O'Neill thinks Milner could replace Beckham

Soccer Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill thinks James Milner may be the ideal candidate to play on the right side of England's midfield at the World Cup finals in South Africa this summer.

The 24-year-old has often played in a more central role for Villa this season, but O'Neill is confident that Milner could fill the gap left by an injury to veteran David Beckham.

"James can play out there and probably that has been lost a bit since he moved into the middle," O'Neill said. "But he is an all-purpose player and, at this stage, James would have as good a chance as anyone of being on the plane outside of those absolutely nailed on to go to the World Cup.

"If he had to start on the right, he wouldn't let England down. Not at all, no problem."

Beckham tore his Achilles tendon Sunday while playing for AC Milan, and had to undergo surgery Monday that will sideline him for at least six months.

Meanwhile, O'Neill has urged both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to keep pushing to earn a place on the plane to South Africa, adding: "I would think Stewart and Ashley shouldn't give up.

"They should continue to perform for Villa which is the only way they can get noticed and hope that is enough."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

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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.