InSpin

Panthers - 9 1/2 vs Chiefs

Oh Kansas City we hardly knew ye. After Week 3, the debate raged as to who was the worst team in the NFL. Was it the Detroit Lions who just dismissed their much-maligned General Manager Matt Millen? Was it the St. Louis Rams who kept getting blown away loss after loss or was it the Oakland Raiders whose head games with their head coach continued unabated? Despite all these teams' problems, the consensus worst team by many NFL experts was the Kansas City Chiefs (1-3). Sure they gave the Tom Brady-less Patriots a run through the first three quarters in their opener, but had been DOA in the games after their tilt in Foxboro. There is nothing like a rivalry game to awaken a sleeping giant! Okay, perhaps sleeping giant would be a stretch, but Kansas City beating the previously undefeated Broncos may rank as last weekend's biggest football upset. That is something considering USC, Florida and many of the other top 25 teams in college bit the dust over the weekend. Larry Johnson, remember him, ran for just a notch under 200 yards and propelled the Chiefs to an impressive 33-19 win over Denver.

The resurgent Carolina Panthers storm into this game with a 3-1 record after an exceptionally easy victory over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. Muhsin Muhammed and Jake Delhomme have reunited nicely on Tobacco Road and have been reenergized by Steve Smith returning. Look for the Panthers offensive attack to continue against the league's 29th ranked defense in Kansas City. Although one can imagine Jay Cutler and his Bronco offense salivated at that same statistic and it did not work out very well for them, did it?

These teams have hardly had much history, playing each other only three times before, Kansas City claiming two victories in the series. Carolina is 2-0 at home in this young season, while Kansas City is still seeking their first victory away from Arrowhead.

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Chargers - 6 1/2 vs Dolphins

Having won two games in a row, the San Diego Chargers have seemingly righted their ship. Or have they? The Chargers' wins this season have hardly been impressive. While the scores look lopsided, 48-29 against the Jets and 28-18 versus the Raiders, San Diego (2-2) let both opponents hang around in the game way too long for most fans' liking, especially taking into account the team's last second losses to Carolina and Denver. In both of their wins, the Chargers have fallen behind and had to fight their way back into the game.

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins (1-2) return from their bye week with the momentum of giving the New England Patriots their first regular season loss since 2006.  Ronnie Brown went crazy and became a fantasy footballers dream in that game, running for four touchdowns and throwing for a fifth touchdown in Foxboro.  The Dolphins, who looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL prior to Week 3, gained some hope with Brown’s wonderful game in the upset over the Pats.  Still, it will be hard for Brown to duplicate that kind of success, even against San Diego's 28th ranked team defense.

The key matchup in this one may be San Diego's prolific offense against Miami's serviceable defense.  Miami will be able to score against San Diego, but will their 15th ranked defense be able to stop LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and company enough to put them in a position for the win?

This is a homecoming for Chargers' receiver Chris Chambers, who spent his first six years in the NFL in South Beach before a 2007 trading deadline deal sent him to San Diego. Chambers became a star in 2005 game against Buffalo when he hauled in 15 passes for 238 yards against Buffalo. The Chargers would love for Chamber's homecoming to be just as productive.

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Michigan - 2 1/2 vs. Illinois

Just when you count them out, Michigan (2-2) (1-0) makes you pay.  Michigan Stadium’s 500th Game was one of the most thrilling in the stadium’s 80-plus year history.  Things could not have gotten worse after the first half in Ann Arbor.  Only one team in the Great Lakes State gets booed off their home field and that is the Detroit Lions, not the Michigan Wolverines, but that is exactly what happened last Saturday.  Then everything changed.  Trailing 19-0, Michigan scored to make it 19-7 and then incredibly scored two touchdowns in less than 10 seconds to take the lead they would not relinquish from the shell-shocked Wisconsin Badgers.  Can Michigan, written off after their turnover, in addition to rain-drenched debacle in South Bend two weeks prior, be a player in the Big Ten this season?  With the Wolverines knocking off the top team in the conference, and #9 team in the country, this is certainly possible.  But the big test will be this week when the Fighting Illini come calling for the 501st game at Michigan Stadium.

Illinois (2-2) (0-1) had Michigan right were they wanted them last season: on ABC in Primetime and in Champaign.  It didn’t work out so well for the Illini however, despite all the hype of Juice Williams and the resurgent Illini, the Wolverines beat them much like they usually do, 27-17.  Illinois may have more famous rivals like Northwestern or Missouri, but their hatred for the Maize and Blue is powerful and why not?  Chicago has a large Michigan alumni base which roots for Michigan and not the school at the other end of the state and the Illini is 21-66-2 since the series began way back in 1898.  Their last win came in 1999.  Last week, despite trying to fight back numerous times, the Nittany Lions had the right answers.  Illinois has got to get back on track and no better than in this game in Ann Arbor.  They must take advantage of their bitter rival in a perceived down year for them.  If they can steal a victory out of Ann Arbor, look for the team to really take flight with games against Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Western Michigan in a stretch of five games that includes Wisconsin.

For Michigan, a win against another quality Big Ten opponent will go a long way to giving the young team some confidence in a wide-open conference.

