Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, December 15
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Avalanche play host to the Capitals, the Lakers meet the Bulls, and the Spurs try to wreck the Suns' perfect home record.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up seven games on Tuesday, with New Jersey at Cleveland, New York at Charlotte, Toronto at Miami, the Lakers at Chicago, Detroit at Houston, Sacramento at Portland, and San Antonio at Phoenix. The Suns (16-8 SU, 14-9-1 ATS) fell 105-99 in Denver in their last game on Saturday, with Steve Nash picking up 28 points and seven assists in that defeat. Amare Stoudemire added 13 points in the matchup. The Suns are a perfect 8-0 (4-3-1 ATS) at home.
The top teams in action in college hoops on Tuesday are Texas (vs. Texas Pan American), Duke (vs. Gardner-Webb), Tennessee (vs. Wyoming), and UNLV (vs. Southern Utah). The Rebels (7-1 SU, 4-2 ATS) will be looking to bounce back from a 95-80 loss to Kansas State in their last game on Saturday; Tre'Von Willis picked up 17 points for UNLV in that defeat. The Thunderbirds, who hail from the Summit conference, were routed 84-66 by Weber State in their Saturday outing.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL has just six games on the Tuesday schedule, with Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, Calgary at St. Louis, Tampa Bay at Nashville, Los Angeles at Edmonton, Columbus at Minnesota, and Washington at Colorado. The Capitals fell to 20-7-6 on the season with a 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Nicklas Backstrom had two goals in that loss, while Alex Ovechkin picked up a goal and two assists. Third-string goalie Michal Neuvirth stopped 30 of 36 shots.
Today's Helpful Tips
Tuesday, December 15
No rest for the needy
It's a short week for four NFL teams - two unbeatens biding their time for the playoffs and two scrambling to earn invitations.
For the Indianapolis Colts, who travel to Jacksonville on Thursday, and the New Orleans Saints, who welcome Dallas on Saturday, it's a double-edged sword of a dilemma. Do they try to parlay their 13-0 records into perfect seasons or rest their starters until the real season begins?
Neither team has firmly tipped its hand about its game plan yet, but the risk of injury to players like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees isn't worth the limited rewards now that they have locked up home field throughout the playoffs.
The Cowboys and Jaguars don't have such a luxury, desperately needing to win in order to gain ground in the playoff race. They will throw all their healthy bodies and even some not-so-healthy ones out on the field to win. Even Dallas LB Demarcus Ware, who was carted off Sunday with a sprained neck, may play.
Keep a eye on the Colts and Saints' practices this week for a better indication, but it usually pays to go with the hungry team over the happy one. Jacksonville is listed as a 7-point underdog with a total of 53.5, The Dallas-New Orleans line is still off the boards.
Firing on all Pistons?
The Detroit Pistons got some good news on Monday when guards Ben Gordon and Will Bynum both returned to practice with sprained ankles.
They are listed as questionable, but the Pistons should reap the rewards even if only one of the two suit up. With Richard Hamilton listed as probable, Detroit should finally get the guard play it has sorely missed.
Meanwhile, the Rockets will be without forward Trevor Ariza, the team's second-leading scorer, who was suspended for throwing a forearm against Toronto on Sunday. Along with the loss of Tracy McGrady, the Rockets may be hurting for offense enough to let the ailing Pistons keep pace. The line has not yet been released for this game.
Dinged-up Kings
Forward Wayne Simmonds will not skate for the Kings tonight when they travel take on the Edmonton Oilers.
Simmonds, the fourth Kings' forward to sit out with an injury this season, has scored nine goals for L.A. this season before suffering an unspecified lower body injury.
The Kings have won four in a row SU, all by one goal, while the Oilers have rattled off five straight victories, all of them on the road. Edmonton has won five out of the last six meetings with L.A.
Look for the Oilers to take advantage of the short-handed Kings in this one. The Oilers are -145 with a total of 5.5.