07/04/2009 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emilio Bonifacio went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to help the Florida Marlins take a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of a three-game set.
Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run for the Marlins, who have won four of their last five games. Andrew Miller (3-4) got the win as he gave up three runs on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of work.
Garrett Jones and Andy LaRoche each hit a solo home run for the Pirates, who have dropped three of four. Zach Duke (8-7) was tagged with the loss as he gave up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings of work.
The Marlins got on the board in the first inning as Bonifacio reached base on an error by Adam LaRoche and, after Jeremy Hermida struck out, Ramirez launched a pitch over the left field wall for a 2-0 lead.
Florida plated another run in the fourth as back-to-back singles from Dan Uggla and Cody Ross was followed by a double play groundout by Ronny Paulino that plated Uggla for a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates finally got on the board in the fifth inning as Andy LaRoche led off the frame with a blast past the wall in left, his fourth home run of the season.
In the sixth, Pittsburgh made it a one-run game. Andrew McCutchen led off with a single and moved to second on Jack Wilson's sacrifice bunt. Delwyn Young then singled to center to score McCutchen and make it a 3-2 game.
In the sixth, Florida tacked on another run to make it a 4-2 game. Jorge Cantu led off with a double and walks to Ross and Brett Carroll loaded the bases. A wild pitch then allowed Cantu to score.
Pittsburgh again made it a one-run game in the seventh as Jones led off the frame with a shot over the right field wall, but Florida got the run back in the bottom of the inning on a double play groundout by Ramirez that plated Bonifacio.
The Pirates got a two-out double from Young in the eighth, but Renyel Pinto came on in relief and got Adam LaRoche to strike out.
Dan Meyer retired the Pirates in order in the ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
Game Notes
Ramirez has an RBI in 11 of his last 12 games. He had a 10-game RBI streak stopped on Friday when he went 0-for-4...Miller was 0-2 in his previous four starts...Duke is 0-3 in five career starts against the Marlins...Pittsburgh had won five straight against the Marlins coming into the game, including all four games this season.
<< Padres rally past Dodgers; Ramirez homers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera went 2-for-4 with three runs
batted in, as the San Diego Padres used late rallies to down Los Angeles, 7-4,
in the middle installment of a three-game series.
Cabrera, David Eckstein and Adr
<< Punto, Twins edge Tigers
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Punto's RBI single in the eighth
inning helped the Minnesota Twins take a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in
the second of a three-game set at the Metrodome.
Justin Morneau went 4-for-4 wit
<< Williams sisters take doubles title at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The dominating Williams sisters,
Serena and Venus, won the doubles final on Saturday at Wimbledon, just hours
after the sisters faced each other in the single's final.
Serena and Venus needed
<< Moyer, bullpen help Phils take down Mets
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer pitched into the seventh
inning and the Philadelphia bullpen did the rest, helping the Phillies upend
the Mets 4-1 in the second of a three-game series between the NL East rivals.
Moyer
Blue Jays place P Richmond on DL >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays placed pitcher Scott
Richmond on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 1, with a sore
shoulder.
Richmond is 6-5 with a 3.69 earned-run average in 16 games, 13 starts,
Wang leaves game; likely to go on DL >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang left
Saturday's 6-5, 12-inning victory against the Toronto Blue Jays with a
shoulder injury, and an MRI after the game indicated he may be headed to the
disable
D.C., Columbus battle to draw >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and the Columbus Crew battled to a
1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
The game was a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference table,
and afte
Price isn't right for Rays; Rangers score 12 in rout >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andruw Jones' three-run homer in the first
inning set the tone, as Texas went on to dismantle the Rays, 12-4, in the
middle installment of a three-game series.
Jones doubled in another run and Michael
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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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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