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Bucs -1 1/2 vs. Packers

The Brett Favre era in Green Bay Packers is officially over, but the future of the franchise has never looked brighter in the hands of the Pack's starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Even though the Packers suffered their first loss of the season to the extremely talented Dallas Cowboys last week it is becoming more and more apparent that the Packers faith in their young quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the off season during the whole Brett Favre ordeal is really starting to pay off. Being the first quarterback in the post-Favre era is no easy task, but Rodgers has his squad off to a 2-1 start and his high powered offense firing on all cylinders.

Although their records are identical at 2-1, the same cannot be said for Tampa Bay Bucs offense. The Bucs may be confident with their new starting quarterback Brian Griese after 67 pass attempts by the NFL veteran in last week's overtime victory over the Chicago Bears, but with a secondary like the Packers that is jam packed with young talent and experienced veterans the Bucs will be forced to mix in more of a ground attack if they want to even have a chance to compete with Rodgers and company.

If Green Bay's offense starts clicking early like it has so far this season by putting points with almost every possession lead by Aaron Rodgers' surprisingly veteran-like decision making and the Packers defense can keep Tampa Bay's air assault in check, it should be a fairly easy victory for the Packers, but if Griese can pull his boys on offense together like he did last weekend (minus the interceptions) the Bucs may have the chance of pulling off the upset of this NFC powerhouse.

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Titans -3 vs. Vikings.

Unfortunately for the Tennessee Titans, the first few weeks of the NFL season all the Titans are receiving is negative press involving quarterback Vince Young, but what you might not have heard or noticed is that the Titans are looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders with an impressive 3-0 record to start the season.

With the best start in franchise history for the Titans and a defense that rivals the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, the sky seems to be the limit for Tennessee. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their next opponent in the Minnesota Vikings who have really struggled coming out of the gate losing two of their first three games this year.

It has just been a downward spiral for the Vikings from their quarterback controversy involving the benching of Tarvaris Jackson in favor of Gus Frerotte to their banged up superstar in Adrian Peterson who is playing through a hamstring injury, it is just one thing after another in Minnesota. With their bread and butter running back health in question the Vikings are holding their breath with every carry he takes out of the backfield as a season ending injury to Peterson will basically end the teams hopes of making a playoff run this year.

As a result of Peterson not being 100% and the quarterback position in the hands of an unproven veteran expect the Tennessee Titans to stroll to a their first 4-0 start in the team's history unless Adrian Peterson somehow has another record breaking performance like he did last season.

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Georgia -7 vs Alabama

There are so many angles that could be mentioned in this early-season SEC game of the year between unbeaten Alabama and Georgia … but let's stick to one for today: Each team's star freshman receiver.

That would be Alabama's Julio Jones and Georgia's A.J. Green, who were ranked the nation's top two wide-receiver prospects by Rivals.com and Scout.com in their senior years of high school.

Both wear the No. 8. Both are 6-foot-4. Jones has been compared to Randy Moss, Green to Terrell Owens.

"They're two different type of receivers," Alabama safety Rashad Johnson said. "I think Julio is more physical and probably a lot harder to tackle. This guy (Green) does a great job when the ball is up in the air. He goes up and gets it."

So you see that these guys aren't your typical freshmen, as both are already integral to his team's offense. Boosted by a big first half last Saturday night at Arizona State - seven catches for 150 yards - Green leads the Bulldogs and the SEC in receiving yards with 300.

"It's kind of surprising to have the big impact that I've had already, especially not knowing the system that well," Green said. "Now, I've got a lot of confidence that I can go out there and play."

Meanwhile, on a team that emphasizes the run over the pass, Jones leads Alabama in receiving yards with 132 and touchdown catches with three.

"Honestly, I went back about five classes and have not seen two wide receivers be this ready, this good and capable of an impact this early," said Tom Luginbill, the national recruiting director for ESPN Scouts.

If Alabama is to avenge last year's overtime loss to the Bulldogs, Saban said "a real key to the game" will be preventing Green and Georgia senior receiver Mohamed Massaquoi from making big plays.

"We have a tremendous amount of respect for those two players and the quarterback [Matthew Stafford]," Saban said. "They have shown a real capacity to make big plays downfield. That's going to be a challenge for us. We're going to have to jam them and keep them cut off."

It's not a stretch to say that whichever No. 8 has the bigger night Saturday, his team will emerge the victor.

Georgia is currently a 6.5-point home favorite on WagerWeb.com.

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Notre Dame -1 vs. Purdue

All those good feelings around the Notre Dame program following a 2-0 start evaporated last week with a 23-7 loss at Michigan State where the Irish offense again did very little.

And again, it's the running game that is the culprit. The Irish rank 111th in Division I-A in rushing and average just 78 rushing yards a game. Their opponents average 144.3 yards.

Against the Spartans, Notre Dame rushed for 16 yards on 22 carries and allowed 203 on the ground.

"In the first three games we've had more success throwing than we have running," coach Charlie Weis said (the Irish rank 69th in the country by average 208.7 yards passing per game). "You can't make a living just being one-dimensional. You can address it by scheme, but a lot of it comes down to working your (behind) off fundamentally to make an improvement. That's one of the main focuses we're doing this week."

Notre Dame resorted to an empty-backfield formation often in the second half against Michigan State, with QB Jimmy Clausen in the shotgun.

That empty-backfield offense managed just one touchdown against Michigan State, but the Irish's yards-per-play jumped from 3.5 in the first half to 4.8 after halftime. There were 51- and 57-yard drives that ended in miscues.

