12/02/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason has been selected as the NHL's top rookie for the month of November.
Mason posted a record of 5-2-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and two shutouts in eight games last month.
Recalled from the club's AHL affiliate in Syracuse on November 4, Mason won each of his first three starts. He beat Edmonton, Montreal and Calgary in a four-day span.
Mason becomes the second Blue Jackets player to be honored as the top rookie this season, following last month's winner, Derick Brassard.
Others considered for the November honor included Brassard, who notched four goals and six assists in 11 games; Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski, who posted eight goals and five assists in 13 games; and Chicago's Kris Versteeg, who recorded five goals and seven assists in 12 games.
<< Zenit's Tymoshchuk likely to join Bayern
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness
has revealed the team held an "informative chat" with Zenit St. Petersburg
captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
The Ukraine international midfielder is reported to
<< Oilers recall Schremp
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have recalled center Rob
Schremp from Springfield of the American Hockey League.
The 22-year-old has scored one goal and leads the Falcons with 17 assists and
18 points in 18 games this
<< Astros decline arbitration to four players
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have declined to offer
salary arbitration to pitchers Doug Brocail and Randy Wolf, as well as
infielder Mark Loretta and catcher Brad Ausmus.
The Astros are not precluded from
<< Jays owner Rogers dead at 75
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers died at his
home at the age of 75.
The founder of Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's largest cable television
and mobile phone company, suffered from congestive heart f
Falcons winger Schremp recalled by Oilers >>
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Springfield Falcons left winger Rob
Schremp has been recalled by the Edmonton Oilers, the American League Hockey
club announced on Tuesday.
Schremp, who will join the Oilers in Edmonton for t
Bears Mink' joins Caps >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals recalled forward
Graham Mink from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, it
was announced on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Mink has played six career NHL games, mos
Lightning recall Szczechura, Smolenak from Norfolk >>
Tampa Bay, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled
forwards Paul Szczechura and Radek Smolenak from their American Hockey League
affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, it was announced on Tuesday.
Szczechura, 23, lead
Espanyol set to appoint Esnal as new coach >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reports suggest Espanyol will name former
Athletic Bilbao boss Jose Manuel Esnal as its new coach.
The 58-year-old has been tipped to replace Bartolome Marquez, who was axed in
the wake of Espanyol's 1
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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