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Hornets return to Ford Center to face ThunderBasketball Betting Lines11/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets return to the Ford Center Friday as they take on the woeful Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hornets played 71 home games at the Ford Center in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina before returning back to the Big Easy. While toiling in Oklahoma City, the Hornets averaged over 18,000 fans per game and the NBA was so impressed by the local faithful that the city rose to the top of the list for a future expansion team or as a possible destination for a relocation. That came to fruition in the offseason as the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma, and the Thunder were born. Things haven't been all peaches and cream on the court for the Thunder, however. Oklahoma City lost its ninth straight contest Wednesday when Chris Kaman led a balanced attack with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Thunder, 108-88, in a battle of the league's two worst teams. With a combined record of 2-19 coming into the contest, the Clippers and Thunder had the two worst winning percentages in the NBA. Kevin Durant had a team-high 18 points for the Thunder, who have now dropped nine straight games since a win over Minnesota. Damien Wilkins scored 17 points, while Russell Westbrook came off the bench to score 10 points and dish out four assists. Meanwhile, the Hornets have been struggling themselves. Sacramento's John Salmons led five Kings in double figures with 29 points and six assists in Sacramento's 105-96 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday. Chris Paul, nursing a balky ankle, logged 20 points and 15 assists, while David West scored 22 points for New Orleans, which has lost three of four. Tyson Chandler posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in defeat. On the injury front for the Hornets, swingman Morris Peterson is expected to miss Friday's game with a sore right knee. The Hornets have won five straight over the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise.
<< Bruins aim to stay hot versus Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The scorching Boston Bruins will aim for their eighth victory in nine games when they welcome the Florida Panthers for tonight's meeting at TD Banknorth Garden. The Bruins are known mainly for their defensive discipline, b
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Lakers welcome Nuggets to Staples Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top dog in the NBA's Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers, welcome the red-hot Denver Nuggets to Staples Center on Friday. The Lakers improved to a gaudy 9-1 on Thursday when Kobe Bryant scored
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Islanders shoot for fourth straight win in test with Devils >>
Storm front: 'Canes try to extend win streak vs. Coyotes >>
Sliding Sabres welcome Flyers to western New York >>
FOOTBALL TRASH TALKNFL Football Trash TalkTrash 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 won’t 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 doesn’t focus only on your opponent’s 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. Where’s 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, don’t 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 won’t be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, I’m 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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