Daily Sports Roundup
Monday, December 21
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Penguins play host to the Devils, the Cavs meet the Suns, and the Giants try to pick up a victory down in Washington.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
It's the Giants (7-6 SU, 5-7-1 ATS) at Washington (4-9 SU, 6-6-1 ATS) in the Monday Night Football matchup this week. New York's playoff hopes took a hit last week when they were blasted 45-38 at home by the Eagles. Eli Manning went 27-of-38 for 391 yards passing in that loss, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 60 yards on 15 carries with one score.
Washington picked up a 34-13 win over the Raiders in Oakland last Sunday, as Jason Campbell was good on 16-of-28 pass attempts for 222 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Quinton Ganther ran for 50 yards on the ground on 14 carries in that victory, and scored a pair of TDs. Oddsmakers have the Giants as 3-point road favorites for Monday night, with the total at 43.5 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up five games on Monday night, with Milwaukee at Indiana, Utah at Orlando, Sacramento at Chicago, the Clippers at San Antonio, and Cleveland at Phoenix. The Suns improved to 18-9 SU, 16-10-1 ATS, and 10-0 at home with a 121-95 pasting of the Wizards in their last game on Saturday night. Amare Stoudemire was good for 23 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix in that win; Steve Nash had 15 points and 15 assists, and Jason Richardson had 22 points.
As well, the top team in action in college hoops on Monday is Kentucky (11-0 SU, 4-5 ATS), which gets a visit from Drexel (6-5 SU, 6-4 ATS). The Wildcats had no trouble with Austin Peay in their last contest, rolling to a 90-69 win off 21 points from Patrick Patterson. The other ranked team in action on Monday is Kansas State (10-1 SU, 6-2 ATS), which will look to steamroll winless Arkansas Pine Bluff. Kansas State got past Alabama in their Saturday matchup, winning 87-74.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are 11 games on the NHL's schedule for Monday, including New Jersey at Pittsburgh. The 25-8-1 Devils and the 25-10-1 Penguins are tied atop the Atlantic Division standings with 51 points heading into their Monday matchup. New Jersey got past the Thrashers 5-4 in Atlanta in their last game on Saturday night, with Dean McAmmond scoring twice. Pittsburgh beat the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout in Buffalo Saturday, with Chris Kunitz scoring for the Pens in regulation.
Also on the ice on Monday: Florida at Philadelphia, the Rangers at Carolina, Montreal at Atlanta, Tampa Bay at the Islanders, Buffalo at Toronto, Boston at Ottawa, Colorado at Minnesota, St. Louis at Edmonton, Columbus at Phoenix, and San Jose at Dallas. The 20-8-7 Sharks took care of the Ducks in their last game on Thursday night, with Joe Thornton scoring twice in a 4-1 home victory. Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi also had San Jose goals in that matchup.
Today's Helpful Tips
Monday, December 21
Long Night on Long Island
A Saturday night in the Big Apple is the ideal way to spend the holidays for many tourists, but not for accidental tourists like the Montreal Canadiens.
Following Saturday night's 3-0 win over the New York Islanders, the Habs' team plane was grounded for the night due to heavy snow. Rather than flying to Atlanta after the game, the team had to spend an extra night in New York before finally landing in Atlanta on Sunday.
The Habs have had a full day to recover, but they had lost five straight before beating the Islanders and may have lost any momentum they had in the snowstorm.
The home team is 7-1 SU in the last eight meetings between these two teams. The Thrashers are -150 with a total of 6.
Golden goalies
The two teams with the best records in the NHL clash Monday night when the 25-win Devils visit the 25-win Pens. Which one will get to 26 first?
This game should be so good you don't need to put any money on it for excitement, but what fun would that be?
Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been a brick wall in net lately and the Devils counter without the NHL's new all-time leader in games played, Martin Brodeur.
The Pens have won five in a row and the Devils have won four straight, with each goaltender allowing only eight goals apiece during those streaks.
The Pens are -155, but the best bet might be taking under the total of 5.5 and enjoying two of the best teams an goalies battle it out.
Notable quotables
''You all did your talking, now let me do mine. I've been in this league 12 years, and I've been through a lot. And these shoulders that I have on my body, you can put the earth on it. So just to let you know, I bounced back. I appreciate it."
New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, who has been accused of dogging it in recent weeks, after catching five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown in the Pats' 17-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Moss' TD catch was his 10th of the season, tying him with Jerry Rice for the NFL record for 10-TD catch season with nine.