Alabama and Clemson lead a group of perennial powers atop the odds in Las Vegas to win the national championship, but several bookmakers are more concerned about Iowa as the college football season kicks off.The Crimson Tide, at 6-1, are the favorites at the majority Las Vegas sportsbooks, but not all of them.Clemson is the favorite at William Hill. Clemson, LSU and Michigan?are listed as co-favorites, each at 6-1, at MGMs books.At the Westgate SuperBook, more money has been bet on LSU to win the national championship than any other team. Michigan is second.Ohio State and Florida State also are receiving strong support from bettors and are in the top tier of favorites at the majority of books. But no team could do as much damage to some books as upstart Iowa.Iowas taken some good money, Johnny Avello, executive director of race and sports at the Wynn, said. They are our worst liability right now, but we have a whole season to get off them.The Hawkeyes opened as a 100-1 long shot to win the national championship but have been bet down to 25-1 at the Wynn. Iowa is also the worst-case scenario at the Westgate and for Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology, where Iowa begins the season with better odds than Stanford (30-1), Oregon (40-1) and Michigan State (80-1).The Hawkeyes return 13 starters, including senior quarterback C.J. Beathard, from last years team that went 12-2 and lost 45-16 to Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Iowa has only one team currently ranked -- Michigan -- on its schedule. The Wolverines visit Iowa City on Nov. 12.Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and LSU running back Leonard Fournette have the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy. Watson is 9-2 at the Westgate, followed by McCaffrey and Fournette at 5-1.Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who accounted for eight touchdowns in the first half of the Cardinals 70-14 opening win over Charlotte on Thursday, began the week at 100-1 to win the Heisman Trophy at the Westgate. Cedric Paquette Lightning Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Ondrej-Palat-Jersey/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Braydon Coburn Lightning Jersey . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- SAN DIEGO -- All eyes will be on Colin Kaepernick. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback intends to sit again during the anthem, an action that has stirred a nationwide debate about politics, protest and football. Game starts 10 p.m.- 49ers-Chargers game is one of 15 NFL exhibitions on Thursday nights schedule.- NEW YORK -- Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 champion playing as a wild card, faces Steve Johnson in the second round of the U.S. Open. Also, Venus Williams vs. Julia Goerges during day session; Serena Williams vs. Vania King at night.- CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant and the major league-leading Chicago Cubs open a four-game series against the Giants. Ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija pitches for San Francisco, which is 1 1/2 games out of first in the NL West. Game starts 8:05 p.m.- College football games of note Thursday night: No. 9 Tennessee vs. Appalachian State (7:30 p.m.); No. 19 Louisville vs. Charlotte (7 p.m.); Minnesota vs. Oregon State (8 p.m.); South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt (8 p.m.).- DARLINGTON, S.C. -- If Jeff Gordon hopes to give the No. 88 team a chance at a championship, there may be no better place than Darlington Raceway. The four-time series champpion has won seven times at the track.dddddddddddd- ZURICH -- Franz Beckenbauer is a criminal suspect in a World Cup fraud case. The soccers greats home in Austria is raided by Swiss prosecutors investigating links to FIFA.- JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The U.S. plays St. Vincent and the Grenadines in a World Cup qualifier Friday, and American forward Bobby Wood hopes his dazzling debut with club team Hamburg last week bodes well.- Brazil has a new coach for its World Cup qualifier at Ecuador (5 p.m.). Qualifier tuneups in Europe highlighted by Belgium-Spain, France-Italy, Netherlands-Greece.- NORTON, Mass. -- The TPC Boston begins Friday and is the second stop on the FedEx Cup road to a $10 million bonus. Plenty of players now have two cups -- FedEx and Ryder -- on their minds.- CAMBRIDGE, Ontario -- Ariya Jutanugarn opens play in the LPGA Manulife Classic, using a driver for the first time in tournament play since May. Shes trying to win three straight events for the second time this season.- LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Yarelys Barrios of Cuba is stripped of the silver medal in the womens discus from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after a reanalysis of her doping samples. ' ' '