Whoustonrockets Basketball Betting News

<< Thompson joined by Chappell in Cox Classic lead
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson carded a six-under 65 Friday to remain tied for the lead after 36 holes of the Cox Classic. Thompson, who shared the first-round lead with Steven Bowditch, finished two rounds at 14-under-pa

<< Habs sign last year's top pick Leblanc
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Louis Leblanc, their first round draft choice in 2009, to a three-year contract. Leblanc was the 18th overall choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The

<< Detroit P Galarraga leaves game
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers starter Armando Galarraga left Friday's game with the Boston Red Sox due to an apparent right ankle injury. Galarraga was struck by a line drive off the bat of Boston's Kevin Youkilis with two o

<< Blackhawks ink former first-rounder Leddy
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks on Friday signed defenseman Nick Leddy to a three-year contract. Leddy came over from Minnesota on February 12 in the trade that sent Cam Barker to the Wild. He was taken 16

Bautista continues grand season, lifts Jays over Tribe >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista's grand slam and league-leading 31st home run highlighted a six-run fourth, as the Toronto Blue Jays won their fourth straight with an 8-1 rout of the struggling Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre.

Bradford inks record deal with Rams >>
Earth City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams quarterback and 2010 top overall draft choice Sam Bradford has reportedly agreed to a six-year deal that is worth a record $50 million in guarantees. According to the St. Louis Post-

Stammen strong, so are Nats' bats as Oswalt's Philly debut a dud >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Willingham and Roger Bernadina both stroked a two-run double to back a solid outing by Craig Stammen, as Washington cooled off the surging Phillies, 8-1, and, in doing so, spoiled Roy Oswalt'

Happ's Houston debut a gem as Astros down punchless Brewers >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings in his Houston debut, as the Astros handled the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0, in the opener of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. Happ (2-0) and minor leaguers Jonatha

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.