Daily Sports Roundup
Sunday, December 13
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Colts play host to the Broncos, the Saints look for a win in Atlanta, and the Cavaliers seek a victory vs. the Thunder.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
Peyton Manning and the Colts take their 12-0 record (8-4 ATS) into their Week 14 matchup with the Broncos early on Sunday afternoon. The Colts knocked off Tennessee 27-17 last week, with Manning going 24-of-37 for 270 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Joseph Addai ran for 79 yards and two scores. The Broncos (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS) blasted Kansas City 44-13 last weekend, with Kyle Orton throwing two TD strikes. Indy is the 7-point home favorite for Sunday.
The league's other unbeaten team, the Saints (12-0 SU, 8-4 ATS), will play on the road against the Falcons on Sunday. New Orleans slipped past Washington 33-30 in OT last weekend to avoid their first loss of the year. Drew Brees threw for 419 yards and a pair of touchdowns (with one INT) in that win. The Falcons (6-6 SU, 7-5 ATS) were blasted 34-7 at home by the Eagles last week, and QB Matt Ryan is questionable for Sunday. New Orleans sits as the 10-point favorite.
Also on the NFL's schedule for Sunday afternoon: Seattle at Houston (-6.5), Carolina at New England (-13), Buffalo (-1) at Kansas City, Detroit at Baltimore (-13.5), Cincinnati at Minnesota (-6.5), the Jets (-3) at Tampa Bay, Miami at Jacksonville (-3), Green Bay (-3.5) at Chicago, St. Louis at Tennessee (-13), Washington (-1) at Oakland, and San Diego at Dallas (-3). The Sunday night matchup will then be Philadelphia at the Giants, with New York favored by 1 point.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has just five games on their Sunday schedule, with Houston at Toronto, New Jersey at Atlanta, Memphis at Miami, San Antonio at the Clippers, and Cleveland at Oklahoma City. LeBron James and the Cavaliers picked up a 104-99 home win over the Trail Blazers in their last game on Friday night. James poured in a game-high 33 points for the Cavaliers in that victory, adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Anderson Varejao added 22 points off of the bench.
As well, there are three ranked teams in action around college basketball on Sunday, with No. 19 Cincinnati vs. Xavier, St. Francis (NY) vs. No. 7 Syracuse, and No. 3 Villanova vs. Temple. The ranked Orange and Wildcats are tied atop the Big East standings at 9-0 SU on the season, with Syracuse at 5-1 ATS and Villanova posting a 6-2 ATS mark. The Wildcats beat St. Joseph's 97-89 in their last contest; Scottie Reynolds scored 22 points and Taylor King added 20 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are just two games on the National Hockey League's schedule for Sunday, with Tampa Bay at Chicago and Calgary at Colorado. The Flames and Avalanche last met on November 17 in Calgary, with the Avs pulling out a 3-2 road victory. Ryan Wilson, Cody McLeod, and Milan Hejduk all scored for Colorado in that contest, while Craig Anderson made 34 saves. Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque replied for Calgary, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 21 shots.
Today's Helpful Tips
Sunday, December 13
Missing in action
When NFL players miss a Friday practice, it’s usually a good indication they won’t play on Sunday. This is the case for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner. Both missed Atlanta’s previous game and both are listed as questionable for Sunday.
If Turner can't go, he will be replaced by Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling who combined for 53 yards on 22 carries with no touchdowns last week. Ryan will give way to veteran Chris Redman for the second straight week. Redman had a forgettable outing in the loss to the Eagles, completing just over 50 percent of his passes while tossing two interceptions.
Falcons’ receiver Roddy White is also listed as questionable but is expected to play.
The line for this game was postponed at some books until later in the week because of the injuries, but opened at 9.5 in favor of the undefeated Saints and is as high as 10.5 at some shops now. The total is set at 51 and the last four games in this series have gone over.
Buckeye State shootout
The annual Crosstown Shootout between Cincinnati and Xavier is always a game of epic proportions in the state of Ohio. The Bearcats will try to disrupt the Musketeers with their furious full-court press.
Freshman phenom Lance Stephenson has been upgraded to probable after suffering an eye injury in Cincy’s win over Miami-Ohio on Thursday. Stephenson is tied for the team lead with an 11.6 ppg average and ranks second on the squad with 5.9 rpg.
The underdog has cashed in eight of the last 10 meetings between these programs. The X-Men’s 76-66 victory as 2-point road favorites last year was the first time the chalk had covered since 2001.
Xavier opened as a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 136.5.
Purple, powerless?
The Vikings could be without dynamic wideout Percy Harvin on Sunday. The rookie did not practice all week because of migraines and has a 50 percent chance of playing. Harvin is second on the team in receptions (48), receiving yards (681) and touchdowns (6), and is Minnesota’s primary kick returner.
Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield could be back on the field for Minnesota. He has missed the last six games with a right foot injury, but said he should be able to play against Cincinnati.
"I think this is the week I finally get back out there and get some action," the Pro Bowl cornerback said. "We'll see how warmups go and hopefully I'm up."
The Vikings are listed as 6.5-point favorites over the Bengals with a total of 43. Minnesota is 1-7 ATS in their last eight December games.
Hawk a lugee
The worst team in the NBA goes against one of the best in the league when New Jersey visits Atlanta. The Nets aren’t playing as a unit right now and should be double-digit dogs in four of their next five games.
"We're a little divided as a team right now. We got to find a way to pull it together,” said Devin Harris.
Harris left Friday’s game in the third quarter with a finger injury. He is listed as questionable for the game against the Hawks with a sprained left pinky.
Oddsmakers installed Atlanta as 13-point favorites with a total of 198.5. Despite this year’s disparity between the two teams, the Nets have gone 8-2 ATS in the last 10 games of this series and covered in four straight as the underdog.
Restbrook
Running back Brian Westbrook will miss his fourth straight game due to concussion injuries, but that could be a good thing for Eagles bettors. Philadelphia is 5-1 straight up and 4-2 ATS without Westbrook in the lineup this season.
Philadelphia faces the Giants in a monumental NFC East battle on Sunday. The visiting Eagles are 1-point favorites with a total of 44. The underdog has covered the spread in 10 straight games between these rivals.
Notable quotable
"Unfortunately, since it is a legal matter, I will not be able to comment further at this time, but my family and I have faith that you will see, I'm not guilty of these charges."
-- Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who is expected to play on Sunday despite being arrested on Thursday night after police found more than an ounce of marijuana in his car during a routine traffic stop.