So why not go to that more often?

“The problem is if your identity all stems around passing first," Weis said. "You're exposing yourself to a lot of problems that you'd like to avoid. If a defensive team could just pin their ears back and come after you, you're opening yourself up for pressures, sacks, quarterback hits, interceptions."

Clausen does have six picks this season (matching his freshman total in 149 fewer attempts) and the Irish have turned the ball over nine times. So perhaps their decision-making isn't ready for the spread-type offense.

"I've forced the ball a few times and taken too many chances in the past three games and that's one of the things that I'm working on during practice," Clausen said. "If something is not there, if it's not wide open, check the ball down to the backs. After watching the film where I'm throwing interceptions, the backs are wide open. I've just got to stop taking as many chances as I have."

Purdue is last among Big Ten teams in total defense and 103rd among 119 major college teams, allowing 427 yards per game, so look for Notre Dame to go more to that shotgun formation this week despite what Weis has said. Coaches may lie, but numbers don't.

Purdue, which is a 1-point underdog this week on WagerWeb.com, is 1-4 in South Bend under coach Joe Tiller and 11-26 overall.

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Auburn -6½ vs. Tennessee U

It’s bounce-back Saturday for Tennessee and Auburn, as those two battle while coming off disappointing losses last week – disappointing for very different reasons.

The Vols were dominated again by Florida and don’t resemble SEC contenders. The Tigers, on the other hand, lost a close 26-21 game to LSU and look like national players.

Tennessee is 1-2 as cries from Vol Nation for the firing of coach Phil Fulmer have begun in earnest. UT did also start 1-2 last year after a blowout loss to the Gators, but won eight of its next nine to reach the SEC title game.

"We played for the championship in Atlanta when a lot of other people had given up on us early," Fulmer said. "We won't give up, and we've got a chance to be there yet. It's just a little bit harder road."

The Vols haven’t started 1-3 since 1994, Fulmer’s second full season as coach, but things are getting testy in Knoxville. Remember, UT also lost to a UCLA team that was beaten 59-0 by BYU.

"We've won 148 football games in my time here at Tennessee and lost a little bit less than that - a lot less than that, actually - and we didn't all of sudden get stupid as coaches,” Fulmer said. “We know what we're doing, and we're going to go to the practice field and correct and work and put our football team on the field with the best advantage that we can possibly have."

Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC), meanwhile, can’t afford another loss if it hopes to pass LSU in the West Division and earn a trip to the SEC title game. No. 1 running back Brad Lester is "a little sore," but should be able to play against Tennessee, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. Lester twisted his knee in the third quarter vs. LSU, but an MRI revealed no damage.

Auburn’s offense struggled to run the ball against a fast and physical LSU defense, gaining only 70 yards on the ground. However, the Tigers were able to put up 250 yards passing, with QB Chris Todd completing 17 of his 32 attempts.

“He played good,” offensive coordinator Tony Franklin said of Todd. “He had three plays that were really poor. Outside of that he played really well. He made numerous just really good plays and big throws. I think he got more comfortable. I think every week that he plays, you’ll see a little bit of improvement each week.”

Tennessee and Auburn are meeting for the first time since the 2004 SEC Championship Game, won 38-28 by the Tigers. Auburn leads the series 25-21-3 and is riding a three-game winning streak after a 5-0-1 stretch by the Vols from 1989-99. Auburn won 28-21 during the teams' 2003 meeting at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Volunteers have not dropped four straight in this series since 1961-64.

Auburn has opened as a 6.5-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com

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Louisville -3½ vs. Connecticut.

The UConn Huskies (4-0) have the Friday night NCAA stage all to themselves for the second consecutive week when they play at Louisville (2-1) this week in the Big East opener for both teams.

This game features what have been the league’s top two running backs so far this season in Louisville's Victor Anderson and the nation's leading rusher, Connecticut's Donald Brown.

Brown has 716 yards on the ground in four games - nearly as much as the 826 yards he had last year. He's been a force to be reckoned with since the beginning of the season, gaining 146 yards during Week 1, 214 in Week 2, 206 in Week 3 and 150 more last Friday against Baylor. He will be motivated to put last year’s game against Louisville behind him as he had only 8 yards on five carries

"He's very elusive and he's hard to tackle," Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe said of Brown. "You never seemingly get a clean shot on him. You're always trying to get a profile shot on him."

Anderson had a breakout game against Kansas State in the Cards’ win last week, rushing for 176 yards and three touchdowns and has back-to-back 100-plus-yard games. The Cardinals have relied heavily on the running game to take some of the pressure off QB Hunter Cantwell, though he could get some help on Friday if wide receiver Scott Long can return from a foot injury suffered during training camp.

Long was Louisville's most experienced returning receiver, catching 27 passes a year ago. Kragthorpe said Long could return Friday. Wide receiver Troy Pascley, who already has two touchdowns this year, should play after injuring his hip against Kansas State. Starting offensive linemen George Bussey and Mark Wetterer will also likely return after sitting out against the Wildcats.

Louisville leads the all-time series 3-1, but last year UConn’s Andre Dixon scored on a 5-yard run with 1:32 left to play to give the Huskies a 21-17 come-from-behind win. However, UConn is 2-11 all-time in Big East road games.

The Cardinals are 3.5-point favorites for Friday’s game on WagerWeb.com

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USC -25 vs. OSU.

