Football Betting

Pirates get Milledge, Hanrahan from Nats in four-player deal

Baseball Betting Lines

06/30/2009 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired outfielder Lastings Milledge and right-handed pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Washington in a four-player deal on Tuesday.

In return, the Pirates gave up outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett.

"In both Hanrahan and Milledge we have acquired players with the upside to be solid to above average major league players," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "Hanrahan had a strong season in his first year as a relief pitcher in 2008 and has the arsenal to pitch in late game situations in a quality Major League bullpen. Milledge was one of the premier prospects in baseball. He is still young enough and has the tools to develop into an above average Major League player."

Milledge began the 2009 season with the Nationals, but was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 14 after hitting only .167 (4-24) in seven games. He broke a finger on his right hand on May 11 while in the minors and was on a rehabilitation assignment with the Gulf Coast League Nationals when the trade took place. Milledge was originally acquired by Washington from the New York Mets for catcher Brian Schneider and Ryan Church in November of 2007.

The flamboyant outfielder, who was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft by the Mets, has yet to live up to expectations. In 260 games, he has a .261 average to go along with 25 homers, 113 runs batted in and 107 runs scored. He is expected to complete his rehab stint before heading to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Hanrahan is 0-3 with five saves and a 7.71 earned run average in 34 relief appearances this season.

Morgan was batting .277 with two home runs, 27 RBI, 39 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 71 games this season. In 157 contests, all with Pittsburgh, he is a .286 hitter with three homers, 41 RBI, 80 runs scored and 34 steals.

Burnett is 1-2 with one save and a 3.06 ERA in 38 relief outings in 2009.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Pirates shipped utilityman Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees for minor league pitcher Casey Erickson, outfielder Eric Fryer and cash considerations.

<< Phillies' Bastardo lands on DL with shoulder strain
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed left-handed pitcher Antonio Bastardo on the 15-day disabled list with a left posterior shoulder stain. Bastardo suffered the injury on June 25 versus the Tampa Bay Ra

<< Buddies bring in Gallacher
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Mirren has completed the signing of experienced goalkeeper Paul Gallacher on a two-year contract from Dunfermline Athletic. The 29-year-old Scotland international has spent the last two seasons

<< Toni rules out Bayern exit
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian striker Luca Toni has pledged his future to Bayern Munich, following rumors of a possible return to his homeland. The 32-year-old faces increased competition for places following the arrivals o

<< Barca offers Eto'o new contract
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Confusion surrounds Manchester City's hopes of signing Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o after the Cameroon international's agent confirmed that the 28-year-old had been offered the chance to extend his stay

<< Wolfsburg coach Veh denies Dzeko rift
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh has played down reports of a bust-up with AC Milan target Edin Dzeko. Dzeko, who has told the Italian media that he is being forced to stay at Wolfsburg against his wish

Sol's Marta wins WPS Player of Week >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles forward Marta was selected Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 14 on Tuesday after scoring three goals to lead the WPS-leading Sol to wins over the Saint Louis Athletica and

Grafite extends Wolves contract >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker Grafite has signed a new one-year contract extension with the Bundesliga champions. The 30-year-old struck up a deadly partnership with Edin Dzeko last term and new coac

New Motherwell boss ready to make changes >>
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Gannon hopes to bring up to six new players to Fir Park after being confirmed as Mark McGhee's successor as manager of Motherwell. The 40-year-old takes on the post just two months after being axed

Habs get Gomez from Blueshirts >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just one day before the start of free agency, the Montreal Canadiens acquired forward Scott Gomez and two other players from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Christopher Higgins and three defense

Devils acquire Walter from Islanders >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils acquired center Ben Walter, and future considerations, from the New York Islanders in exchange for the rights to center Tony Romano on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Walter, who was select

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.