Daily Sports Roundup
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The MLB season begins in earnest, while the Bruins battle the Caps, and the NCAA Tournament stages its championship.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NCAA Tournament's championship game tips off at 9:20pm ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night, with Butler taking on Duke. The Bulldogs won their Final Four matchup with Michigan State on Saturday night, getting 19 points from Gordon Hayward in the 52-50 decision. Shelvin Mack added 14 points for Butler in that victory. The Blue Devils had no trouble with West Virginia on Saturday, as they cruised to a 78-57 victory. Jon Scheyer had 23 points in that contest for Duke, while Kyle Singler chipped in with 21 points. The oddsmakers have the Blue Devils pegged as 7-point favorites for Monday.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The National League plays its first games of the season on Monday, with Florida at the Mets, St. Louis at Cincinnati, the Dodgers at Pittsburgh, Colorado at Milwaukee, the Cubs at Atlanta, San Diego at Arizona, San Francisco at Houston, and Philadelphia at Washington. The Phillies will trot new ace Roy Halladay out to the mound in their opener; righthander Halladay went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA and 208 strikeouts for the Blue Jays last season. The Nationals will counter Halladay with John Lannan. Lefthander Lannan had a 9-13 record for the Nats in '09, posting a 3.88 ERA and 89 strikeouts through 206.1 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, the American League on Monday features Cleveland at the White Sox, Toronto at Texas, Detroit at Kansas City, Minnesota at the Angels, and Seattle at Oakland. The Mariners will give the ball to Felix Hernandez in their opener. Righthander Hernandez is coming off a stellar 2009 campaign in which he went 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 217 strikeouts in 238.2 innings of work. The Athletics will go with offseason pickup Ben Sheets at home on Monday. Righthander Sheets missed the entire 2009 season as he rehabbed his elbow.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are just three games around the National Hockey League on Monday, with Columbus at St. Louis, Minnesota at Edmonton, and Boston at Washington. The Capitals managed to handle the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, winning 3-2 on the road behind goals from Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, and Mike Green. Jose Theodore stopped 34 of 36 Columbus shots. The Bruins edged the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime in their last game on Saturday night. Miroslav Satan had both goals for Boston in their win in Toronto.