Blazers sign G Matthews to offer sheet

Basketball Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have signed restricted free agent guard Wesley Matthews to an offer sheet.

Financial details were not disclosed, but a report in the Oregonian places the pact at five years and $34 million. Matthews was relied on to start as a rookie last season for the Jazz, averaging 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.7 minutes per game. He played in all 82 games, making 48 starts.

Matthews was an undrafted rookie out of Marquette, but proved himself further by posting 13.2 points, 4.4 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.8 steals in starting all 10 of Utah's playoff games in 2009-10.

He averaged 37.1 minutes over the stretch and added 15 three-pointers. During the regular season, the 23-year-old connected on 63 three-point attempts, shooting 38.2 percent from long distance.

Utah has seven days to match the Blazers' reported offer.

Wrldwidegamble Basketball Betting News

<< Dillon wins record third straight truck pole at Iowa
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Dillon became the first rookie driver in the Camping World Truck Series to claim three consecutive poles after winning Saturday's qualifying for the Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway. Dillon, the 20-year-

<< Garza strong as Rays blank Tribe
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Garza pitched six shutout innings, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Cleveland Indians in the third of four games at Tropicana Field. Garza (10-5) yielded just one hit and one w

<< Braun and Fielder team up to down Pirates, again
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder hit back-to- back home runs to support 6 1/3 strong innings from Dave Bush, as the Brewers held on to defeat Pittsburgh, 4-3, in the middle test of a three-game series from Mi

<< New England makes a statement, tops L.A. 2-0
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heading into Saturday night's Major League Soccer fixture, the New England Revolution had lost three straight without even scoring a goal, while winning just one fixture in their last 10. The latest se

<< United, Red Bulls battle to scoreless draw
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York and D.C. United battled to a scoreless draw in Major League Soccer action at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The draw, New York's second straight, extends the club's unbeaten run to fi

Ruiz breaks up perfect game, scores winner in 11th for Phillies >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz broke up Travis Wood's bid for perfection with a leadoff double in the ninth inning and scored the winning run on Jimmy Rollins' single in the bottom of the 11th, as the Phi

Posey stays hot, keys late rally for Giants >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buster Posey singled in the go-ahead run during a rally in the seventh inning and added a two-run homer in the ninth, as the Giants upended the Washington Nationals, 10-5, to win for the fifth time in

Tillman shines as Orioles top Lee in Rangers' debut >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Tillman overshadowed the much- anticipated Rangers debut of Cliff Lee with 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball, and the Baltimore Orioles recorded their first road series win of 2010 with a 6-1 victory

Rockies surge to sixth straight win >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez and Melvin Mora belted home runs in support of Jason Hammel's 6 1/3 sturdy innings in Colorado's 4-2 win over San Diego in the middle test of a three-game series. Brad Eldred added a hom

Braun leads Chivas USA to road win against K.C. >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Braun scored two goals in the second half as Chivas USA defeated the Kansas City Wizards, 2-0, on Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark for its first MLS victory in more than two months. Braun

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.