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College football season opens Thursday

WACO, Texas, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. college football season begins Thursday with the first 14 of the close to 700 games that will eventually lead to the naming of a national champion.

Only one team from those ranked among the preseason top 25 will be in action Thursday -- No. 23 Wake Forest visiting Baylor. Another highlight will be a Pac-10 league encounter that will send Oregon State to Stanford.

The Georgia Bulldogs, who will open the season ranked No. 1 in the country, start their schedule with a home game against Georgia Southern on Saturday and second-ranked Southern California will kick off with a cross-country trip to the University of Virginia.

In the only meeting of top 25 teams on the opening weekend, No. 19 Illinois will visit No. 7 Missouri on Saturday.

The last regular-season games will be held on Dec. 6, after which 29 bowl games will be contested.

The top two teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings will play for the national title on Jan. 8 in Miami.

Olympic champ advances at U.S. Open

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Recently crowned Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva was among those moving into the third round of the women's draw at the U.S. Open Wednesday.

Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lindsay Davenport also advanced during a day that produced only one substantial surprise.

Jankovic, seeded second, had to work to get past Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5. The match lasted two hours, 45 minutes. Jankovic served for the match at 5-4 in the second, but wound up with nine double faults and had her serve broken eight times.

In the third round, Jankovic will meet Jie Zheng.

Kuznetsova, who has reached the title match in a major championship threw times and who is seeded third in this event, defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. Davenport was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Alisa Kleybanova.

Elena Dementieva coasted into the third round with her eighth straight match victory, a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Pauline Parmentier. Dementieva is coming off a win in the Olympic gold medal finals.

The day's biggest upset came when Tatiana Perebiynis defeated eighth-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3. Zvonareva was the bronze medalist in Beijing.

Cubs roll to fifth straight win

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Jason Marquis and two relievers combined on a five-hitter Wednesday and the Chicago Cubs rolled to their fifth straight win -- 2-0 over Pittsburgh.

The Cubs, owners of the best record in the majors, began the day with a five-game lead over Milwaukee in the National League Central.

They swept a series with the Pirates for the third time this season. Marquis (9-7) went seven innings, giving up all five Pittsburgh hits and walking no one.

Both Chicago runs scored during the seventh. Ronny Cedeno drove in one of them with a ground out and Henry Blanco's squeeze bunt accounted for the other.

Zach Duke (4-13) suffered a hard-luck loss. He has gone 0-9 in 14 starts since his last victory, which came on June 9.

Chicago put together a 14-4 record against the Pirates this year, its most wins over Pittsburgh in 54 years. They were also the most wins for the Cubs against any opponent in a single season since they recorded 15 against St. Louis in 1978.

Sakic to play a 20th NHL season

DENVER, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Veteran Colorado Avalanche center Joe Sakic decided Wednesday to return in 2009 for his 20th NHL season.

After pondering retirement this off season, the team's captain signed a one-year contract.

No dollar figures were disclosed, but the Rocky Mountain News reported the deal was worth $6 million, or $750,000 less than Sakic was paid last season.

The 39-year-old native of Burnaby, British Columbia, played in just 44 games last season because of groin problems and subsequent hernia surgery.

He compiled 40 points by scoring a career-low 13 goals with 27 assists and is the franchise's all-time scoring leader.

"Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," Sakic said in a statement. "I'm comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I'm ready for the start of camp and am looking forward to the upcoming season."

In 1,363 regular-season games, Sakic has compiled 1,629 points (623 goals and 1,006 assists), making him eighth on the NHL's all-time scoring list.