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11/04/2011 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Waltrip Racing made it official on Friday that Mark Martin will drive the team's No.00 Toyota in a partial Sprint Cup Series schedule in 2012 and '13.
Martin and team co-owner Michael Waltrip made the announcement at Texas Motor Speedway, where the series is running the eighth race in the championship Chase this weekend.
The 52-year-old Martin will compete in 25 Sprint Cup races each of the next two seasons. He will make his debut with MWR in the February 26 Daytona 500. Martin is presently in his third and final year as driver of the No.5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Kasey Kahne is taking over driving duties of the No.5 car, starting next year.
Martin will join Martin Truex Jr. and recently acquired Clint Bowyer in MWR's three-car stable next season. Bowyer is leaving Richard Childress Racing at season's end.
"It's the perfect schedule for me," Martin said. "It gives me an opportunity to catch my breath and to spend a little bit more time with the fans and with the sponsors. Hopefully, it will give me a bit more time than I'm able to do now with the [Hendrick] team. They've given me an opportunity here to hopefully have an effect on the direction of the program."
Martin also ran a part-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2007 and '08, driving for Ginn Racing/Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Waltrip will drive the No.00 car in both Talladega races, as well as the July events at Daytona and Kentucky, which is his home state.
MWR also announced that it has extended its sponsorship agreement with Aaron's for the next two seasons.
Waltrip said it did not take much convincing for Martin to join the team.
"This whole process from the time it was mentioned to sitting here today has been less than three weeks, "Waltrip said. "It didn't take a lot of time to convince Mark. We got a lot of great things going on at Michael Waltrip Racing. He loves the commitment that Aaron's had made to this sport. It was kind of an opportunity for him to step back a little bit and refresh his batteries by running a limited schedule.
MWR plans to run a combination of drivers and sponsor partners to fill the remaining races when Martin and Waltrip will not be behind the wheel of the No.00.
David Reutimann is the current driver of the No.00. On Thursday, MWR announced that Reutimann will not be return to the team for next season.
<< Marseille hopes to make up ground in Ligue 1
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marseille's domestic form is starting to
pick up and, after another important Champions League result, will try to run
its Ligue 1 unbeaten streak to seven games Sunday when it hosts Nice.
Marseille wa
<< Browns RB Hillis questionable for Sunday
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis re-
injured his hamstring in practice Friday and is listed as questionable for
Sunday's game against the Houston Texans.
He was expected to start prior to suf
<< Cardinals QB Kolb doubtful for Sunday
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb
is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Rams due to a turf toe injury.
Kolb injured his right toe during last Sunday's game against Baltimore. He
missed pra
<< Steelers seeking payback in grudge match with Ravens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A blowout victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers back in Week
1 helped to propel the Baltimore Ravens to the top of the list of contenders in
the AFC.
Pittsburgh has slowly been making its climb back into the conference mix
Levante, Valencia ready for derby >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Levante lost its grip on first place in La
Liga last weekend, and hosts Valencia on Saturday in the Valencia derby with a
lot on the line for the European hopefuls.
Levante finally slipped behind Real Madr
Set pieces key in Sporting clash with Houston >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Kansas City is set to host the
Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Final on Sunday with both teams
hitting stride at just the right time.
Including its final regular season matche
My Miss Aurelia takes Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - My Miss Aurelia, ridden by Corey Nakatani,
won going away in Friday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at
Churchill Downs. The two-year-old filly, trained by Steve Asmussen, ran the
1 1/16-
Mainz tops Stuttgart to end eight-game skid >>
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Ujah scored two goals in the second
half and Mainz ended an eight-match winless skid with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart
on Friday at Coface Arena in the Bundesliga.
Germany international Cacau handed Stu
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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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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