Best U.S. team ever? If so, expect a third title

Soccer Betting Lines

09/10/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - During a recent press conference, United States players Kate Markgraf and Abby Wambach were asked tough hypothetical questions about this year's World Cup team.

If the United States, ranked No. 1 in the world by FIFA, played the United States' 1999 World Cup championship team, who would win? It was a question posed a few different times.

Markgraf eventually answered, but it wasn't a response anyone expected.

"I think the difference is in the past 10 years I have a ton more wrinkles, my hair is no longer red, white and blue and the piercings are gone," Markgraf joked.

Markgraf avoided directly answering the question, but she made sure to point out this United States team had at least one major edge on the '99 team, the last U.S. team to win the World Cup.

"We're a heck of a lot faster than in '99. I was one of the fastest people in '99 and I'm probably like middle of the depth charts here, and some of that might be because of age but I think it's more because of the personnel," she said.

Another major difference between this U.S. team and any of its predecessors is many of the veterans who helped establish the team as the best in the world are no longer playing.

Mia Hamm, the United States' - and world's - all-time leading scorer? Gone.

Brandi Chastain, famous for pulling her jersey off to celebrate the '99 penalty-kick win over China in the final? You might find her in the crowd.

Twelve of the 21 players on the U.S. roster haven't played in a World Cup before.

"Four years ago you had players that had been on the team forever; more experience playing wise," said U.S. captain Kristine Lilly, who has played on every U.S. World Cup team.

So, that seems to make the answer to the question obvious. How could a team with so many young players possibly be as good as any of the U.S. teams of the past? The U.S. has never finished worst than third in the Cup, also winning in 1991.

Facing the toughest group in the tournament, which includes third-ranked Sweden and fifth-ranked North Korea, just advancing is a daunting challenge - even for the top-ranked team in the world.

"I say, 'Bring it on,'" Lilly said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Let's take the challenge and go out and prove to the rest of the world that we can get this done against the worst odds they could possibly throw at us." U.S. coach Greg Ryan said.

Another thing this U.S. team isn't lacking is confidence, something it needs in a World Cup Ryan believes features the most talent ever.

"I do think it's a great World Cup, and every four years, the teams become more and more talented," Ryan said. "So I can say that without a doubt that the best teams and the best players ever will be in this World Cup."

That includes the United States.

So, back to that question. Really, who would win?

Markgraf might not have answered, but Wambach did.

"I do think," Wambach said, "this team beats the '99 World Cup team."

If so, this might be the best U.S. team ever. To earn that label, the United States has to win the World Cup.

The first step of the journey is Tuesday morning against North Korea. The tournament opens Monday with Germany playing Argentina, and ends Sept. 30.

Following are predictions for the entire World Cup, starting with the group stage (two teams advance from each group):

GROUP A

1, Germany - Defending World Cup champions, led by three-time world player of the Year Birgit Prinz, will have no trouble winning this group. ... 2, England - Back in Cup for the first time since 1995, when it advanced to quarterfinals. ... 3, Japan - Has qualified for every World Cup, but barely made this year's field and has only advanced out of the group stage once. ... 4, Argentina upset Brazil for the South American championship, but it's not ready to compete on the world stage.

GROUP B

1, United States - Team is 31-0-6 in last two years with its lone blemish a penalty-kick loss to Germany, which counts as a tie in the record books. ... 2, Sweden - Runners-up in 2003 will escape from brutal group to make another run at the title. ... 3, North Korea - The best team in the tournament that won't play in the quarterfinals; but if they get there, watch out. ... 4, Nigeria - Playing in its fifth World Cup, but overmatched in this group.

GROUP C

1, Canada - Overshadowed by the Americans, Canada quietly made a run to the 2003 semifinals. Don't be surprised if it makes it that far again. ... 2, Norway - Highest-ranked team in group at fourth in the world, 1995 champions have advanced out of the group stage in previous four Cups. ... 3, Australia - Has never won a World Cup game, going 0-7-2 in last three tournaments. ... 4, Ghana - Black Queens are improving and could surprise in their third straight Cup.

GROUP D

1, China - By its standards, China has struggled in recent years but will be tough to beat on home soil. ... 2, Brazil - Led by 2006 world player of the year Marta, who had three goals in the 2003 Cup when she was just 17. ... 3, Denmark (6) ... Runners-up in the '07 Algarve Cup to the United States, Denmark has to prove itself again on the world stage after missing last World Cup. ... 4, New Zealand ... Possibly the worst team in the tournament, New Zealand was outscored 20-1 in seven recent friendlies.

QUARTERFINALS

Sweden over Germany - Rematch of 2003 final, which Germany won in golden goal overtime, goes Sweden's way this time. ... Canada over Brazil - Canadian striker Christine Sinclair steals the spotlight from Marta. ... United States over England - Most lopsided quarterfinal a nice break following brutal group stage for United States. ... China over Norway - Chinese continue to ride wave of emotion from playing at home.

SEMIFINALS

Sweden over Canada - Rematch of 2003 semifinal, but Canada again falls short of reaching first final. ... United States over China - Teams relive 1999 final (see Brandi Chastain above) as the United States wins on penalty kicks.

THIRD-PLACE MATCH

China over Canada - China adds third-place finish to previous second-, fourth- and fifth-place efforts as Canada settles for fourth for second straight Cup.

FINAL

United States over Sweden - If this United States team is better than the '99 version, it shouldn't have trouble finishing off a title run. For Sweden, at least this time it won't have to wait until overtime to come up short of its goal.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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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.