Inter denies Drogba rumors

Soccer Betting Lines

12/15/2008 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Current Serie A leaders Inter Milan insist they are not interested in signing Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in the January transfer window.

The 30-year-old has been linked with a move to the San Siro, where he would be reunited with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, for several weeks, but Inter's sporting director, Marco Branca, says the club are not interested in buying the Ivory Coast international.

The striker allegedly met Branca in a London restaurant earlier this month, but the Italian told Inter's official website: "There's no Drogba dream.

"Inter already have numerous strikers that cover every role.

"Drogba has been at Chelsea for many years and is doing well there. We have our strikers that are also doing well here."

Drogba, who has scored 82 goals in 186 appearances for Chelsea since arriving at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004, has started only one league game for Luiz Felipe Scolari's side this season due to injury and disciplinary issues.

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

Gamblingfromhome Soccer Betting News

<< Bulldogs recall Beauregard from Cincinnati
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hamilton Bulldogs recalled forward Thomas Beauregard from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, the American Hockey League club announced on Monday. The 22-year-old Beauregard played in 25 games

<< Hoyte adds to Boro injury list
Middlesbrough, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Middlesbrough right-back Justin Hoyte will play no part in the festive program after being forced to undergo cartilage surgery. Boro boss Gareth Southgate does not expect the former Arsen

<< Harrington, Duncan earn NBA weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Harrington of the New York Knicks and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending December 14. Harrington l

<< Hibs Morais pleads guilty to assault
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hibs midfielder Filipe Morais has been fined $765 after pleading guilty to an assault charge. The 23-year-old Portuguese star admitted to kicking Robert Brown's head while he lay on the ground foll

<< Schweinsteiger inks Bayern extension
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich have confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger has finally put pen to paper on a new long-term deal. The 24-year-old Germany international had been linked with moves to Juventus and Real Madr

Cicinho quiets talk of Roma exit >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wing-back Cicinho has dampened down rumors linking him with a move away from Roma in the January transfer window. Reports suggested the 28-year-old Brazilian had handed in a transfer request, but the form

Kiffin to leave Bucs to coach with son at Tennessee >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will leave the NFL to join his son at the University of Tennessee. Lane Kiffin was introduced as Tennessee's new head football coach on De

Gijon loses goalkeeper Cuellar for four months >>
Gijon, Asturias (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Gijon goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar faces at least four months on the sidelines after breaking his ankle in the 3-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao. The 24-year-old keeper sustained the injury aft

UNC remains at the top; Tennessee falls in AP poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina remained unbeaten to stay at the top of the rankings, while Tennessee suffered the biggest fall, in the latest Associated Press men's basketball poll released Monday. The Tar Heels (9-0

Kings fire Theus; Natt named interim coach >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus has been fired, the team announced Monday, along with assistant coach Chuck Person. Assistant Kenny Natt was named head coach on an interim basis. Theus be

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

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.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com