirates over Braves
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddie Sanchez ripped a bouncer up the
middle to plate the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Pi
game series at PNC Park.
The Pirates blew a one-run lead in the eighth, but a
<< Tribe rally in seven to beat Jays
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Francisco had a pinch-hit, two-run
double, part of a six-run Cleveland seventh inning, to lead the Indians past
the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-1, in the opener of a four-game set from Progressive
Field.
Huff, Mora club homers to lift Orioles over Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-5 with a three-run
home run, as the Baltimore Orioles took the second installment of a four-game
set, 7-4, from the Kansas City Royals.
Melvin Mora hit a two-run homer for the Ori
Jazz deal Lakers first loss of postseason >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer had a huge night with 27
points and 20 rebounds, as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-99,
in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Deron Williams overcame a
Papelbon lets another slip away as Twins rally to win >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Lamb singled home the winning run in
the ninth, as the Minnesota Twins rallied to down the Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in
the opener of a four-game set from the Metrodome.
Jonathan Papelbon entered the g
Weeks wins game in ninth for Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks hit a two-run single in the
bottom of the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a season-high
six-game losing streak with a 4-3 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ryan Braun
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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