The oddsmakers at WagerWeb.com list Southern Cal as a 25-point favorite for Thursday night’s game at Oregon State, but there are a few reasons that bettors should be wary of wagering on the Trojans.

-There could be a natural letdown factor for USC. The Trojans’ last game was the much-hyped matchup against Ohio State, which ended in a Southern Cal rout. Thursday night’s game in Corvallis is USC’s first game since, and the 1-2 Beavers don’t exactly bring the attention that the Buckeyes did. "I don't think anyone holds their focus forever," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "We try, but it doesn't happen.”

-There is a 30 percent chance of rain on Thursday night. Why does that matter? Here’s a great stat from the USC sports information department: The Trojans are only 21-21-2 "in games in which it rained during a major portion of the contest." Now that’s a trend!

-Oregon State has won two of the past three games against USC at Reser Stadium and ended the Trojans’ 38-game winning streak in their last trip to Corvallis with a 33-31 shocker. However, USC did win last year’s matchup in Los Angeles, 24-3.

Still, despite those three factors, it’s hard to imagine USC being upset by the Beavers. After all, the Trojans have won 44 of 50 conference games since 2002 and have not dropped a Pac-10 opener since losing 34-31 at California in overtime in 2003. And they are 58-9-4 overall against Oregon State in the series and have won 31 of the past 33 meetings.

USC has yielded the fewest points in the nation and is allowing 197.0 yards per game, second-best in the country. The swarming defense has forced seven turnovers and recorded seven sacks and rendered that Ohio State offense inept.

The Trojan offense has been no slouch, averaging 453.0 yards per game with a nice balance between the run (186.0 ypg) and the pass (267.0 ypg). QB Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes against Ohio State, and has thrown for 510 yards, seven TDs and two interceptions this season – he must be considered among the early Heisman front-runners.

Oregon State, meanwhile, was considered a sleeper in the Pac-10 this year but has been a disappointment so far, losing at Stanford 36-28 and No. 12 Penn State 45-14 before beating Hawaii 45-7 on Sept. 13 in its home opener.

OSU’s passing game has been a strength so far, especially with top WR Sammie Stroughter healthy in 2008 after missing most of last season because of a kidney injury. With Stroughter back in the lineup, the Beavers rank first in the Pac-10 with 307.3 passing yards per game (the Trojans allow 145.5 per game). Stroughter is the Beavers’ second-leading receiver with 21 catches, three of which have gone for touchdowns. He also averages 12.1 yards per punt return, tied for second in the Pac-10, and burned USC with a 70-yard punt return for a TD in 2006.

"He hurt us two years ago. We're very aware of who he is," USC safety Taylor Mays said. "It's hard to stop guys like that. You just try to contain him and make him play within what our defense is trying to do."

The line for this game opened at 21 at WagerWeb.com, jumped immediately to 23 and then up to 24 within hours. The upward trend has continued with the line currently at 25.

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Tulane -18½ vs SMU.

Yes, there is more than one NCAA game on Thursday night this week, although the SMU-Tulane Conference USA matchup certainly won’t get much notice with top-ranked USC playing Oregon State the same night.

Still, a game is a game and a chance for a bettor on WagerWeb.com to win some money.

Neither of these teams are very good, with one win a piece. But Tulane (1-2) has been competitive against some big-time competition, losing close games to Alabama and East Carolina.

The Green Wave offense should have its best outing of the early season on Thursday night against a Mustang defense that is last nationally in total defense (530.5 yards per game). SMU (1-3) and Washington are the only FBS schools giving up more than 500 yards per game.

In addition, new coach June Jones’ run-and-shoot offense hasn’t really taken hold at SMU yet, as the Mustangs have turned the ball over 13 times, are last in Division I in rushing (31.3 ypg) and have given up 11 sacks.

The Green Wave are first in the nation with 13 sacks and have yet to allow an opponent to gain 100 yards in a first half. Tulane is first among Conference USA in most defensive categories, including sacks, scoring, yards, rushing, passing and third-down conversions.

SMU hasn’t beaten a Division I team yet or played a team from outside of Texas this season, winning against Texas State but losing to Rice, Texas Tech and TCU.

Look for a big day from Tulane RB Andre Anderson against an SMU defense that allowed 271 yards rushing to TCU in the last game. Anderson has carried the ball a whopping 71 times in the past two games and gained 157 (on a career-high 38 carries) in the Green Wave’s last game against Louisiana-Monroe.

Last season the teams played into overtime, with Tulane capturing a 41-34 triumph on the road. The win was the sixth in the last seven meetings for the Green Wave, who are 18.5-point favorites this week on WagerWeb.com.

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ABC’s hit show “Dancing with the Stars” is underway for Season 7.

Each couple had to prepare two dances for Monday’s season opener, but only 12 will get to dance both routines. That’s because the first couple will be eliminated on Tuesday night before performing again. The second couple will be eliminated Wednesday. This year’s competition has the largest-ever celebrity cast at 13 stars.

There are three athletes among this year’s group, so they must be considered front-runners favorites because sports-types have won this competition the past four seasons: figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith.

The Season 7 athletes are:

*-Beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, who is +800 to win on WagerWeb.com. May-Treanor and her partner scored a 21 out of 30 possible points from the judges on the opening night.

*-Former Olympic sprinting gold medalist Maurice Greene, who is also +800 on WagerWeb.com. Greene and his partner had a score of 18 from the judges on opening night.

