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02/03/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing revealed on Friday that Japanese driver Takuma Sato has joined the team for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Sato will drive the team's No.15 Honda entry.
RLL is running a full IndyCar schedule this season for the first time since 2008. The team has run a partial IndyCar schedule the past three seasons, focusing its efforts more on American Le Mans Series competition. Ryan Hunter- Reay drove for RLL in '08, scoring one victory and finishing eighth in points. The racing organization ceased its IndyCar operations at the end of that season due to lack of sponsorship.
"RLL is extremely pleased to welcome Takuma to our IndyCar Series team for 2012, and we anticipate having a very strong season together," team co-owner Bobby Rahal said in a statement. "While we were determined to have an experienced driver for this season, we also needed someone that knew how to get to the front, and Takuma has shown that he can do that, and we expect to have a great opportunity to win races this year. He has made great strides through the last two seasons in IndyCar, and I have no doubt that we can produce a strong effort with him leading the team."
Television icon and racing aficionado David Letterman and businessman Mike Lanigan also co-own the team.
Sato drove for KV Racing Technology during his first two IndyCar seasons from 2010-11. Last season, he claimed his first pole in the series, which came at Iowa. He also won the pole at Edmonton. Sato recorded three top-five results and seven top-10s on his way to a 13th-place finish in points.
Prior to his IndyCar career, Sato competed in Formula One from 2002-08. He drove for Jordan, British American Racing and Super Aguri during his tenure in F1.
"I'm very proud, motivated and excited to be chosen by Bobby to join his big project," Sato said. "This team I feel has got huge potential. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has got a great history and record of winning, so my motivation is ever so high, and I am extremely thrilled to start the new season. With a new car for everybody, I am confident that we'll be up to speed very quickly."
RLL said in its new release it is currently preparing Sato's car for next month's IndyCar open test at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. The team also noted its planning to enter a second car this season and intends to have ready for preseason testing as well.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers may not possess the star power that
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Tonight, the Sixers eye a fift
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Pens extend Vitale's contract >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed
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Abidal inks new Barca deal >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona defender Eric Abidal put pen to
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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.
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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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