Daily Sports Roundup April 26
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Phillies take on the Giants, while the Preds host the Hawks, and the Magic try to knock the Bobcats out of the playoffs.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up three more first-round playoff games on Monday night, with Orlando at Charlotte, Atlanta at Milwaukee, and Portland at Phoenix. The Suns and Trail Blazers are tied 2-2 in their first-round set, while the Hawks lead the Bucks 2-1, and the Magic are up 3-0 on the Bobcats. Orlando put Charlotte on the brink of elimination with a 90-86 road win in Game 3 on Saturday. Jameer Nelson was good for a team-high 32 points for the Magic in that contest, while Dwight Howard was held to just 13 points and eight rebounds in the victory. Stephen Jackson had 19 points for the Bobcats, and Larry Hughes had 14 points
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
There are just four games on the American League's schedule for Monday, with Detroit at Texas, Seattle at Kansas City, Cleveland at the Angels, and Boston at Toronto. Josh Beckett (1-0, 5.26 ERA) is slated to take on Dana Eveland (2-0, 1.93 ERA) in that BoSox/Blue Jays matchup. Righthander Beckett was pounded by the Rangers in his last trip to the mound on April 21, surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits in his seven innings of work. Lefthander Eveland picked up a no-decision against the Royals last time out, allowing two earned runs on eight hits over his 5 1-3 innings of work. Eveland fanned three that day.
Meanwhile, the National League on Monday offers up San Diego at Florida, the Dodgers at the Mets, Washington at the Cubs, Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, Atlanta at St. Louis, Arizona at Colorado, and Philadelphia at San Francisco. Roy Halladay (4-0, 0.82 ERA) will take on Jonathan Sanchez (1-1, 1.86 ERA in that last matchup. Righthander Halladay tossed a complete-game shutout against the Braves last time out, giving up just five hits while fanning seven batters. Halladay has allowed just three earned runs in 33 innings this year. Lefthander Sanchez fell to the Padres last time out despite allowing just one run over seven innings.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the Bruins, Capitals, and Blackhawks will all be looking to close out their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Monday with Buffalo at Boston, Washington at Montreal, and Chicago at Nashville. The Blackhawks got a shorthanded goal from Patrick Kane to force OT late in Game 5 on Saturday, then watched Marian Hossa pot the winner in the extra frame to give them a 5-4 home win over the Predators. Kane and Hossa had two points each in that contest, while Antti Niemi stopped 17 of 21 Nashville shots. Martin Erat had two goals in that losing cause for the Predators, while Pekka Rinne stopped 27 shots.
Monday's Wagering Tips
Line off the board
The total in the Nationals-Cubs game is off pending the wind speed and direction at Wrigley Field
Lines to keep an eye on
Magic-Bobcats total opened at 182.5 and has skyrocketed to as high 184 at some books.
The Hawks opened as 1-point favorites over the Bucks but that number is now 1.5. The total also jumped from 189 to 190.
Who's hot
Magic are 9-0 SU and 7-1-1 ATS in their last nine.
Hawks are 6-1 SU in their last seven and 5-1 ATS in their last six.
Suns are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 at home.
Bruins are 6-2 in their last eight.
Padres are 8-1 in their last nine.
Who's not
Bobcats are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight.
Bucks are 2-4-1 ATS in their last seven.
Canadiens are 2-6 in their last eight and 0-6 in in last six home playoff games.
Key stat
5 to 9 - Number of quarterbacks currently on the Oakland Raiders' roster and the combined number of games they won as starters last season.
Injury that shouldn't be overlooked
Bruins forward Marc Savard hopes to play in tonight's Game 6 against the Sabres although he remains a game-time decision. If he does it would be his first game back since suffering a Grade 2 concussion on March 7. If in postseason form, Savard could be a huge lift to the Bruins. But a tough elimination game is not the ideal circumstances for his return after missing six weeks of workouts. He might do more harm than good.
Game of the day
Trail Blazers at Suns
Notable quotable
"(Jimmie Johnson) is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad. I am pissed right now. I don't know what it is with me and him right now."
Jeff Gordon said of teammate Jimmie Johnson after he squeezed Gordon out of line Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway and set off a wreck that dropped Gordon to a 22nd-place finish.
Tips and notes
With Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter, the Magic are an obvious offensive force. But they are beating the Bobcats with their underrated defense. Through the first three games the Bobcats have committed 52 turnovers. Charlotte point guard Raymond Felton and many of his teammates are playoff rookies, which explains some of the miscues. But experience is the only thing to correct this TO problem and there's not enough time (and too much Magic D) for that.
The boarding penalty against Chicago defenseman Marian Hossa got all the headlines, especially after he returned to score the game-winner in overtime of Game 5, but it was only one of 21 reasons the Blackhawks have a 3-2 series lead over Nashville. The Blackhawks have killed off 21-of-21 penalities during the series and the Predators' inability to cash in on those opportunities is killing their chances of advancing.
The Braves played in prime time Sunday against the Mets and had to catch the redeye to St. Louis for tonight's game. The quick turnaround isn't the only thing working against Atlanta. The Braves' leadoff position is batting .081 entering Sunday's game and no pitcher has had a hit all season. With a guaranteed out at the top and bottom of the lineup, it's no wonder they have lost four in a row and scored just six runs in that span.