*-Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, who at 300-plus pounds is +900 to win on WagerWeb.com. Sapp showed he is light on his feet despite his big frame, getting 22 out of 30 points from the judges on Monday

The early leader, according to judges’ scores, after Monday is model/actress Brooke Burke, who scored 23 with her partner. Burke is now the favorite on WagerWeb.com at +200. The second betting favorite on WagerWeb.com is Lance Bass of *NSYNC fame. Bass, who scored a 22 from the judges on Monday, is listed at +300.

Perhaps the biggest long-shot bet is Cloris Leachman, an actress who at 82 is the oldest ever contestant on the show. She appeared to be a fan favorite on Monday but only got a 16 from the judges. Yet at +2000, Leachman does have better odds than Jeffrey Ross (+3000), an actor/comedian who had the worst judges’ score off them all on opening night: 12. Maybe it’s because Ross was poked in the eye by his partner during rehearsal.

Dave Johnson, an experienced oddsmaker, had the following to say regarding early action on the contestants, "We have seen alot of early money being bet on the ladies.  Brooke Burke, Toni Braxton and Kim Karshadian have all garnered alot of attention and the odds on these three reflect the money being bet."

Vijay Singh +500

Sergio Garcia +800

Phil Mickelson +1000

OK, the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs were a dud again this year.

That makes 0-for-2 in the drama department for the Tour’s postseason system that debuted in 2007. Last year, Tiger Woods had the FedEx Cup’s $10 million prize basically wrapped up by the time the Tour Championship rolled around. Most people expected a wide-open race in 2008 with Tiger sidelined by injury, but Vijay Singh put on a Tiger-esque performance by winning the first two playoff tournaments and only needs to not get disqualified this week to win the FedEx Cup.

So even though Singh technically has nothing to play for this week, you still have to count the hard-working Fijian as the favorite this week. He never takes a tournament off or for granted. No wonder Singh is the +450 WagerWeb.com favorite this week at East Lake in the smallest field (30 players) on Tour. He also has the advantage of being rested – Singh didn’t compete in last week’s draining Ryder Cup.

Singh credits his confidence with the putter for his recent surge this year.

"Just believing that stroking a putt is simpler than what I made it out to be," he said. "I mean, for years and years I've been a very decent putter, a good putter for that matter. But I never really used that to my advantage. I just kind of took it for granted and when things started going bad, the negatives were very strong, a very strong thing."

Singh leads the field in Tour Championship experience, playing in his 15th Tour Championship. He has finished no worse than fourth since the tournament moved permanently to the East Lake Golf Club in 2004. Ernie Els is next in experience, playing in his 13th tournament, with Phil Mickelson in the field for the 12th time in his career.

Of the 30 players in the field, 10 were members of the winning U.S. squad at last week's Ryder Cup. They are Chad Campbell, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard, Mickelson, Ben Curtis, Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink and Hunter Mahan. Furyk is the top favorite among the Americans at +750, while Kim was spectacular at the Ryder Cup and is +900 this week on WagerWeb.com.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia (+800 on WagerWeb.com) is the only member of the European Ryder Cup team to play in the Tour Championship, and he is the best of the returning players having finished fourth at East Lake last year.

Can Camilo Villegas give the FedEx Cup its second straight two-tournament victor? Villegas stopped Singh’s streak at the BMW Championship and is +1100 on WagerWeb.com

There are five past champions of the Tour Championship in the field. They are Billy Mayfair (1995), Mickelson (2000), Mike Weir (2001), Singh (2002) and Campbell (2003).

Interestingly enough, East Lake Country Club was rated the seventh-easiest course on the circuit last year with the 15th hole rated as the easiest of the PGA Tour's 55 courses.

InSpin.com

Mosley -900 vs. Mayorga

Over 9 1/2 rounds -40.

One of the most anticipated fights of the year finally arrives on Saturday night when Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) battles Ricardo Mayorga (28-6-1, 22 KOs) in a light middleweight bout in Los Angeles that, best of all, isn’t on pay-per-view but on HBO.

Mosley has quite the resume, as he is a certain future Hall of Famer who has won titles in three classes. But he is 37, hasn’t held a belt since 2004 and will be facing a free swinger in Mayorga. Despite the fact that one punch from the wild Nicaraguan could end Saturday’s bout, Mosley isn’t exactly planning to run.

"I'm still just as fast as 154, and my power's pretty good," he said. "I don't go in looking to knock someone out. If it comes, it comes, but I'm looking to have a very good night."

Mayorga’s best chance is to keep punching and hope he catches the wily Mosley off guard.

"I am not afraid of Mosley," Mayorga said. "I will show him I am the real man, I will stick my chin in the air for him to hit me just like I have done in the past to prove I'm the man. If he stands in front of me, I'm going to knock him out in the first round. If he runs it will take me two or three rounds. He's going to be running, I know I'm going to be following him."

This will be Mayorga’s first fight since a majority decision over Fernando Vargas in November of 2007. But Mayorga, who has fought just once a year for the last three years, says that the long layoff will actually work to his advantage.

"Certainly, it's beneficial to me. Some fighters like to fight a lot, but for these big fights I like to have a lot of time because then I go into camp hungry and not tired of training," said Mayorga, who will be 35 on Oct. 3.

