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<< Smoltz activated from DL, makes season debut
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-handed pitcher John Smoltz was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday in time to make his season and Red Sox debut. It was not a successful one for the 42-year-old, who w

<< McCutchen's hit in ninth lifts Pirates over Tribe
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew McCutchen singled in Jack Wilson with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to boost Pittsburgh over Cleveland, 3-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series. McCutchen, playing in

<< Votto helps Reds down Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and three runs batted in as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5, in the finale of a three-game interleague series at Rogers Centre. Jay Bruce

<< Smoltz struggles in Red Sox debut as Nationals cruise to win
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris and Josh Bard each finished with three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Washington spoiled the Red Sox debut of John Smoltz with a 9-3 thrashing in the finale of a three-game interle

Crowded leaderboard at ATB Financial Classic >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuart Anderson and Tom Stankowski, both former Canadian Tour Championship winners, carded rounds of five-under 67 and shared the lead with two other players Thursday after the first round of the ATB Financi

Nuggets get Lawson from Timberwolves >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets acquired the rights to draft pick Ty Lawson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a future protected first-round selection. Lawson, a point guard from the University of North Carol

Blazers send Rodriguez to Kings in draft day deal >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings consummated a trade on draft night. The Blazers acquired the draft rights of forward Jeff Pendergraph from Sacramento in exchange for guard Sergio Rodriguez and

Heat deal draft pick Thornton to Hornets >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat traded the draft rights of shooting guard Marcus Thornton to the New Orleans Hornets for a pair of future second-round picks. Thornton was taken in the second round, 43rd overall. He helped LSU

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.