Harden, Cubs take series from Nationals

Baseball Betting Lines

08/24/2008 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Harden was excellent on the mound and Kosuke Fukudome had a pinch-hit, two-run homer to lead the Cubs in a rout of the lowly Washington Nationals, 6-1, in the rubber match of a weekend set from Wrigley Field.

Harden (9-2) was touched for just one run on two hits over seven frames. The righty also matched a career-high by fanning 11 batters without issuing a base on balls to get the win.

Mark DeRosa had a solo homer and has now homered in four straight games for the Cubs, who are 10-3 over their 13 contests. Geovany Soto added a two-run shot and Aramis Ramirez drove in the other run for Chicago.

Jason Bergmann (2-10) was saddled with the loss after he gave up four runs on four hits in 6 1/3 frames while striking out six and walking four.

Austin Kearns had a solo homer to account for the lone run for the Nationals, who have dropped 14 of their last 16 games. Washington finished with just four total hits en route to dropping its fifth straight series.

Chicago got on the board in the second inning. DeRosa led the frame off with a homer and Jim Edmonds followed with a walk. Soto kept it going with a two- run blast to left, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

Washington got a run back in the third as Kearns opened the frame with a homer to left.

Mike Fontenot cracked a one-out double in the seventh, which brought Steven Shell in from the bullpen. Pinch-hitter Fukudome then launched his ninth homer of the year to right.

Later in the seventh, Alfonso Soriano reached on a fielding error by Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Theriot put runners on the corners with a base-hit. Ramirez grounded into a force, which scored Soriano for Chicago's sixth run.

Game Notes

Chicago's Derrek Lee sat with upper back spasms. Daryle Ward started at first in his place...Washington owns the worst record in baseball at 46-85...The Nationals are a brutal 23-46 on the road this season. In contrast, the Cubs are a sensational 49-19 at Wrigley.

Worldcupbets Baseball Betting News

<< Ausmus, Erstad homer in extras to lift Houston over Mets
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Ausmus and Darin Erstad each homered in the 10th inning to give Houston a 6-4 win over the New York Mets, in the third installment of a four-game set from Shea Stadium. Ausmus had just one home run c

<< Passport issues force Red Bulls' Rojas to miss match
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Red Bulls attacking midfielder Jorge Rojas missed Sunday's Major League Soccer match vs. the Houston Dynamo because of passport and P-1 visa issues. Rojas traveled to his native Venezuela

<< Lee routs Kittleson for U.S. Amateur crown
Pinehurst, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Lee used a hotter putter to defeat Drew Kittleson, 5 & 4, in the 36-hole final at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Lee poured in 13 birdies over 32 holes of play to become the youngest U.S. Amateu

<< Giants' Umenyiora done for season
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora will miss the entire 2008 season after injuring his left knee in Saturday's 10-7 preseason loss to the New York Jets. Umenyiora had to be

<< Report: Giants' Umenyiora done for season
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora will miss the entire 2008 season after injuring his left knee in Saturday's 10-7 preseason loss to the New York Jets, according to a report in the New

Piercy wins for second time in three weeks >>
Moscow, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Piercy fired a six-under 64 Sunday to come from behind and win the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. Piercy, who won two weeks ago at the Wichita Open, completed his second win on the Nationwide Tour at 13-u

Pujols, Looper lead Red Birds over Bravos >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and three walks, and Braden Looper threw seven solid innings to lead St. Louis to a 6-3 win over Atlanta in the rubber match of a three-game set. Looper (12

D-Backs option Slaten; recall Buckner >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks optioned left-handed pitcher Doug Slaten to Triple-A Tucson on Sunday and recalled right-hander Billy Buckner. Buckner was optioned to Tucson when Slaten was activated from th

Rennes scores twice in injury time to stun Lille >>
Rennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bruno Cheyrou and Moussa Sow scored in injury time, lifting Rennes to a stunning 2-1 victory over Lille on Sunday in France's Ligue 1. Cheyrou tied the match in the 91st minute and Sow scored in the 94th,

Reds' Cueto leaves game >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto left Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies after the third inning because of soreness in his right triceps tendon. The righty will be examined tomorrow in Cinci


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 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.