Nats lose starter, win game

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09/06/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Kearns homered and scored three times to help compensate for the loss of Washington's pitcher, as the Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Florida Marlins with a 6-4 win at RFK Stadium.

Tim Redding left in the third with an elbow injury but the offense and bullpen picked it up for the Nationals, who have won five in a row.

With a runner on second and one down, Miguel Cabrera hit a sharp grounder up the middle that caromed off Redding's right elbow. Redding then chased down the ball that had ricocheted behind him, and landed hard on the same arm while trying to field it. He was diagnosed with a right lateral elbow contusion, which is expected to keep him out for seven-to-10 days.

Jonathan Albaladejo made his major-league debut in relief of Redding and tossed 1 2/3 hitless frames, while Luis Ayala (1-2) picked up the win after working a flawless seventh. Chad Cordero took care of the ninth for his 31st save of the campaign.

Brian Schneider had two RBI for Washington.

Miguel Olivo hit a two-run homer for Florida, which has dropped nine of 12. Starter Sergio Mitre was roughed up for three runs on four hits over just two-thirds of an inning, and Matt Lindstrom (2-4) took the loss.

Washington plated a pair in the seventh to move in front, 6-4. All of the offense came with two outs, starting with a Kearns single and a walk to Ryan Church. Wily Mo Pena put his team in front for good with a base hit to center, and Schneider added an RBI base hit of his own off the newly-inserted Taylor Tankersley for a two-run cushion.

Jon Rauch struck out the side in the eighth before Cordero escaped some two- out trouble in the ninth.

The Nationals put up a three-spot in the first inning to claim early command. A Kearns single with one out loaded the bases, and Church came through with a base hit to center that scored Felipe Lopez. After Pena struck out, Mitre walked Schneider and Robert Fick in succession to push two more runs across.

Florida countered with a pair of runs in the third to slice its deficit to one. Jeremy Hermida doubled in Dan Uggla before Redding was forced to leave the game. Albaladejo entered with runners on first and third and got Josh Willingham to hit into a fielder's choice, but it scored Hermida to make it 3-2.

Kearns put the Nats back up by two with a solo homer to left in the fifth.

Olivo tied the contest at 4-4 with a two-run homer in the sixth. Willingham led the frame off with a double, and was driven in two batters later when Olivo lifted one over the wall in left.

Game Notes

Mitre is winless in his last seven trips to the hill...The Nationals lead the 2007 season series with Florida by a 9-6 count...The two teams combined to strand 15 runners.

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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.

FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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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, online football betting 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."

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