North Korea grounds Super Falcons

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyong Hwa Kim and Kum Suk Ri scored as North Korea cruised to a 2-0 win over Nigeria on Friday, proving its tie against the United States on Tuesday was no fluke.

Kim and Ri scored four minutes apart in the opening half off corner kicks, and North Korea's lead was never really threatened.

With the win, North Korea moved into a tie with the United States atop Group B and all but assured itself a spot in the quarterfinals.

A win or a tie against Sweden on Tuesday and North Korea would advance, but it could also advance with a loss. The United States plays Nigeria on Tuesday and faces the same scenario, but the top spot in the group is still on the line.

North Korea opened the game against Nigeria showcasing an attacking style that caught the United States off guard and also had the African champions on their heels.

Nigeria goalie Precious Dede played well early, continuing the strong form she showed in a 1-1 tie with Sweden on Tuesday. Twice in the early minutes of the match she did well to push shots over the crossbar.

North Korea solved Dede for the first time in the 17th minute, finding the net directly off a corner kick. Kim took the corner from the left side, swinging a ball just over Dede that skimmed off the bottom of the crossbar.

After Dede survived two long shots from North Korea, one that went just over the crossbar and one she punched wide, she was helpless on another corner in the 21st minute.

Kim took the kick and sent a cross toward the far side of the box. Ri was wide open and she jumped to head the ball, squeezing it between two Nigeria players who stood flat-footed on the line.

Nigeria showed a little life on offense in the first half, putting three shots on target, but North Korea goalie Myong Hui Jon wasn't tested.

North Korea had the first chance in the second half, a Kim blast from well out of the box that took a high hop in front of Dede and nearly bounced off of her and into the goal.

North Korea continued creating chances early in the second half, hitting the frame in the 51st minute.

Nigeria had its first good scoring chance after halftime in the 63rd minute when Cynthia Uwak, 2006 FIFA Player of the Year nominee and reigning African Woman Footballer of the Year, headed a ball just wide of the right post.

From there, the pace of the game slowed considerably as North Korea settled in to protect its lead. The team rarely threatened over the final 30 minutes, but Nigeria did little to worry the Koreans.

Nigeria really only threatened once in the last third of the game, getting a shot off a corner that was easily handled by North Korea's goalie.

For Nigeria to advance to the quarterfinals for just the second time in its history, it has to beat the United States by at least three goals on Tuesday.

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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.

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