Blanc suspends French World Cup squad

Soccer Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New France manager Laurent Blanc has decided to suspend the entire 23-man team that took part in this summer's World Cup for their friendly match against Norway next month.

Under the direction of former boss Raymond Domenech, France scored only one goal and earned just a single point from its three group stage matches as Les Bleus finished on the bottom of Group A.

Making matters even worse for France was the fact that the squad refused to train prior to their final match against South Africa in protest of striker Nicolas Anelka being sent home by Domenech after the two exchanged words.

A statement on the French Football Federation website read: "Laurent Blanc met this Friday, July 23, with the federal council, to whom he presented his staff and his sporting project. He also proposed to the federal council, who accepted, not to retain for the friendly against Norway, on Wednesday, August 11 in Oslo, any of the 23 players officially selected by the French Football Federation for the World Cup in South Africa. Laurent Blanc will release the list of players retained for this match against Norway on Thursday August 5."

Wwnytimes Soccer Betting News

<< New England Patriots 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATES: July 25th (Rookies), July 28th (Veterans) SITE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA CAMP OBJECTIVES: Apart from Randy Moss, the men Tom Brady will be throwing to on Week 1 are unknown. Wes Welker is unlikely t

<< Cincinnati Bengals 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 28th SITE: Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY CAMP OBJECTIVES: After making the playoffs with what was primarily a ground- control offense last season, the Bengals made a number of moves in the offs

<< Buffalo Bills 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, NY CAMP OBJECTIVES: Chan Gailey, the only new head coach in the AFC in 2010, has some work cut out for him in his first training camp with the Bills. Fi

<< Denver Broncos 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 26th (rookies), July 31st (veterans) SITE: Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre, Englewood, CO CAMP OBJECTIVES: It's going to be a messy summer at the glamour positions for the Broncos. Kyle Orton

<< Cleveland Browns 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 23rd (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans) SITE: Cleveland Browns Training Facility, Berea, OH CAMP OBJECTIVES: Eric Mangini's second training camp as head coach of the Browns should go much more smoothly

Browns make it official with McCoy >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract. Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed, but the Cleveland Plai

Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon >>
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla

Cavaliers sign 2009 first rounder Eyenga >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Christian Eyenga. Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced. The 21-year-old Eyenga was the Cavs' first-round choice and the 30th o

Bacsinszky, Meusburger advance in Bad Gastein >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland and Austrian veteran Yvonne Meusburger were among the quarterfinal winners Friday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament. Bacsinszky, the highest-rem

Choi takes 1-shot lead in Sweden >>
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi took the lead Friday at the Scandinavian Masters with a five-under 67 in the second round. Choi finished 36 holes on the Stadium Course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club with a nine-under 135, movi

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.