Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday, December 10
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Wizards play host to the Celtics, the Orangemen meet the Gators, and the Steelers try to stop their skid in Cleveland.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
It's Pittsburgh at Cleveland in this week's Thursday Night Football matchup, with both teams riding long losing streaks into the contest. The Steelers (6-6 SU, 4-8 ATS) were tagged with their fourth straight loss last week, falling 27-24 at home to the Raiders. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 278 yards with two TDs and one INT in that defeat, while Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 103 yards.
The Browns (1-11 SU, 6-6 ATS) lost their seventh straight game last week, falling to San Diego 30-23 at home. Brady Quinn passed for 271 yards for Cleveland in that game, with three touchdown strikes and no interceptions, while Jerome Harrison had two TD catches. Oddsmakers have the Steelers listed as big 10-point road favorites for Thursday night, with the total for the contest at 34 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has three games on tap for Thursday, with Denver at Detroit, Orlando at Utah, and Boston at Washington. The Wizards will be looking to bounce back from a 98-94 road loss to Detroit on Sunday, which was their second straight defeat. Caron Butler had 20 points in that loss, while Gilbert Arenas was held to just nine points. The Celtics hosted the Bucks on Tuesday night, with Kevin Garnett scoring 25 points in their 98-89 win. Rajon Rondo contributed 13 assists.
As well, there are four ranked teams in action in college basketball on Thursday night, with Oakland at No. 12 Michigan State, Miami-Ohio at No. 19 Cincinnati, and No. 7 Syracuse at No. 10 Florida. The Orangemen and Gators both enter this matchup at a perfect 8-0 on the season; Syracuse got 16 points from Brandon Triche in a 101-55 rout of Maine last time out, while Florida was led by Erving Walker's 18-point effort in their 85-67 victory over Jacksonville last game.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are six games on the NHL schedule for Thursday, with Ottawa at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh at Montreal, Columbus at Nashville, Atlanta at Vancouver, Phoenix at Los Angeles, and Toronto at Boston. The Maple Leafs and Bruins met in Boston on Saturday night, with the home team rolling to a 7-2 victory in that contest. Marc Savard had a hat trick for Boston on that night, while Zdeno Chara had a goal and an assist. Tuukka Rask made 31 saves in that win.
Today's Helpful Tips
Thursday, December 10
Magic men
The Lakers and Celtics are playing great basketball right now, but don’t sleep on the Magic. Orlando is 11-1 straight up over its last 12 games and the club 7-3 against the spread over its last 10.
Even better for Orlando backers, the Magic have won eight straight on the road and are 7-3 against the number in their last 10 away dates.
Dwight Howard and Co. are 3-point favorites playing against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City with a total of 203.
Crosby doesn't stop...
...at least not against the Habs. The Pittsburgh Penguins captian loves playing against his favorite childhood team.
Crosby has made a habit of saving his best for the Canadiens ever since he whipped that saucy backhand top shelf past Jose Theodore in his rookie season.
The Pens are 4-0 in their last four games against the Habs and 3-1 in their last four trips to Montreal.
Crosby has five points in two games against Montreal this season. Pittsburgh is a -155 favorite Thursday night in Montreal.
Brady's our boy
The Cleveland Browns haven't won since the beginning of October, but they have covered in three straight and are 6-3 ATS over their last nine games.
Brady Quinn is giving Brown backers steady play at the quarterback position. The former Notre Dame signal caller has seven touchdown tosses in his last three games and hasn't thrown an interception in his last 127 pass attempts.
The Browns, who have covered in three of the last four games against Pittsburgh, are 10-point home dogs Thursday.
Bull-doggin' it
Mississippi State senior forward Jarvis Varnado is one of the premier shot-blockers in college basketball after leading the nation last season with 170 rejections. Earlier this year, Varnado surpassed Shaquille O'Neal as the SEC's all-time leader in blocked shots and is again leading the country with 37 blocked shots.
Varnado dislocated a couple of fingers on his right hand in a win over St. Bonaventure last Saturday. He is listed as probable for the game against DePaul on Thursday.
The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games and are listed as an 11-point favorite over the Blue Demons with a total of 124.
Notable quotable
"Hines will do what's best for Hines, I'm sure,"
-- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the availability of receiver Hines Ward for the game against Cleveland. Speculation has surfaced that this was a retort after Ward questioned Big Ben’s absence two weeks ago during the Ravens game.