Should Brighton, Walsall and Accrington Stanley be wary of the play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season? Brighton and Walsall finished third in the Championship and League One respectively while Accrington ended up fourth in League Two - where there are three automatic promotion places.The trio will now enter the play-offs as the highest-ranked teams in their respective divisions, but is that a positive? Since the introduction of the play-offs in 1987 there have been several examples of teams missing out on promotion after finishing well ahead of their rivals in the regular season.In recent years, Watford, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich have failed to win promotion after finishing third in the Championship. Highlights of the clash for promotion between Middlesbrough and Brighton Sheffield United failed to make it up from League One in 2011/12 after finishing on 90 points, nine clear of Huddersfield in fourth and 17 clear of sixth-placed Stevenage.But is it really a curse to finish in third? The stats suggest otherwise.In fact, 39.50% of the teams that have finished in the top play-off place across the three divisions have been promoted.Only 21% of teams in the second play-off spot have been successful while those in the bottom two places go up 19.80% of the time. Positions of teams promoted in play-offs Position Championship League One League Two Total Percentage 3rd (4th in L2) 10 9 13 32 39.50% 4th (5th in L2) 5 7 5 17 21% 5th (6th in L2) 7 5 4 16 19.80% 6th (7th in L2) 5 6 5 16 19.80% Brighton, who finished 15 points ahead of sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday, should be buoyed by the fact that 37% of the sides who have finished third in the Championship have gone up.In comparison, those finishing fourth (18.50%), fifth (25.90%) and sixth (18.50%) have not fared as well.Norwich, West Ham and Swansea have won promotion to the Premier League in recent seasons after ending up third in the second tier. Where have Championship play-off winners finished in table? Position Total Percentage 3rd (Brighton this season) 10 37% 4th (Hull this season) 5 18.50% 5th (Derby this season) 7 25.90% 6th (Sheff Wed this season) 5 18.50% In League One, where Walsall finished third this season, the play-offs have proved more unpredictable.Teams in third have gone up 33.30% of the time, a slightly better success rate than those in fourth (25.90%), fifth (18.50%) and sixth (22.20%).But Accrington have more reason to be cheerful. Almost half (48.10%) of the teams that have finished fourth in League Two have gone up through the play-offs. Walsall thumped Port Vale on the final day but still missed out on second place Those in fifth (18.50%), sixth (14.80%) and seventh (18.50%) have not enjoyed anywhere near as much success.However, while the stats do dispel the curse of third, only once, in 2007/08, have all three of the highest-finishing teams enjoyed success in the play-offs, with Hull, Doncaster and Stockport going up.Who will win promotion this year from the play-offs? Watch all the games live on Sky Sports. Also See: FL play-offs: Who, when, where? Weekend ups and downs Middlesbrough win promotion Live on Sky Walker Buehler Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Russell Martin Jersey . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. 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His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. The disappointment of the loss to Houston last week still seems to be lingering a bit with Louisville heading into Saturdays regular-season finale against Kentucky.The No. 11 Cardinals (9-2, 7-1 ACC) and unranked Wildcats (6-5, 4-4 SEC) kick off at noon ET at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium in Louisville with ESPN cameras covering the action.The 36-10 whipping by the Cougars essentially squashed whatever hopes the Cardinals had of garnering one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff. At 11-1, they would have been in the conversation. At 10-2, not so much.We blew it. We had an opportunity sitting there, coach Bobby Petrino said immediately after the game. It was one of those situations where they were better than us tonight. Theres no question about it.Mistakes, which started with the Cardinals fumbling the opening kickoff away to set up Houstons first touchdown, led to their downfall. They lost two other fumbles, were penalized 15 times for 114 yards, allowed a remarkable 11 sacks, and got only one touchdown and a field goal on three trips inside the red zone.When you look at a video when you get beat, you always consider two things, Petrino said. Did we just get beat, or did we beat ourselves?Certainly that game was a combination of the two.But its time to move on, and Petrino thinks the Cardinals have.Our focus is completely on this game, he said, looking to Kentucky. And winning this game and doing everything we need to do be successful in winning this football game. And, like I said, send the seniors out with a win.The Wildcats come into the affair having already reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010 with last weeks 49-13 win over Austin Peay, unlike the last two years when they needed to beat Louisville for a sixth win. Thus they will be playing without that kind of pressure weighing on them.I dont know if it is a relief, Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said, but it is certainly better. I wish we were sittting at seven or eight, but definitely a better situation.ddddddddddddFreshman Benny Snell has rushed for a Kentucky freshman-record 1,006 yards, a good bunch of it by taking direct snaps from the wildcat formation. Junior Boom Williams has amassed 1,072 yards in more conventional fashion.Theyve made a commitment to running the football, Petrino said, We know going into the game were going to need to stop the run, and were going to need to the ball to win the game.So it should be a good matchup.Quarterback Stephen Johnson, a junior college transfer who took over when Drew Barker suffered a season-ending back injury the third game of the season, also has been a big key in the Wildcats turnaround from an 0-2 start.They now have a quarterback that can run the ball and throw the ball deep, Petrino said. And theyre running a lot of the wildcat game. I think the installation of the quarterback has really helped because he has a strong arm and can throw the deep ball.Once you loosen people up, you can run the football.Of course, Louisville has a pretty good runner and passer at quarterback as well. Sophomore Lamar Jackson has rushed for nearly 125 yards a game and passed for another 283. He has scored 19 touchdowns and passed for another 28.He has Stoops respect.What I admire most about Lamar Jackson is you can see his leadership and you can see his toughness, Stoops said. Just watching some of their games when I could get a chance throughout the year, and, of course, on film you dont see as much as on TV, but you could see how strong he is and what type of leader he is.They are good across the board and well-coached across the board, but when they need a play he is there. He will either run or throw it or make a good decision and will his team to wins.You have to have a lot of respect for someone like that. ' ' '