Daily Sports Roundup
Monday, January 4
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rangers play host to the Bruins, the Heat get a visit from the Hawks, and Boise State meets TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
It's a battle of unbeaten teams in Monday's Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium, with No. 6 Boise State (13-0 SU, 8-4 ATS) taking on No. 3 TCU (12-0 SU, 8-3 ATS). The Broncos finished off their perfect regular season with a 42-7 pounding of New Mexico State last time out, while the Horned Frogs blasted New Mexico 51-10 in their most recent game. TCU beat Boise State 17-16 when those teams last met in December 2008, and the Horned Frogs are listed as the 7.5-point favorites for Monday's contest. The total for the matchup is at 55 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up four games on Monday, with Oklahoma City at Chicago, New Orleans at Utah, Portland at the Clippers, and Atlanta at Miami. The Hawks fell to 21-11 SU and 22-10 ATS with a 112-108 overtime loss to the Knicks in their last game on Friday night. Joe Johnson paced Atlanta with 28 points in that contest, while Al Horford picked up 22 points and 19 rebounds. The Hawks and Heat last met on November 18 in Atlanta, with the home team pulling out a 105-90 victory.
As well, there are just two ranked teams in action on the college hoops schedule for Monday, with Florida State hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and North Carolina playing on the road in Charleston. The Tar Heels improved to 11-3 SU (4-7 ATS) with an 87-70 win over Albany in their last game on Wednesday; Ed Davis was good for 18 points for North Carolina in that contest. Charleston knocked off South Carolina State in their last game, winning by a score of 88-73.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL has just two games on the schedule for Monday, with Los Angeles at San Jose and Boston at the Rangers. The 21-12-7 Bruins are coming off a 2-1 win over the Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year's Day, with Marco Sturm scoring the game-winning goal in that outdoor affair. Mark Recchi had the other Boston tally, while Tim Thomas made 24 saves. The 19-17-5 Rangers were edged 2-1 by Carolina on Saturday afternoon, with Marian Gaborik scoring once.
Today's Wagering Tips
Monday, January 4
Tar Heels tred south
Bet you'd never guess that College of Charleston has one of the best all-time records against North Carolina at 2-3.
Double or nothing that the Tar Heels would never leave the 18,000-seat Dean Dome to travel down the Carolina coast to play at the Cougars' cozy 5,000-seat facility.
That's an old favor for College of Charleston coach and former ACC colleague Bobby Cremins, not one Tar Heels coach Roy Williams would have made.
The Heels are about to enter ACC play and Williams wants his team to show the killer instinct. The Cougars are not the same team that knocked off the Tar Heels back in 1998 or 2001.
Expect guard Marcus Ginyard back in the lineup tonight for UNC. The Tar Heels are favored by 14.5 with a total of 160.
Warts and all
There was a small chink in TCU's top-ranked defense this week when coach Gary Patterson announced that senior cornerback Rafael Priest will not play in Monday night's Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.
An ankle injury will force Priest to give way to sophomore Greg MCoy. While this one straw might not be enough to break the Horned Frogs' back, it could be a factor in the scoring.
The total fell from 55 to 53.5 right out of the box, due in part to TCU's defensive prowess, but both teams are averaging more than 40 points per game. One missing piece in the secondary may help the Broncos' high-powered passing attack.
Besides, the BCS-busting Broncos are no newcomers to this bowl game - they hung 43 on a tough Oklahoma defense here two years ago.
TCU is favored by 7.5 over Boise State.
Jazz all that
The Utah Jazz own more than naming rights to New Orleans' old and logical mascot. They also own the Hornets.
Utah has won eight of the last nine meetings (7-1-1 ATS) and they are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games overall.
The Hornets have lost four straight on the road SU and forward Peja Stojakovic is probable with a bad back.
The Jazz are healthy and favored by 8 with a total of 196.
Quotable notables
"I don't want to say anything bad about the fans, but this is not the first situation that something like this has happened [with Leach]. This is just the first time someone stepped forward. I don't want fans thinking that Adam James did this because he was upset but it was just kind of the last straw, and sooner or later something was going to come out. This is the first situation that someone spoke up about.''
Texas Tech offensive lineman Brandon Carter after Saturday night's 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl, on fired head coach Mike Leach. Leach was ousted last week after revelations that he forced James into confinement for not practicing with a mild concussion.