Mayorga is actually Plan C for Mosley. “Sugar” Shane originally wanted a rematch with Miguel Cotto from their November 2007 bout (won in a unanimous decision by Cotto), but then couldn’t be made to work. Then Mosley was to fight Zab Judah in late May before Judah was injured. That led to this bout with Mayorga.

“I’m a little more psyched for Mayorga,” Mosley said. “He’s a better fighter than Judah. Against him, you can’t mess around. He’s bigger and stronger than Judah, he does have punching power. It will be a pretty good fight, but I believe I will knock him out.”

If you go by how these two fighters fared against Vargas, then Mosley should prevail Saturday. Mayorga, of course, beat Vargas as his most recent opponent.

“"I'm the one who won his last fight, not Shane Mosley," Mayorga said. "I guarantee Shane Mosley is not going to win this fight."

Mosley also beat Vargas.

"But I knocked him out," said Mosley, who accomplished the feat twice.

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Green Bay Packers +3 vs. Dallas Cowboys.

Sunday night’s Dallas-Green Bay showdown is a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game won by … oh, that’s right. The Cowboys were upset by the Giants in last year’s playoffs, which torpedoed the NFC title game against Green Bay that everyone expected and wanted.

Of course, the Packers went on to lose to the Giants and Brett Favre eventually moved on to the Jets. Perhaps the reason the Packers felt so comfortable turning their team over to Aaron Rodgers and letting Favre go was because of Rodgers’ performance in last season’s Week 13 loss at Dallas.

Replacing an injured Brett Favre, Rodgers came off the bench and was 18-of-26 for 201 yards and a touchdown. He got the Packers close, but Dallas prevailed 37-27. Many believe that outing got the ball rolling on Green Bay management deciding that it was time for a changing of the guard at quarterback.

And Rodgers has not disappointed this year. In leading Green Bay to wins over Minnesota and Detroit, Rodgers has four touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 70 percent of his throws. Dallas will be the first NFL team to see Rodgers twice, if that’s worth anything.

“He's making good decisions and he's being accurate with the football," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. "He hasn't taken many chances, and that's all part of good quarterback play. He needs to continue to do that."

Still, the Packers are 3-point home underdogs on WagerWeb.com.

One thing to monitor for this game is the status of Packers starting RB Ryan Grant, who has been bothered by a hamstring injury and hasn’t practiced much this week. Grant had only 20 yards on 15 carries against the Lions last week. If he can’t go, Brandon Jackson would get the start.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys will be looking for their first-ever win in Green Bay, and Dallas has lived up to the Super Bowl hype this year in beating Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Tony Romo, a Wisconsin native who will make his first start at Lambeau Field, has four touchdowns in the first two games as he directs the No. 1 offense in the NFC. Dallas averages 7.4 yards per play, tops in the league, and its 433.5 yards per game rank second in the league in total offense.

"We did a lot of great things last year, and we’re always trying to improve. I hope they’re better," coach Wade Phillips said. "They’ve started off really well. We played two pretty good defensive teams, and I think we played pretty well against them."

In addition, Romo lit up the Packers last year for 309 yards and four touchdowns and the Cowboys’ running game behind Marion Barber and 2008 top draft pick Felix Jones appears better than last year’s version.

So expect plenty of points in this game (the WagerWeb.com over/under is 51), especially with both defenses showing holes: Green Bay ranks No. 22 overall, while Dallas is at No. 10 - but that may be misleading as the Cowboys opened with the struggling Browns offense but then were shredded on Monday by the Eagles.

Home/road trends won’t help much in this game: Green Bay has won 10 of its last 11 at home in the regular season, but the Cowboys have lost just one of their last 12 road contests.

InSpin.com

Tennessee U +7½ vs. Florida.

It’s a monster weekend in the SEC, with the LSU-Auburn matchup good for early control of the West Division and the Florida-Tennessee winner getting a leg up in the East Division.

The Vols haven’t beaten Florida since Urban Meyer came to Gainesville and were outclassed 59-20 last year. UF linebacker Brandon Spikes put up some bulletin-board material this week in remembering last year’s blowout.

“They kind of gave up," Spikes said. "We saw them give up. They quit playing."

In addition, bettors are bailing on the Vols, who are +7.5 on WagerWeb.com, after seeing the team that Tennessee lost to in its opener, UCLA, get destroyed 59-0 last week to BYU.

With Tennessee out of the AP Top 25, it's the first time since 1984 that only one of these rivals enters their September showdown ranked – UF is ranked No. 4.

Expect Tennessee to try and pound the ball on Saturday with RBs Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty – especially with QB Jonathan Crompton completing just over 50% of his passes and throwing three interceptions in the first two games.

"Our quarterback making good, quick decisions is certainly an area we need to improve," said UT coach Phil Fulmer.

But if Tennessee can somehow control the clock and keep Tim Tebow and the Florida offense off the field, the Vols have a shot. They rushed for 266 yards in last week’s win against UAB – but that’s UAB.

"We believe [Tennessee's] intent will be to run right at us," said Meyer. "How our interior defensive line performs will be critical."

Foster has 17 carries for 39 yards in three career games against the Gators, who have limited Tennessee to 92 yards on 69 carries over their last three meetings. The Vols haven't had a rushing play longer than six yards against Florida in the last two matchups.

