Daily Sports Roundup
Sunday, February 14
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The NHL heads into its Olympic break, the NBA plays its All-Star Game, and the Sprint Cup Series stages the Daytona 500.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game tips off at 8:00pm ET on Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, with the Western Conference missing one of its top guns. Star Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is nursing a sprained ankle and has decided to skip the All-Star Game this year; he's being replaced on the West's roster by Mavs guard Jason Kidd. However, the Western Conference is still pegged as the 1.5-point favorite to get the win on Sunday night, with the game's total at 261 points.
As well, there are three games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Sunday, with No. 13 Ohio State at Illinois, No. 7 Georgetown at Rutgers, and Louisville at No. 2 Syracuse. The Orange (24-1 SU, 14-6 ATS) have won 11 games in a row heading into Sunday's outing at the Carrier Dome, most recently knocking off Connecticut 72-67 on Wednesday night. The Cardinals (15-9 SU, 7-12 ATS) fell 74-55 to St. John's in their Thursday matchup.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The National Hockey League wraps up its pre-Olympic schedule on Sunday with six games: Tampa Bay at the Rangers, Nashville at Pittsburgh, Vancouver at Minnesota, Ottawa at the Islanders, Anaheim at Edmonton, and Chicago at Columbus. The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets last met in Columbus back on January 16, with Chicago rolling to a 6-5 road victory. Jonathan Toews scored twice for the Blackhawks in that win, while Patrick Kane picked up three assists.
Roaring around the track . . .
Finally, the Sprint Cup Series season begins on Sunday with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The Vegas oddsmakers like pole-sitter Mark Martin to grab his first win on the track on Sunday, as he's been pegged as the 13/2 race favorite. Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon are next on that odds list at 7/1 and 8/1, respectively, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17/2) and Kurt Busch (9/1) rounding out the Vegas Top 5. Tony Stewart (11/1) and Carl Edwards (12/1) are getting longer odds, with Series champ Jimmie Johnson pegged at 14/1 to win.
Today's Wagering Tips
Sunday, February 14
Line off the board
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers – Tampa Bay played Friday night. Michael Del Zotto (sternum) left Friday’s game with a laceration and is questionable.
Line to keep an eye on
The total in the All-Star game has moved from an opener of 261 to 262.5. The spread has dropped a half-point at most shops from 1.5 to 1 in favor of the West but a few places on the board are offering a PK.
Weather to watch
The men’s downhill skiing event scheduled for Saturday was postponed because of slushy conditions. The race has been rescheduled for 10:30 a.m. (PT) on Monday.
Rain and warm weather have created less than ideal skiing conditions for the slopes at Whistler. Taking skiers out of their normal comfort zone on the mountain could open the door for some underdogs to break through.
Showers are expected throughout Sunday in Vancouver with temperatures in the 40s and humidity in the 90 percent range.
Who’s hot
The Ducks have won five of their last six games, earning 4.12 units on the moneyline.
Illinois has taken five straight games (4-1 ATS) and won two straight as 1.5 and 9-point underdogs.
Who’s not
Louisville is 4-5 SU in its last nine games and 2-7 ATS during that stretch.
The Blackhawks have been nothing less than -136 favorites in their last five games (2-3), losing 4.39 units during that span.
Key stats
260.1 – Average total of points scored in the NBA All-Star games since the 1999 lockout. No team has scored less than 100 points during that span and the total for Sunday’s game opened at 261. The lowest scoring All-Star game was 154 points in 1953 while the highest was 303 points in the 1987 game that went to overtime.
6 – Number of times the All-Star game has gone into overtime. The last time it happened was in Michael Jordan’s last All-Star appearance in 2003 when the West defeated the East in double-overtime, 155-145.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Luke Harangody will miss Sunday’s game versus St. John’s after the Notre Dame star player sustained a bone bruise in his knee during Thursday’s loss at Seton Hall. Harangody leads the Irish with a 24.1 points per game average and pulls down 10.0 boards per contest.
Game of the day
East vs. West (-1, 262.5)
Notable quotable
"Just to be able to be an All-Star year in and year out, that's a special feeling, but the fact that it's in Dallas is kind of a bittersweet thing. Sweet because I get to play in front of my home crowd and it's bitter because everybody wants tickets."
-- Raptors forward Chris Bosh talking about playing the All-Star game in his hometown.
Tips and notes
- Pace of play is big when handicapping basketball totals. In the last five ASGs, the average number of possessions is 241 per game. More scoring opportunities arise in the ASG but the efficiency is not much higher than a regular season games. An average of 107.4 points per 100 possessions has been scored, opposed to 104.1 in the regular season.
- Depth perception and sightlines can affect shooting when playing basketball outside of a normal arena. The All-Star game will be played at Cowboys Stadium in front of a crowd of 90,000-plus. Scoring has not been affected in the two previous games played there with Texas-North Carolina (100-93) sailing over the total of 152 and the Rookie-Sophomores (140-128) going over 242.
- Chris Bosh and Deron Williams will both be playing in front of their home crowds Sunday as Dallas natives. Bosh said it’s a “special feeling” to be playing the All-Star game just 20 minutes away from his former high school. Williams and Bosh might have some extra motivation in the game and both getting +1500 odds to win the MVP.