NBA's best meets worst as Cavs host Nets
Basketball Betting Lines
02/09/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The teams with the best and worst records in the NBA this
season will go head-to-head at Quicken Loans Arena tonight, where the
powerhouse Cleveland Cavaliers put an 11-game win streak on the line against
the downtrodden New Jersey Nets.
Cleveland's current surge, tied with Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers for the
longest string of consecutive wins in the league in 2009-10, has given the
championship hopefuls a 41-11 record for the season and a comfortable six-game
advantage over Southeast Division leader Orlando for the top spot in the
Eastern Conference. The Cavs have a 1 1/2-game edge on the Lakers for the best
mark in the NBA.
The Cavaliers kept up their winning ways with Saturday's 113-106 home verdict
over the New York Knicks, with LeBron James once again leading the way. The
reigning league MVP established a franchise-best with 35 first-half points to
help Cleveland build a commanding 74-54 lead at intermission, and finished
with 47 along with eight rebounds and eight assists.
"I was able to shoot the ball extremely well, but still get my teammates
involved," said James, who was named the Eastern Conference's Player of the
Week on Monday. "When I'm on fire, I can go for a lot of points, but getting
my teammates involved is good for us in the long run."
Shaquille O'Neal chipped in 19 points and Anthony Parker scored 11 for the
Cavaliers, who continue to win despite injuries to two key members in Mo
Williams and Delonte West.
West, who missed the last eight games due to a broken ring finger, did
practice without incident on Monday and could be back in the lineup for
tonight's matchup. Williams, who's second to James among Cleveland players in
scoring (16.9 ppg) and assists (5.1 apg), hasn't played since January 19
because of a sprained left shoulder and is sidelined indefinitely.
The Cavs will be shooting for a 10th straight home victory tonight and are an
NBA-best 22-3 at Quicken Loans Arena this season. In contrast, New Jersey is a
woeful 1-26 on the road and has dropped 14 in a row since its lone triumph as
the visitor, a 103-101 decision over Chicago on December 8.
The 4-46 Nets have also lost six straight games overall and 17 of its last 18
contests following Saturday's 99-92 defeat at Detroit. The team's latest loss
was further marred by an injury to top player Devin Harris, who had to be
helped off the court after colliding with teammate Jarvis Hayes in the game's
final minute.
Harris, who put up a team-best 21 points and seven assists in the loss, was
diagnosed with a sprained left shoulder and will be a game-time decision this
evening. The 26-year-old missed nearly two weeks with a similar ailment last
season.
This is my third sprained AC joint, so I just know how to brace it to make it
feel better," Harris said after the game. "It's not as bad as the one I had
last year."
Hayes bruised his left shin as a result of the incident and is expected to
play tonight.
The Nets will be attempting to stop a stretch of six straight losses to the
Cavaliers, with three of those defeats having taken place in Cleveland. The
Cavs topped New Jersey by a 99-89 score at Quicken Loans Arena back on
December 15.
<< Pacers, Bulls clash at Conseco Fieldhouse
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Chicago Bulls squad that's struggled on the road for much
of this season will try to turn around its historic lack of success at
Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse in tonight's Central Division clash with the
Indiana Pacers.
<< Vols and 'Dores duke it out in pivotal SEC clash
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will
take on the 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores this evening with an SEC battle
and state bragging rights on the line.
Tennessee has won its last three games to move to
<< Ranked foes meet in Big Ten battle
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans
will try to keep their slim hold on the top spot in the Big Ten tonight, as
they host the sixth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena.
After opening their Big T
<< Illini and Badgers square off in Big Ten brawl
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini carry a four-game
win streak into tonight's Big Ten Conference battle with the 11th-ranked
Wisconsin Badgers, who are tough to beat in Madison.
Illinois has quietly gotten itself in
<< Alabama visits Kentucky in SEC action
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide invade Rupp Arena
this evening for an SEC clash with the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Alabama is a respectable 13-10 overall, but that record is overshadowed by a
3-6 mark versus l
Sixers shoot for season-high 5th straight win vs. Wolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Minnesota and Philadelphia got together the
Sixers blew a 20-point lead en route to an overtime loss. The 76ers will try
to maintain any sort of advantage tonight, when they try to extend their
season high winni
Skidding Heat host Rockets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat hope a return to south
Florida will cure their recent woes, as they try to halt a five-game losing
streak Tuesday versus the Houston Rockets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Miami has fallen into a
Kings hope to snap long road losing streak in MSG vs. Knicks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wins have been hard to come by lately for the Sacramento
Kings, who will try to put the brakes on a six-game losing streak Tuesday
night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Kings opened a three-game e
Thunder close out trip in Portland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to finish off a three-game
road trip in perfect fashion on Tuesday when they meet a Portland Trail
Blazers club minus All-Star Brandon Roy at the Rose Garden.
The Thunder improved t
Wizards return to hardwood in Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards return to the court after a slightly
longer break than anticipated in tonight's clash with the Charlotte Bobcats
from Time Warner Cable Arena.
Washington has not played since posting an impres
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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.
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