Wildcats and Bulldogs square off for SEC crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The championship game of the SEC Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the top-seeded teams from the league's East and West Divisions, respectively.

Mississippi State is the defending champion of this event, as it defeated Tennessee by a 64-61 final in the 2009 title game, and the program has three titles to its credit. The Bulldogs, who are 23-10 overall, opened play at this event with a 75-69 decision over Florida in Friday's semifinal round. Yesterday, the Bulldogs knocked off Vanderbilt by a 62-52 final.

As for the Wildcats, they have won this event 25 times and own a 113-22 record in SEC Tournament games. Still, they haven't cut down the nets since 2004 and haven't reached the title game since 2005. Kentucky barely got by Alabama in the quarterfinals, but the team was impressive in a 74-45 romp over nationally-ranked Tennessee on Saturday. The Wildcats are 31-2 overall and figure to be a number one seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament regardless of today's outcome.

Kentucky beat Mississippi State by an 81-75 final in overtime during the regular season, and the Wildcats own an 85-20 mark in the all-time series between the teams.

The man to watch for Mississippi State is forward/center Jarvis Varnado, the three-time defending SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Not only does Varnado lead the Bulldogs with 13.4 ppg on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor, he is also ripping down 10.4 rpg to go along with 158 blocks. Ravern Johnson is close behind offensively with 13.3 ppg, and Dee Bost provides 12.7 ppg and 173 assists. Barry Stewart is the program's all-time leader in three-pointers made and he is posting 11.8 ppg. MSU is generating 72.5 ppg, while surrendering 64.2 ppg on 38.4 percent shooting. The Bulldogs played tremendous defense against Vanderbilt yesterday, as they limited the Commodores to 34.6 percent shooting from the field. MSU committed just nine turnovers and got 14 points and eight rebounds. Varnado, Bost and Phil Turner all added 11 points in the triumph.

Like Mississippi State, Kentucky has four double-digit scorers in the fold, three of which are freshman. Star rookie John Wall was recently named the SEC Player of the Year, and he is netting 16.9 ppg to go along with 6.3 apg. DeMarcus Cousins, the SEC Freshman of the Year, provides 15.5 ppg and 10.2 rpg, and he is tops on the roster with 60 blocks. Veteran Patrick Patterson checks in with 14.7 ppg and 7.4 rpg, while Eric Bledsoe is scoring 10.6 ppg. The Wildcats are generating 79.4 ppg, while permitting just 65.0 ppg to opponents on 38 percent shooting. Kentucky is outrebounding opponents by 8.3 rpg, key to the success. In the 29-point win over Tennessee yesterday, the Wildcats played tremendously at the defensive end, limiting the Vols to 30.9 percent shooting, including 2-of-15 from three-point range. Kentucky, which earned a 44-29 rebounding advantage, shot 52.1 percent from the floor and was led by a 19-point, 15-rebound effort from Cousins.

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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.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.