Melbourne Victory is the favourite to win the A-League championship this season according to coaches and marquee players.A confidential poll of 20 respondents - the 10 coaches and a senior player from each club - has Kevin Muscats group as the most likely winner of the league, but with plenty of competition.Reflecting the evenness of the league, which begins on on Friday night when Brisbane Roar host Victory, eight clubs were nominated by key players as potential winners.With five votes, three-time champions Victory finished on top of the pile.Their cross-town rivals Melbourne City garnered three votes, with Sydney FC, Western Sydney and defending champions Adelaide supported by two figures.Brisbane, Perth and Wellington also had one backer, leaving only Newcastle and Central Coast as unloved clubs before the season kicks off.Coaches and players were asked which club they saw as the best in the league, excluding their own, on the condition of anonymity. A small minority declined to answer.Some suggested more than one club, in which case their votes were weighted accordingly.Reflecting on the competition as a whole, Roar manager John Aloisi surmised the mood among coaches when he said it was a difficult guessing game.Melbourne Victory are definitely in with a shot. Theyve got a good squad and we all know what Carl Valeri is like. Theyre going to be tough, he told AAP.But its hard to say, its too early. I think the Sydney and Melbourne sides are going to be strong.Perth boss Kenny Lowe said he expected Victory, City, Western Sydney and Sydney FC to be among the finalists.The two Melbourne clubs and Sydney clubs are at the forefront. Theyre in front of everybody with resources and recruitment, he said.Theyre driving the level of the league and the market place and everyone has got to keep up with that.First-year Central Coast coach Paul Okon said many clubs had improved their squads from last season.If I look at Wellingtons recruitment, its very good. If I look at Sydneys recruitment, also very good. Brett Holman coming on board at the Roar is going to give them something extra, he said.This year is going to be an even more even battle.THE A-LEAGUE CHAMPION AS PREDICTED BY THE COACHES AND PLAYERS:* 5 votes - Melbourne Victory* 3 - Melbourne City* 2 - Adelaide United, Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers* 1 - Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory, Wellington Phoenix* 0 - Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets Custom Jerseys From China . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. http://www.jerseyscustom.us/custom-arizona-cardinals-jerseys/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Fake Custom Jerseys . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Wholesale Custom Jerseys Authentic .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- On a day when both teams ran wild, Kentucky couldnt quite catch up to Tennessee.Joshua Dobbs threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and ran for two more scores Saturday as Tennessee defeated Kentucky 49-36 to continue its domination of this annual series.Dobbs rushed for 147 yards and Alvin Kamara ran for 128 yards to lead Tennessees 376-yard rushing attack. Kentucky ran for 443 yards -- three yards shy of a 65-year-old single-game school record -- but often bogged down in the red zone.Its fun with two teams that have good running games just going back and forth, Kamara said. Its kind of like a battle royale trying to see who has the better punches.Tennessee (7-3, 3-3 SEC) has won 31 of its last 32 matchups against the Wildcats, with the lone Kentucky win coming in 2011. Kentucky (5-5, 4-4) hasnt beaten Tennessee in Knoxville since 1984.Dobbs went 11 of 17 for 223 yards with touchdown passes to Josh Smith and Ethan Wolf as well as a 51-yarder to Josh Malone on a flea flicker. Dobbs also had his highest rushing total of the season.Hes like a tight end playing quarterback, Kentucky linebacker Denzil Ware said. Its hard to get him down, and when he gets in the zone, you basically cant stop the man.Tennessee averaged 9.2 yards per carry against a Kentucky defense that lost leading tackler Jordan Jones to back spasms in the first half and had several other players hurt over the course of the game. John Kelly rushed for 94 yards to complement Dobbs and Kamara, who wore a knee brace while returning from an injury that sidelined him for two games.The Vols moved the ball so well that they only faced five third-down situations all day.They were making too much hay on first and second down, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said.Stanley Boom Williams ran for 127 yards and Jojo Kemp added 90 yards -- including a 71-yard touchdown -- as Kentucky averaged 8.1 yards per carry to threaten the school single-game record of 446 yards rushing, set in 1951 against Tennessee Tech. Kentuckys 443-yard output was the third-highest rushing total ever allowed by Tennessee.Its definitely unacceptable, Tennessee defensive end LaTroy Lewis said. That would never be tolerated. It wouldnt be tolerated at Tennesssee in the `70s, `80s, 90s and its not tolerated now.ddddddddddddut the Wildcats didnt run nearly as effectively once they got into scoring position. Kentucky settled for field goals three times after driving inside Tennessees 15-yard line and also lost a fumble at the Tennessee 4.Obviously when you rush for that many yards, the difference is in the red zone, Stoops said. They capped it off with touchdowns. We capped it off with some field goals.THE TAKEAWAYKentucky: The Wildcats continued their recent history of being unable to stop Tennessees offense. They have allowed 151 points to the Volunteers over the last three seasons. Kentuckys lack of a balanced offense proved costly whenever the Wildcats got into scoring position. Stephen Johnson went 12 of 29 for 192 yards with an interception, and he was sacked four times.Tennessee: Dobbs continued his personal history of productive performances against Kentucky. Dobbs is 4-0 against Kentucky as a starting quarterback. In those four games, he has 10 touchdown passes and six touchdown runs.He now has 27 career touchdown runs, the most ever by a Tennessee quarterback. Jimmy Streater had 25 touchdown runs from 1977-79.POSTSEASON PICTURETennessee remains very much alive in the SEC Eastern Division race. In order to win its first division title since 2007, Tennessee must win its two remaining games (against Missouri and Vanderbilt) and have No. 22 Florida lose to No. 19 LSU next week.We came as freshman wanting to get Tennessee back in this picture and wanting to be where we are today, Dobbs said. Now we have to take advantage of this opportunity.Kentucky is one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.WELCOME BACKKamara wasnt the only Tennessee captain to return from an injury Saturday. Cornerback Cam Sutton also returned after missing six games with a fractured ankle.UP NEXTKentucky hosts Football Championship Subdivision program Austin Peay.Tennessee hosts Missouri.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargee ' ' '