Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, December 22
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Trail Blazers take on the Mavericks, the Sharks meet the Hawks, and Oregon State and BYU play in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
There's one college football bowl game on the schedule for Tuesday, with Oregon State at BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Beavers (8-4 SU, 7-4 ATS) fell 37-33 to rival Oregon in their regular season finale last time out. The Cougars (10-2 SU, 5-7 ATS) are coming off a 26-23 win over Utah. The oddsmakers are siding with the Pac-10's Oregon State in this bowl matchup, pegging them as the 3-point favorites. The total for the contest sits at 58.5 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up nine games on Tuesday, including Portland at Dallas. The Trail Blazers surged to a win over the Heat in their last game on Sunday night, winning by a final score of 102-95 on the road. Brandon Roy led the way with 28 points for Portland in that contest. The Mavericks got a big 102-95 home win over the Cavaliers without Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup in their last game on Sunday. Tim Thomas had 22 points for Dallas in the win, and Jason Terry had 19 points.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Tuesday: Philadelphia at Washington, Detroit at Charlotte, Indiana at Boston, Chicago at New York, Atlanta at Minnesota, Golden State at Memphis, the Clippers at Houston, and Oklahoma City at the Lakers. Kobe Bryant and company held on for a 93-81 road win over the Pistons in their last game on Sunday. Bryant had a team-high 28 points for Los Angeles in that victory, while Andrew Bynum had 16 points and Pau Gasol grabbed 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the top matchup on the college hoops schedule on Tuesday has Michigan State at Texas. The Spartans (9-2 SU, 3-7 ATS) knocked off IPFW by a score of 80-58 in their last contest, while the Longhorns (10-0 SU, 7-1 ATS) got past North Carolina 103-90 last time out. The Tar Heels are also back in action on Tuesday, as they host Marshall, while Kansas gets a visit from California, Purdue takes on SIU Edwardsville, and Texas A&M is on the road at Washington.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are just three games on the National Hockey League's schedule for Tuesday night, with Anaheim at Colorado, Nashville at Vancouver, and San Jose at Chicago. The Blackhawks had no trouble getting past Detroit in their last game on Sunday night, getting goals from Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, and Dustin Byfuglien in a 3-0 home victory. Cristobal Huet stopped all 20 Red Wings shots in that contest, helping his team improve to 23-8-3 (16-3-1 at home) in the process.
Today's Helpful Tips
Tuesday, December 22
Trojan Horse Trifecta
Southern Cal, once with dreams of playing for the BCS crown, is now focusing on a less-precious gem - the Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl.
Or at least trying to focus. USC has become a bit of a media circus lately with running back Joe McKnight tooling around campus in his baby's mamma's boss' SUV and former stars Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo taking paycuts to leave USC for the professional ranks.
Now add three more straws to the camel's back. Starting tight end Anthony McCoy and offensive tackle Tyron Smith and key backup defensive tackle Averell Spicer were declared academically ineligible on Monday and will not play in the bowl.
And while the Trojans will be spending Christmas with family and friends in nearby San Francisco, Boston College will be flying cross country for a business trip. Or is it a trap for the Trojans, who are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games?
They will need to regroup from a dismal end of the season to beat the Eagles, who are 7-3 ATS against teams with a winning record this season. USC is a 7.5-point favorite with a total of 44.
House of Pain
The Detroit Pistons have been more beat up than a '69 Buick in recent weeks, but they finally run into another wreck.
The Charlotte Bobcats got a taste of the pain Sunday night against the Knicks when leading scorer Steven Jackson went out with severe back spasms. His status is uncertain for tonight's game, as is forward Gerald Wallace, who has been suffering from severe headaches.
The Pistons are finally starting to get healthy, with guards Ben Gordon and Richard Hamilton questionable for tonight's game and Will Bynum probable. Rodney Stuckey has filled in nicely in their absence.
But the big difference for the Bobcats will be Jackson. They don't have the go-to guys to replace his scoring and Ben Wallace could have a defensive field day with offensive catalyst Boris Diaw.
The Pistons have won eight of their last nine SU against the Bobcats. The line and total are not yet available.
Have Bill Will Travel
Real ducks migrate thousands of miles every winter, but the Anaheim kind are not far behind.
This is the first stop of a four-game road swing for the Ducks who are coming off - get this - a one-game homestand, which was preceded by another four-game tour. It's like they stopped off at home to do laundry and repack for another trip.
Lots of teams have to do it, but these Ducks don't handle homesickness so well, going 2-10 SU in their last 12 road games.
That's a roast-duck dinner waiting to happen for the Avalanche, who are 10-4-1-1 at home this season. Right-winger Marek Svatos (groin) may be back tonight to, if nothing else, light an emotional fire underneath the Avs.
Colorado is -135 with a total of 5.5.
Notable quotable
"We were up 7-6. Yeah, it's not 70-6, but we're up 7-6. So I said, 'I'm staying in the game, I'm playing.' I don't know if it was exactly to protect me, or we had seven points, I'm not sure. That's his call. But we talked it out. We didn't have time, I didn't have time to sit there and say why or what. My response was, we've got to win this ballgame and I want to stay in and do whatever I can.''
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre describing his ''heated discussion'' with head coach Brad Childress on the sidelines of Monday night's 26-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Childress tried to replace Favre with the Vikings clinging to a 7-6 lead.