Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)

Basketball Betting Lines

02/17/2007 - Signed guard Marta Fernandez.

Worldcupwagering Basketball Betting News

<< Illini's Jamar Smith out for season; Carlwell out of hospital
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois head coach Bruce Weber announced Friday sophomore center Jamar Smith will miss the remainder of the season after being involved in a traffic accident Monday night. Freshman center Brian Car

<< Several MLB rules changed for 2007
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball announced a number of changes for in-game rules, starting this season. This marks the first time that the rules have been changed since 1996, when the strike zone was redefined.

<< Eger atop crowded leaderboard in Florida
Lutz, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Eger opened with a four-under-par 67 Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Tom Wargo, whose last tour win came in 2000, is alone in second place

<< Bears hit Briggs with franchise tag
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears designated linebacker Lance Briggs as their franchise player on Friday. The designation means that Briggs will be guaranteed a one-year contract for an average of the five highest

<< Almirola surprise winner of Busch pole
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In 2006 Aric Almirola won a pole as a substitute for Denny Hamlin. Hamlin drove the car in the race to a second- place finish. This time the 22-year-old Almirola will get to drive the car from t

Yow-zer: NC State downs No. 2 UNC >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the day that NC State named its basketball court after women's head coach Kay Yow, the Wolfpack rewarded their long-time leader with a 72-65 upset win of second-ranked North Carolina at Reynolds Coliseu

Harrington, Mickelson share lead at Riviera >>
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Padraig Harrington carded a three- under 68 Friday and Phil Mickelson posted a six-under 65 to share the lead near the end of the second round at the Nissan Open. Harrington and Mickelson sta

Ruutu leads Penguins over Devils >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarkko Ruutu scored a pair of goals to guide the Pittsburgh Penguins past the New Jersey Devils, 5-4, at Continental Airlines Arena. Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist while Marc-Andre Fleury c

Norrena, Blue Jackets blank Sharks >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Fredrik Norrena blocked all 29 shots faced for his third shutout, as the Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the San Jose Sharks, 3-0, at Nationwide Arena. Fredrik Modin, Gilbert Brule and Sergei Fedorov

Sprague wins truck opener at Daytona >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Sprague captured the first Craftsman Truck Series event of 2007. The No.60 Toyota crossed the finish line just a few feet ahead of Johnny Benson. The victory was Sprague's first of the season an

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL 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.