Bulls welcome Pistons to Windy City

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls will play their first home game in nearly three weeks when the rival Detroit Pistons enter the United Center tonight for a Central Division showdown.

Chicago returns to the Windy City after a moderately successful seven-game road trip. The Bulls went 4-3 on the swing, but ended the trek with a tough overtime loss to Dallas on Saturday.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 of his 44 points in the extra session to lift the Mavericks to a 115-114 decision, with the superstar forward sinking four crucial free throws in the final 15 seconds.

Ben Gordon led six Chicago players in double figures with 28 points, with Tyrus Thomas amassing 23 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause and rookie Derrick Rose contributing 22 points for the Bulls.

Chicago, which also hosts Miami on Thursday in this brief two-game homestand, is 13-10 at the United Center this season and has dropped its last three home tests.

The Pistons have had their share of troubles in Chicago in recent years, however. Detroit has lost four straight games at the United Center, although the team had won 12 in a row as the visitor in this series prior to that skid.

Detroit has also dropped five of its last eight overall matchups and was dealt a 107-97 defeat at home by Phoenix on Sunday. Richard Hamilton and Allen Iverson netted 27 and 25 points, respectively, for the Pistons, who were coming off an overtime triumph at Milwaukee the night before. Rasheed Wallace finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pistons have won their last three road games and are 13-10 as the visiting team this season.

In the lone meeting between these divisional foes on December 23 this season, Detroit posted a 104-98 win over the Bulls in the Motor City behind a career- high 40 points from Rodney Stuckey.

Stuckey had only eight points in Sunday's loss to Phoenix, however, and has been held to single digits in three of Detroit's lost four games.

Hocey Basketball Betting News

<< Hawks, Wizards square off in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks haven't been playing so hot lately and will try to close out a quick two-game homestand on a winning note Tuesday night versus the lowly Washington Wizards at Philips Arena. Since winning three straight g

<< Nuggets resume road trip in South Beach vs. Heat
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets hit a bump on their eight-game road trip and will try to steer back on the right path Tuesday evening against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. Denver had a four-game w

<< Cavs hope to bounce back from first home loss in Indy vs. Pacers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams on opposite sides of the Central Division spectrum get together this evening, as the Cleveland Cavaliers pay a visit to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Central-leading Cavs are coming off their firs

<< Cavs and 'Noles square off in ACC tussle
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in less than three weeks, the Virginia Cavaliers and the Florida State Seminoles will meet in an ACC tilt, this time in Tallahassee. On January 24th, Florida State beat Virginia in Charl

<< State bragging rights on line, as Spartans visit Wolverines
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State and Big Ten rivals will collide in Ann Arbor tonight as the Michigan Wolverines attempt to upset the ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State owns a stellar 19-4 record this season, includin

Raptors, Wolves square off at Target Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors haven't won much at all as of late, but they've posted plenty of victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves over the past few years. The Raptors will shoot for their ninth straight triumph over the T

Stars find Avery a home in Hartford; next stop Broadway? >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars have assigned outspoken left wing Sean Avery to Hartford of the American Hockey League. Hartford is the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, who have expressed an interest in bringing Av

United brings back former MLS MVP in blockbuster trade with Rapids >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United acquired midfielder Christian Gomez, goalkeeper Mike Graczyk, an international roster spot and salary cap considerations from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for midfielder/defender Ivan G

Coyotes recall Tikhonov, reassign Schlemko >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes recalled left winger Viktor Tikhonov from their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. In addition, defenseman David Schlemko has been re-assigned to the Rampage

Bruins' Ryder to miss 2-3 weeks after facial surgery >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Bruins right wing Michael Ryder will miss the next two to three weeks after undergoing successful facial surgery. Ryder suffered multiple fractures of the frontal sinus when he took a high stick to th

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.