Oklahoma cruises past Pitt on way to Elite Eight

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/30/2009 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman Whitney Hand poured in a career- high 22 points to power the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners over the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers, 70-59, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahoma City Regional at the Ford Center.

Hand also collected eight rebounds for Oklahoma (31-4), which will clash with Purdue in the Elite Eight on Tuesday. Ashley Paris had 12 points and 12 boards, and twin sister Courtney Paris added 10 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Shavonte Zellous turned in 18 points to pace the Panthers (25-8), who were ousted in the round of 16 for the second consecutive year.

Hand scored 17 of Oklahoma's first 32 points, helping the Sooners to a 41-32 advantage at the half.

The Sooners used a 20-2 run in the second half to put the game away and they led by as many as 27 before finishing with the 11-point win.

Oklahoma, which last advanced past the round of 16 in 2002, held Pitt to just 31.1 percent shooting from the floor on the night.

Wwwsunsentinel NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Suns' playoff hopes take a hit in loss to lowly Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Thompson was one of seven Kings in double figures, logging 21 points and eight rebounds as Sacramento dealt Phoenix's playoff chances a crushing blow in a 126-118 decision over the Suns. Spen

<< Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million Sony Ericsson Open. Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32n

<< Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in Washing

<< Hornets gain ground, but Spurs clinch playoff spot after Suns lose
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio

<< Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place. Andrew Brunett

Van der Vaart denies Chelsea rumors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands midfield ace Rafael van der Vaart has denied reports suggesting that he is close to agreeing to a move to Chelsea from Real Madrid. The 26-year-old has struggled to make his mark at th

Kroenke increases stake in Arsenal >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American business tycoon Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in Arsenal to just over 20 percent after purchasing further shares from fellow director Danny Fiszman. The Gunners board have acted t

Cannavaro cools Real exit rumors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro has played down reports linking him with a move back to Italy to join AC Milan next summer. The 35-year-old central defender is out of contract at the end of the

Petrov nears return for City >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-term injury absentee Martin Petrov has handed Manchester City a timely boost by returning to training. The 30-year-old Bulgaria international winger has been sidelined by knee ligament damag

Hull City chairman seeks Fabregas apology >>
Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hull City chairman Paul Duffen says he would draw a line under the club's case against Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas if the Gunners midfielder issued an apology. Fabregas is alleged to have spat in the dire

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.