Report: Pistons agree to deals with Gordon, Villanueva
Basketball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 -
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons have reportedly agreed to
deals with guard Ben Gordon and forward Charlie Villanueva.
While any deal cannot be formalized until July 8, the Detroit Free Press
reported Wednesday that Villanueva will sign a five-year contract worth $35
million and Gordon's contract is believed to be for five years and $55
million.
Both players were first-round selections out of UConn -- Gordon in 2004 (third
overall) by the Bulls, and Villanueva in 2005 (seventh) by the Raptors.
Gordon has spent each of his first five NBA seasons with Chicago, and in 398
career games averaged 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He has a .437
shooting percentage overall and .415 percentage from three-point range.
Gordon, 26, additionally has averaged 20.2 points in 29 career playoff
contests.
Villanueva, meanwhile, spent his rookie season with Toronto before going to
Milwaukee in a trade. In 274 career games over four seasons, the 24-year-old
Villanueva has averaged 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds.
<< Wild add D Zanon
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild agreed to terms with
defenseman Greg Zanon on a three-year contract Wednesday.
Financial terms were not released, but NHL.com reports the total value of the
contract is $5.8 million.
<< Blue Jackets add Pahlsson
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets signed free agent
center Samuel Pahlsson to a three-year contract Wednesday.
Terms were not disclosed, but NHL.com reports the deal is worth a total of
$7.95 million.
"Sami
<< Thrashers acquire Kubina, Stapleton from Toronto
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers acquired defenseman
Pavel Kubina and forward Tim Stapleton from the Toronto Maple Leafs for
defenseman Garnet Exelby and forward Colin Stuart on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Kub
<< Flyers sign Boucher, Laperriere
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers brought a familiar
face back into the fold Wednesday, as they signed goaltender Brian Boucher to
a two-year deal. The club also inked veteran forward Ian Laperriere to a
three-y
<< Torrealba reinstated after kidnapping incident
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies reinstated catcher
Yorvit Torrealba from the restricted list following a kidnapping incident with
a pair of his relatives in Venezuela.
Torrealba had been sidelined since June 2
Columbus signs G Garon >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed
goaltender Mathieu Garon to a two-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but TSN Canada reports the deal is worth a
total of $2.4 million.
"One of
Coyotes ink G LaBarbera to two-year deal >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have signed goaltender
Jason LaBarbera to a two-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
LaBarbera, 29, split last season between
Rangers give long-term deal to Gaborik >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers made a big splash on the
first day of free agency, inking free agent forward Marian Gaborik to a five-
year contract.
TSN Canada is reporting the deal is worth $7.5 million yearly.
Ga
Flames sign Sjostrom >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Fredrik
Sjostrom, the club announced on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Sjostrom, who was an original first round pick (11th overall) of the P
Canadiens sign Gionta, Gill >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward
Brian Gionta to a five-year contract and defenseman Hal Gill to a two-year
deal, the team announced Wednesday.
Financial terms of both deals were not release
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
NFL Betting Lines
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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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