Football Betting

Buckeye! All 3 Rams linebackers went to Ohio State

Football Betting Lines

09/10/2010 -

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Before they've made a single tackle, the St. Louis Rams' starting linebackers have some notoriety. James Laurinaitis, Na'il Diggs and Larry Grant all played at Ohio State.

``It's funny how all the stars kind of align,'' Laurinaitis said. ``Crazy how it happens.''

Crazy how they get their first test as a unit against a fellow Buckeye, too. Running back Beanie Wells of the Arizona Cardinals was a first-round pick last year, taken one round ahead of Laurinaitis.

Laurinaitis got his first chance at tackling the 235-pound Wells in a different uniform last year. The middle linebacker recalls taking as much of a neighborly pounding as he dealt in a pair of Cardinals' NFC West victories.

Wells scored a touchdown in both games and totaled 142 yards rushing. A larger role in the offense has been predicted for Wells, although he has missed two days of practice with a knee injury this week.

``Gosh, I remember last year was probably one of the most sore I've been after a game,'' Laurinaitis said. ``He's a big guy and he runs hard. He's explosive.''

The odds are long, certainly, that of the seven former Buckeye linebackers in the NFL, so many landed in the same spot. Diggs signed a free-agent deal in the offseason, counted on to bring a veteran presence to a developing unit, and Grant was picked up after getting released by the 49ers.

It could have been even crazier. A fourth Ohio State linebacker, Bobby Carpenter, was among the final roster cuts last week after Grant beat him out for an outside spot.

Carpenter quickly resurfaced with the Dolphins, keeping Ohio State tied with Penn State at seven NFL linebackers apiece.

Penn State's representation is no surprise. The school has long been known as Linebacker U and Rams backup Josh Hull is among its alumnus.

Ohio State has a rich history at that position, too. A.J. Hawk (Packers) and Mike Vrabel (Patriots) are currently in the NFL, and blasts from the past include Randy Gradishar and Chris Spielman.

That lineage helped Laurinaitis make his college decision.

``All it takes is a couple of guys to be successful and you're like `Wow, I want to be like that guy,''' Laurinaitis said. ``I remember when I was in high school and A.J. Hawk was just a beast. That just kind of gets the ball rolling.''

Laurinaitis and Grant played together in college and all three played under defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, even though Diggs is in his 11th season and is nine years older than Laurinaitis.

``Diggs was centuries before us, but there's obviously camaraderie, there's obviously a brotherhood,'' Laurinaitis said. ``You know what each other went through in college.''

Laurinaitis had a team-leading 144 tackles last year, most by a rookie in franchise history, and started all 16 games. He's already considered one of the team leaders.

``He's really grown,'' defensive coordinator Ken Flajole said. ``Now he's telling us before we tell him. Smart kid.''

Entering his second season, Laurinaitis said he's ``way more comfortable.''

``When I'm going into Seattle last year for the opener, I was wide-eyed running on the field,'' Laurinaitis said. ``This year I have way more confidence what my job is, getting guys lined up, making adjustments.''

The Rams acquired Carpenter from the Cowboys for offensive tackle Alex Barron in a swap of former No. 1 picks. Grant, a backup with St. Louis last year, emerged after showing off his big play capability throughout the preseason.

The 32-year-old Diggs has made 127 career starts. He led the Packers in tackles three consecutive years, 2002-04, and was with Flajole with the Panthers before signing a free agent deal with the Rams.

``Diggsy's a seasoned vet and he just knows how to prepare,'' Flajole said. ``Not only has he been a productive player but he teaches the young linebackers how to prepare. How you watch tape, how you study opponents, those types of things.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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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.