Florida, meanwhile, has offensive weapons at every position, but perhaps none more exciting than Percy Harvin. The junior wide receiver also lines up at tailback often. Last year, Harvin was a nightmare for the Vols, scoring a TD and rushing nine times for 75 yards and catching four passes for 120 yards.

This week, Harvin said he is as healthy as he has been since his sophomore year in high school and that the coaching staff was ready to “cut me loose.”

"Yeah, we're going to involve him a little bit more this week," Meyer said. "That's a hell of a toy. That's a talented guy."

With an extra week to prepare and more talent at every high-profile position, the Gators will improve to 4-0 in the past four meetings against the Vols and 3-1 ATS in that same stretch.

InSpin.com

Vikes -3½ vs Panthers.

The Minnesota Vikings entered this season with Super Bowl aspirations but sit at the bottom of the NFC North with a 0-2 record.

That start certainly isn’t the fault of running back Adrian Peterson, who has been excellent in his second season. But even with the threat of Peterson, the Vikings’ offense has sputtered because of the inconsistent play of QB Tarvaris Jackson, and there are whispers coming out of the Twin Cities that Jackson’s days as the starter could be numbered.

Jackson was 14-for-24 passing for just 130 yards and no touchdowns in Sunday’s loss to the Colts, and he had similar-type numbers in the season-opening loss at Green Bay.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said immediately after the game Sunday that Jackson will definitely start against Carolina this week, but on Monday Childress left open the possibility that he would make a change at some point if he felt someone else gives the team a better chance to win.

“I’m always looking at what’s giving us the best opportunity to win,” he said. “If it’s Tarvaris, it’s Tarvaris. If it’s Gus Frerotte, it’s Gus Frerotte. J.D. Booty, it’s J.D. Booty. I know I was asked a question (Sunday), is that the guy who’s going to be the quarterback at the end of the week? That’s something that is ongoing. You don’t crown a guy king and then the king doesn’t have any clothes on and you say, ‘Hey, he’s still the king.’ You just need to make sure you’re doing the right thing there. We’re chewing on a bunch of things right now and making sure he’s the best guy for us to go forward.”

Childress also said he thinks Jackson has showed progress this season despite his QB’s 64.8 passer rating.

“I don’t think there’s any question that he’s showed progress,” he said. “Has it manifested itself in terms of wins? No. Has he been able to throw more accurately? He makes some throws where you say, that’s an unbelievable throw that he just stuck in there.”

Still, something may need to change. Against the Colts, the Vikings got only five catches for 79 yards from wide receivers - including zero receptions from their starters. Signed this offseason to a six-year contract that calls for $16 million in guarantees, former Chicago Bear Bernard Berrian has done hardly anything. He caught three passes for 38 yards in the opener at Green Bay. On Sunday, he dropped a pass on the first possession and then tripped on a deep throw on third-and-5 late in the fourth quarter.

Fellow starting WR Sidney Rice suffered a strained posterior cruciate ligament against the Colts but says he will receive treatment all week and is "hopeful" he can play this weekend against Carolina.

InSpin.com

Oregon -10½ vs Boise State.

Has any college football team had more bad luck when it comes to injured quarterbacks than Oregon has in the past eight games or so?

The Ducks pulled out a near-miraculous win on Saturday at Purdue to stay perfect on the young season, but starting quarterback Justin Roper suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss two to four weeks.

Roper is the second Oregon quarterback to go down with a knee injury this season; Nate Costa, who was considered by many the most likely candidate to start, suffered a torn ACL last month; he won’t play this season. And of course the Ducks were ravaged at the position late last season, losing Heisman candidate Dennis Dixon, among others.

Roper was 20-of-48 Saturday for 197 yards, with two interceptions. But he settled down in the second half and played better, helping the Ducks rally from a 17-point deficit to force overtime.

Without Roper, the Ducks are down to three healthy quarterbacks on the roster. Freshman Chris Harper finished the game against Purdue - he didn't throw a pass against the Boilermakers but did rush four times for 17 yards, including an 8-yard scamper on the second overtime drive. Either Harper or JuCo transfer Jeremiah Masoli will start this week against Boise State, but coach Mike Bellotti said freshman Darron Thomas - a redshirt candidate - will also practice this week as though he might play.

One of them will make his first major college start, but both will play, Bellotti said, and even within the same series at times.

“I think it’s situational,” Bellotti said. “I think we’ll use them both. They both have strong attributes and bring different strengths to the table.”

The coach added that when Roper does return, it could be to a competition with Masoli and Harper to keep that No. 1 job.

"It will be competitive at that point, obviously, it depends on how we do in the next couple weeks," Bellotti said of Roper. "He's the starter, he's proven that, but there are certainly things he needs to work on to improve.

"When he gets back, he'll factor in. How much he factors in will depend on his competitive instinct at that point and what we accomplish in the next couple games."

Boise State is 2-0 with victories over Idaho State and Bowling Green and getting votes in both polls, though not enough to crack the top 25. Oregon (3-0) is No. 12 in this week’s coaches’ poll and is a 12-point favorite over the Broncos on WagerWeb.com.

InSpin.com

NC State +18½ vs Clemson.

After suffering a concussion in the season-opening loss to South Carolina and then missing last week’s N.C. State 34-24 victory over William & Mary, redshirt freshman Russell Wilson will be the Wolfpack’s starting QB on Saturday against Clemson.

The No. 23 Tigers (in the coaches’ poll) are 18.5-point home betting favorites on WagerWeb.com.

