Becker, Haase win Ordina openers

Tennis Betting Lines

06/17/2007 - 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany's Benjamin Becker and Robin Haase the Netherlands were first-round winners Sunday at the Ordina Open.

Becker polished off Belgium's Olivier Rochus, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), while Haase rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over France's Florent Serra.

The top seeds for the Wimbledon tuneup are Tommy Robredo of Spain and Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic.

Roolingstone Tennis Betting News

<< Donnelly placed on DL
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed relief pitcher Brendan Donnelly on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 11, with a right forearm muscle strain. The right-hander has made 27 relief appearances th

<< Phillies place Rosario on 15-day DL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-handed reliever Francisco Rosario on the 15-day disabled list with an undisclosed injury Sunday. The 26-year-old Rosario is 0-3 with a 6.64 earned run a

<< Chakvetadze rallies to win Ordina opener
's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russia's Anna Chakvetadze rallied for a three-set triumph on the first day of play at the Ordina Open. The third-seeded Chakvetadze posted a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Victoria Azaren

<< Suneson gets first European Tour win
Lumbres, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Suneson earned his first European Tour victory on Sunday when he captured the Open de Saint Omer. Suneson walked into the final round with a one-shot lead and his two-under-par 69 on Sunday was good en

<< Roddick is again King of Queens
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Andy Roddick saved a match point and rallied for a three-set victory over unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to capture the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club. The second-seeded Roddick ea

Twins' Hunter leaves with hand injury >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter left Sunday's contest against the Milwaukee Brewers after being hit by a pitch on his left hand. In the first inning, Milwaukee starting pitcher Jeff Suppan thr

Jankovic outlasts Sharapova to capture Birmingham crown >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jelena Jankovic of Serbia rallied to beat Russia's Maria Sharapova in Sunday's final at the weather-plagued DFS Classic. The rain finally held off Sunday and allowed play at this Wimbledon tuneup to fi

Reds' Phillips injures hand >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips left Sunday's game against Texas with an injured hand. Phillips was hit on the left hand by a pitch from Texas starter Kevin Millwood in the bottom of

Zimmerman, Nationals down Blue Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman homered to help the Washington Nationals avoid the sweep by edging the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2, at Rogers Centre. Frank Thomas made some history in defeat, hitting his 244th home run a

Toronto hammers Hoops >>
Toronto, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC scored a franchise-high four goals en route to a 4-0 win over FC Dallas at BMO Field on Sunday. Maurice Edu, Danny Dichio, Carl Robinson and Jeff Cunningham each found the back of the ne

FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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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.