DANI Pedrosa rode his Honda to victory in the Valencia MotoGP to claim third place in the 2009 championship on a disastrous day for Casey Stoner.

The Spaniard passed the Australian in the points score, Stoner failing to start the last race of the year after crashing his Ducati on the warm-up lap on Sunday.

Stoner, who had pole position, had won the previous two races after returning from along illness but didn't have enough points to challenge for better than third in the championship.

World champion Valentino Rossi was second in the race ahead of Yamaha team-mate Jorge Loenzo who finished the year second in the points.

The 30-year-old Rossi wasn't too deflated.

"We were a lot slower this weekend, but it didn't matter as I was already the world champion," said the Italian, who owns nine elite class world titles.

"I'm happy. Tomorrow (Monday) we will go out and try the new bike for next season."

Spaniard Lorenzo, who doesn't enjoy the happiest of relations with Rossi, said he could have gone faster once he learned pole-sitter Stoner had crashed out.

"The stable called me and said Stoner was out of the race. I should have put my foot down but instead I allowed Dani (Pedrosa) to take a second up on me and that was enough.

"All in all it has been a good season and I will come back stronger next term."

Australian Chris Vermuelen ended his career with Suzuki with 15th place in the race, to be 12th in the championship. He returns to World Superbikes next year.

THE International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has unveiled a provisional 2010 calendar including a return to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on June 20 and September 19 contest at the Balatonring in Hungary.

The 18-race season starts with an April 11 race at Losail in Qatar.

The calendar:
April 11: Qatar nighttime GP at Losail
April 25: Japan GP at Motegi
May 2: Spanish GP at Jerez
May 23: French GP at Le Mans
June 6: Italian GP at Mugello
June 20: British GP at Silverstone
June 26: Dutch GP at Assen
July 4: Catalan GP at Barcelone
July 18: German GP at Sachsenring
July 25: US GP at Laguna Seca (just Moto GP category)
Aug 22: Czech GP st Brno
Aug 29: Indianapolis GP (USA)
September 5: San Marino GP
September 19: Hungarian GP at Balatonring
October 10: Malaysian GP at Sepang
October 17: Australian GP at Phillip Island
October 31: Portuguese GP at Estoril
November 7: Valencia GP

Divisional matchups have been the order so far this season on Monday Night Football and this week the Atlanta Falcons are in New Orleans to close off the Week 8 NFL betting card. It's the first meeting of the season for these two NFC South rivals who split the series in 2008 with the home side winning each contest straight-up and against the spread.

The undefeated Saints (6-0) are one of only two remaining team in the league with a perfect record after the Denver Broncos lost on Sunday in Baltimore (Indianapolis (7-0) is also perfect after an 18-14 win vs. San Francisco). You can check all of Sunday's scores and recaps at ESPN.com

For the sports betting community, if you are looking at betting on an undefeated team this late in the season, it means you're going to be laying points, probably a lot of them. That is the case in this matchup, as the online sportsbook pegged the Saints as double-digit favourites.

The Saints have been attracting a lot of the betting action throughout the week, as the line has moved all the way up to -12. Online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com reported 78% of all the betting volume on the Monday nighter had come in on New Orleans as of late Sunday night.

NFL Trends: Road favorites in Week 7 were 7-0 SU/ATS including the Patriots at Tampa Bay, even though it was neutral site game, and it wasn't by small margins that the chalk teams were winning or covering, either. San Diego, Indianapolis, Green Bay and the New York Jets won by a combined margin of 132 points - that's 30.5 points per game!

Results this Sunday (Week 8) by big home favorites like the Colts and Chargers, who both won straight-up but failed to cover the big spreads, did little to sway bettors away from New Orleans and it could have something to do with the Saints performance last week in Miami.

Trailing 24-3, the Saints offense went to work while the defense stymied the Wildcat and New Orleans made a statement. Starting with a QB Drew Brees rushing TD in the final seconds of the first-half, New Orleans went on a 43-3 run lasting 28 minutes to cement the win and become the first NFL team in history to score 45-plus points in four of their first six games.

Atlanta was in Dallas last week and learned what an explosive offense can do when the Cowboys put up 37 points - the most points the Falcons have allowed in the Mike Smith-Matt Ryan era. Recent success, or lack thereof, by double-digit favorites on Monday Night has done little to sway the tide of bettors from New Orleans, but since Week 6, 2006 there have been 10 double-digit favorites and they are just 2-8 ATS.

This is the seventh divisional Monday Night game of the 2009 season and favorites through the first six games are 4-2 SU but only 2-4 ATS. All six games have gone "Over" the posted total and in fact the only Monday Night game this season that did not land on the high side was Carolina at Dallas in Week 3.

The posted total for Atlanta-New Orleans is one of the highest bettors will see in the NFL but if the Saints keep scoring the way they have been, it could be a sign of things to come.

NFL Picks: Looking at the matchup, I'm going to be taking the big points and hoping the Falcons can keep this one close. Good luck with your bets on the big game.

Conservative leader David Cameron has said he is
"disappointed" by the Czech constitutional court's decision to push
ahead with ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus is the only EU leader yet to sign the treaty.

Mr Cameron told LBC radio: "I of course hope he doesn't sign the treaty but I suspect time is running out."

The
Tory leader said he would decide "later this week" what to do about his
party's pledge for a referendum on the treaty should they win power.

E SF

The Eurosceptic Mr Klaus, who was awaiting the court's decision, has said he will not further oppose the treaty.

If Mr Klaus signs, that would pave the way for the treaty to come into effect throughout the EU on 1 December.

The
Czech president has been seen as the last major obstacle to the passage
of the treaty, but he has recently appeared satisfied with a promised
opt-out from the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Mr Klaus
has said the opt-out was essential to prevent Czech courts being
circumvented, mentioning the prospect of ethnic Germans - 2.5m of whom
were expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War II - trying to win
back their property.