Wilson could have played against William & Mary on Saturday, but Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien opted to put him in for only one special teams play – when Wilson served as holder on an extra point.

“I thought it would be better for him to sit out another week,” O’Brien said. “It will be two weeks since he last played that he will be involved in any contact.”

Wilson beat out Beck and Daniel Evans in a training-camp battle before suffering the injury. Evans struggled against William & Mary - going 4-for-11 for 12 yards and an interception – while Beck stepped in to throw for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

Turns out the stats didn’t matter to O’Brien, who said Wilson would be starting this week regardless. Wilson's mobility is crucial to NC State's ability to move the ball, and he should be able to make plays out of the read-option scheme more effectively, especially against the Tigers.

Meanwhile, Clemson QB Cullen Harper said that that he has been dealing with a first-degree sprain of the AC joint in his throwing shoulder.

The ACC Preseason Player of the Year said he hopes he'll be at 100 percent by Saturday's conference opener against the Wolfpack. The injury is to the same shoulder that underwent surgery last November, but Harper said it's a different joint.

Offensive coordinator Rob Spence said Harper is fine and that there's no concern whatsoever about his shoulder. Coach Tommy Bowden concurred, and Harper is not on Clemson’s injury report.

"Real pleased with him, I think he's at 65 percent, threw for 70-some percent last week," Bowden said Wednesday. "I believe you might have saw in the paper where he said he might have had a little shoulder fatigue going into the game just from throwing, not a hit. But I've been real pleased with him. He's done a great job of leadership and a good job of managing the offense."

Bet on NC State-Clemson at WagerWeb.com; the Tigers are 3-1 ATS in the teams’ past four meetings.

InSpin.com

Bucs' -7 vs Falcons.

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Now you see why the Tampa Bay Bucs wanted Brett Favre – because their current starting quarterback is a brittle 38-year-old.

Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia suffered a sprained ankle during the fourth quarter of last Sunday's 24-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints, and he won’t go this week in the Bucs’ home opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Brian Griese will get the start.

Garcia completed 24 of 41 passes for 221 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Saints and missed most of the preseason with various injuries. He wanted a contract extension after leading the Bucs to the NFC South title last year but didn’t get one, and he was surrounded by all those Favre-to-Tampa rumors.

“It’s been a very interesting last few months, obviously,” Gruden said of Garcia. “I really believe in this guy as a quarterback. And right now, he’s not the same guy that he was, and I want him to be that. That’s all I’m going to say.

“I just want him to get healthy physically and emotionally and hopefully he can come back and get started and be the kind of quarterback I know he is."

Until then, Griese, 33, has reclaimed the job he held for 10 games in 2004 and the first six games of 2005, compiling a 9-7 record. Griese had a very efficient preseason completing 26-of-35 passes (74.3 percent) for 174 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He was reacquired by the Bucs in an offseason deal with the Bears.

And don’t rule out Griese keep this job for the rest of the season. By not giving Garcia an extension, it’s pretty clear the Bucs aren’t long-term believers in him.

"Until I see the ball thrown (from Garcia) with the crisp, accurate velocity, the confident swagger, we're going to let him sit out a week," Gruden said. "Hopefully he can get back with us soon."

Bucs center Jeff Faine says the offensive scheme shouldn’t deviate at all, especially with all of the starting reps Griese took in practice during training camp while Garcia was injured.

“Scheme-wise, these guys have been working the same offense,” Faine said. “I don’t see Gruden doing anything different with a different quarterback. I don’t think it’s a major difference from a scheme standpoint and from a play-call standpoint, and I think we’re going to see some of the similar plays called and some of the similar schemes used.”

This game opened with Tampa Bay as an 8-point WagerWeb.com favorite over the Falcons, but that could shift without Garcia.

InSpin.com

San Jose, Costa Rica, Sept. 9, 2008 – What makes a great athlete? Self-confidence and competitiveness are common traits, and both obviously are ingrained in Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

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San Jose, Costa Rica, Sept. 9, 2008 - By now you have heard the devastating news for the New England Patriots, the NFL’s TV networks and the league altogether: Reigning NFL MVP and poster boy Tom Brady will miss the rest of the season after suffering ligament damage in his knee during the Week 1 victory against Kansas City.

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Denver Broncos -3 vs Raiders.

For the only scheduled time this year, there are two NFL games on Monday night, so if bettors don’t like their result in the Vikings-Packers opener, there’s always the Denver-Oakland nightcap to add to or recoup some of your money.

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South Carolina -10 vs Vanderbilt.

The big news heading into Thursday night's battle of 1-0 SEC teams is that South Carolina is changing quarterbacks after its 34-0 rout of North Carolina State last week: Chris Smelley gets the call under center for the Gamecocks, who are 10-point favorites for the nationally televised game at Vanderbilt.

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One of the most amazing streaks in baseball history appears likely to end this year. The New York Yankees enter Monday 12.5 games out of first place in the AL East, closer to last than first, and seven games out of a wild-card spot as they attempt to reach the postseason for a 14th consecutive season.

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San Jose, Costa Rica, Aug. 11, 2008 – The Brett Favre saga finally has come to an end, and the future Hall of Famer will still wear green next year – but that of the New York Jets, not the Packers. And you can bet on how No. 4 will fare in the Big Apple at Wagerweb.com

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