Daily Sports Roundup
Sunday, December 20
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Bengals look for a win in San Diego, the Vikings meet the Panthers in primetime, and the Mavericks play host to the Cavs.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The top matchup on the NFL schedule for Sunday will take place in San Diego, where the Chargers (10-3 SU, 7-6 ATS) will play host to the Bengals (9-4 SU, 6-7 ATS). San Diego won their eighth game in a row last week, slipping past the Cowboys 20-17 in Dallas. The Bengals were knocked for a loss last Sunday, falling 30-10 to Brett Favre and the Vikings in Minnesota. Oddsmakers have San Diego as a 6.5-point favorite for Sunday, with the total for the game at 43.5 points.
The other late-afternoon games on Sunday are Oakland at Denver (-14), Green Bay at Pittsburgh (-2), Chicago at Baltimore (-11), and Tampa Bay at Seattle (-6.5). Earlier NFL action has Cleveland at Kansas City (-1.5), Atlanta at the Jets, Miami at Tennessee, San Francisco at Philadelphia (-7.5), New England (-7) at Buffalo, Arizona (-12.5) at Detroit, and Houston at St. Louis. The lowly Rams (1-12 SU, 6-7 ATS) head into their Sunday matchup riding a five-game losing streak.
Finally, the Sunday nighter has Minnesota (11-2 SU, 8-4-1 ATS) at Carolina (5-8 SU, 6-7 ATS). Favre went just 17-of-30 for 192 yards passing in the Vikings' win over the Bengals last week, with one TD and one INT. Adrian Peterson ran for 97 yards and two scores. The Panthers fell 20-10 in New England last Sunday, with Steve Smith catching two balls for 83 yards and a TD. The Vikings have been listed as 9-point road favorites for Sunday night's game, with the total set at 43.
As well, there's a single bowl game on the Sunday college football schedule, with Southern Miss (7-5 SU, 6-5 ATS) vs. Middle Tennessee State (9-3 SU, 9-3 ATS) in the New Orleans Bowl at the Superdome. Oddsmakers have Southern Miss set as the 3.5-point favorite for the matchup, with the total for the contest at 57.5.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up seven games on Sunday, with New Orleans at Toronto, Denver at Memphis, Minnesota at Boston, the Lakers at Detroit, Portland at Miami, Charlotte at New York, and Cleveland at Dallas. The Cavaliers picked up an 85-82 home win over Milwaukee in their last game on Friday night, as LeBron James scored 26 points. The Mavericks fell 116-108 in overtime to Houston on Friday, with Dirk Nowitzki leaving in the second quarter with a cut on his elbow.
And there are two games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Sunday, with UCF at No. 14 Connecticut, and Florida State at No. 22 Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (8-1 SU, 5-1 ATS) have won five games in a row, most recently beating Arkansas Pine Bluff by a score of 65-53 on Wednesday night. The Seminoles (9-2 SU, 2-6 ATS) got past Auburn 76-72 in their game on Thursday night; Solomon Alabi scored 22 points for Florida State.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are just two games on the National Hockey League schedule for Sunday, with St. Louis at Vancouver and Detroit at Chicago. The Red Wings and Blackhawks haven't met since way back on October 8, when Detroit pulled out a 3-2 home victory. Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper, and now-injured Johan Franzen had the goals for the Wings in that win, while Chris Osgood made 32 saves and was the game's First Star. Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg had the Hawks goals.
Today's Helpful Tips
Sunday, December 20
Bowe your neck
The Chiefs best offensive player will return to the lineup Sunday after missing four games due to a violation of the NFL’s drug policy.
Dwayne Bowe totaled 33 catches for 466 yards and four scores before being suspended. Kansas City is 1-3 straight up and ATS without Bowe in the lineup and has averaged 16.0 ppg during that span.
The Browns head into the game as 2-point underdogs, but have won three straight against the Chiefs and covered in all three. Kansas City is 5-15 ATS in their last 20 home games.
Don’t dig on swine
Despite not practicing all week because of flu-like symptoms, it appears Rams running back Steven Jackson will play against the Texans on Sunday.
Jackson has been unable to practice for many weeks due to a herniated disk but has yet to miss a game this season and went through a team walk-through on Saturday.
"Steven has shown he can do well without practice and I anticipate he'll do very well this week," backup running back Samkon Gado said. "I'd be very surprised if he couldn't go."
Quarterback Kyle Boller, who missed last week's game with a thigh injury, also has been dealing with an illness. Boller did not participate in Saturday’s walk-through.
If Boller cannot go, Rams will start rookie Keith Null, who threw five interceptions last week in his pro debut. In Tennessee’s 47-7 win, the team stacked the box against the Rams with the inexperienced Null under center and held Jackson to a season-low 39 yards on 18 carries.
The Rams opened as 10.5-point home underdogs to the Texans, but the reported swine flu outbreak in the locker room inflated the spread to as high as 15 at some shops.
Heat-ing pad
Dwayne Wade has been dealing with upper-back spasms and was limited in practice on Saturday.
Miami’s superstar is expected to play on Sunday against Portland, but it would probably be wise to check the starting roster prior to game-time before placing a wager on the Heat.
Wade is the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer, dropping in 26.6 ppg while contributing 6.0 apg, and hasn’t missed a game this season.
Oddsmakers opened the Heat as 5-point favorites with a total of 186.5. The road team is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 games of this series while the Trail Blazers have covered in four of the last five.
Larry legend
Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald said he will definitely play on Sunday after suffering a knee sprain and bone contusion during Monday’s night game against the 49ers.
"We got games we got to take care of," Fitzgerald said. "We don't like to talk about the injury stuff. It's still a little painful, but it's football. Everybody on this roster is dealing with some type of pain. When you sign a contract, it's not just when you're healthy or when you're feeling good. It's every day. You've go to go out there and work hard and produce."
Fitzgerald has not missed a game since the 2007 campaign. Arizona beat Cleveland in that game, 27-21, as 1-point favorites.
The spread in this game spiked when Fitzgerald said he would play. The Cardinals opened as 11-point road favorites and that number has climbed to as high as 15 at some markets.
Fading Falcons
If there were ever a week to get Atlanta’s two best players back on the field, this would be it.
Quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner are both listed as questionable heading into the game against the Jets on Sunday and both are expected to be game-time decisions.
Ryan has missed two straight games with a toe injury and was limited in Friday’s practice. Turner has also missed two games, three this season, and the Falcons have gone 0-3 straight up and 2-1 ATS in his absence.
Weather could get ugly in this affair and the under is 12-2 in the Jets last 14 December games. The total has dropped from an opener of 40 to the lowest number on the board at 36.