Blackhawks return home to take on Blues

Hockey Betting Lines

02/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back home after their longest road trip of the season, the first-place Chicago Blackhawks will host the St. Louis Blues in tonight's Central Division clash at United Center.

The Blackhawks, who lead the Central and are second in the Western Conference with 78 points, went 5-3-0 during an eight-game swing that ended with Saturday's loss at Carolina.

Chicago is 21-5-1 as the host this year and is playing two straight and four of its next five in the Windy City. The Blackhawks, who have won five of their last six home tilts, are hosting Phoenix on Friday before visiting St. Louis the following day.

The Blackhawks were handed a 4-2 setback by the Hurricanes on Saturday as Brandon Sutter scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period.

Marian Hossa and Andrew Ladd each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Cristobal Huet was less than impressive, allowing all four goals on 24 shots in defeat.

"(Carolina is) playing well -- they have a speedy team," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "They played a quick game. The last two periods (we were outscored); we had the puck and the momentum of the game, but they outscored us."

The Blackhawks could get a big boost tonight with the return of centerman Dave Bolland, who has been sidelined since early November following back surgery. Bolland had 19 goals and 47 points for Chicago last year and is expected to be activated from injured reserve in time for tonight's game.

The Blues, who are 21 points behind Chicago in the Central standings, have lost four of their last six games. St. Louis was able to earn a point its last time out, as it dropped an overtime decision Saturday against visiting Columbus. Kris Russell scored the game-winner 1:32 into overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to the 3-2 decision at Scottrade Center.

David Backes and Andy McDonald had power-play goals for St. Louis, while Chris Mason allowed all three goals on 19 shots.

"We always play tough against Columbus and they play us hard," Mason said. "They've got a lot of talent over there and I think they're underachieving. But obviously it's a game you want to have, just like any other."

On the injury front, the Blues have a handful of players who are questionable for this evening's contest. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and forwards B.J. Crombeen and Alexander Steen are dealing with lower-body issues, while D.J. King is nearing his return from a broken hand that has sidelined him since late October.

The Blues have a solid 15-8-4 record as the guest this year, but they have lost six of their last 10 road games.

Chicago has won both meetings with the Blues so far this year and has taken six of 10 overall in the series. St. Louis has lost five of seven and eight of its last 11 in Chicago.

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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.

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