Underwhelming Madrid need special touch
Soccer Betting Lines
09/06/2010 -
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Jose Mourinho left Inter Milan this
summer for the bright lights of the Bernabeu, he took a calculated risk. After
all, Inter had just come off a season where they won both the domestic league
and cup along with the most prestigious competition in all of domestic
football, the Champions League.
Mourinho could have easily soaked up all the glory of being the only manager
to win the Champions League with two different clubs and stay put with a team
that should once again be among the elite in world football.
However, that's never been Mourinho's style. The self-professed "Special One"
was hungry for a new challenge and the quest to erase the disappointment of a
trophy-less season in Madrid last year was just that.
A spending spree in the summer of 2009 brought Real Madrid the likes of Kaka,
Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, but what it didn't bring was success.
Former coach Bernd Schuster was unable to tactically bring the cohesion the
club needed and that resulted in humbling defeats throughout the season.
After the departure of Schuster, Mourinho's influence was felt almost
immediately at Madrid.
Gone were long-time Madrid veterans Raul and Guti and in came young stalwarts
Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Angel Di Maria.
Also making his way into the fold was stalwart defender Ricardo Carvalho, who
won domestic championships under Mourinho at FC Porto and Chelsea.
While Madrid possess a roster filled with talent and potential, many of the
newcomers failed to live up to the lofty expectations.
Karim Benezma found himself a spectator for much of the season after being
usurped by Gonzalo Higuain at forward while Kaka never truly found his form,
causing transfer rumors to surface about his possible departure.
One of the glaring weaknesses of the club is the lacking of a true
instrumental midfielder capable of creating offensive opportunities.
With arch-rivals Barcelona boasting such players as Xavi and Iniesta, they
have found success in breaking down even the toughest of defenses.
In acquiring Mesut Ozil from Werder Bremen, Mourinho hopes he's found a player
that could bring the club's offensive game together and open up space for the
likes of Di Maria and Ronaldo to work their magic on the wings.
A 0-0 draw against Mallorca to open the season was likely not the result
Mourinho was hoping for, but it is indicative of where Real Madrid is at the
current moment, a work in progress.
Now that Lassana Diarra and Ronaldo are down with injuries for the next few
weeks, the new recruits will get the opportunity to prove they are indeed
worthy of putting on the famed Madrid shirt.
The task for the "Special One" will be how to turn a star-studded group of
individuals into that of a team. That indeed might have been the biggest
factor in getting rid of the likes of Raul and Guti, who were seen to have
their share of influence in the Madrid locker room.
Rafael Van Der Vaart became Mourinho's latest victim, having been sent packing
to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on the final day of the
summer transfer market.
Madrid is now indeed Mourinho's team. The brash and arrogant manager has never
been one for failure and no one should expect any less from him at Madrid, no
matter the bumps and bruises early on.
<< Santana scratched from Tuesday start
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets ace Johan Santana will miss
his next scheduled start Tuesday versus Washington with a strained pectoral
muscle.
Santana was forced to leave his last assignment against the Braves Thurs
<< Cardinals to begin critical road trip with clash vs. Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a much-needed series win, the playoff-hopeful
St. Louis Cardinals know they still have a lot of work to do.
St. Louis continues that uphill battle this afternoon with the opener of a
three-game series at Miller
<< Division rivals collide as Mariners visit A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-year lefty Brett Anderson can pitch the Oakland
Athletics a game closer to .500 and keep them an outside contender in the
American League playoff race today, when the team hosts the Seattle Mariners
for the first of th
<< Astros try to remain hot in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recently red-hot lefty Wandy Rodriguez and his similarly
streaking Houston teammates try to make it three straight wins when the Astros
head to Wrigley Field today for the first of three consecutive games with the
host Chicag
<< Latos tries to end Padres 10-game slide in meeting with Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Mat Latos' quick emergence into a frontline pitcher is a
big reason why the San Diego Padres have stood atop the National League West
for the majority of the 2010 campaign. With his team mired in by far their
worst stretch o
Rangers scratch Lee from Tuesday start >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have scratched lefty Cliff
Lee from his scheduled start Tuesday against the Blue Jays because of a
strained muscle in his lower back.
Lee was given an injection to deal with disc
Burke helping turn over new Leaf >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the past 12 months, the Toronto Maple
Leafs have advocated change more than a campaigning politician.
Like a political party during election season, the Leafs are under constant
scrutiny. And whe
Report: Ravens sign WR Houshmandzadeh >>
Culver City, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens added depth to the
wide receiver position by reportedly agreeing to a one-year contract with T.J.
Houshmandzadeh on Monday.
The NFL Network, among others, are reporting the signi
McEnroe to step down as U.S. Davis Cup captain >>
White Plains, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick McEnroe announced that he will
resign as United States Davis Cup captain immediately following the
World Group playoff against Colombia next week.
The U.S. and host Colombia will squ
Montana ascends to No. 1 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The move was only one spot, but it was a
big one for the University of Montana football team as the Grizzlies advanced
to No. 1 in The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 on Monday.
Montana was selected
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.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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