Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, January 12
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rangers host the Devils, Kentucky takes on Florida, and the Lakers look to pick up a road victory out in San Antonio.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has five games on tap for Tuesday, with Houston at Charlotte, Detroit at Washington, the Clippers at Memphis, Orlando at Sacramento, and the Lakers at San Antonio. The Lakers (29-8 SU, 16-21 ATS) got past Milwaukee 95-77 at home on Sunday; Kobe Bryant and company are 8-5 (4-9 ATS) on the road so far this season. The Spurs (22-13 SU, 18-16-1 ATS) knocked off New Jersey 97-85 on their own court on Sunday, as Manu Ginobili led the way with 21 points off the bench. Tim Duncan had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Spurs in that win.
Five ranked teams hit the floor on the college basketball schedule for Tuesday: Florida State (vs. N.C. State), Kansas State (vs. Texas A&M), Purdue (vs. Ohio State), Baylor (at Colorado), and Kentucky (at Florida). The Wildcats (16-0 SU, 7-7 ATS) kept their perfect record intact with a 76-68 win over Georgia last time out, as Patrick Patterson poured in 17 points. John Wall also had 17 points in the contest. The Gators (11-4 SU, 5-5 ATS) were thumped 95-87 by Vanderbilt in their last game.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the National Hockey League offers up nine games on Tuesday, including New Jersey at the Rangers. The 31-11-1 Devils beat the Canadiens 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night, then completed their suspended game against the Lightning (a 4-2 defeat) on Sunday. The 22-17-6 Rangers are coming off a 3-1 win in Boston on Saturday afternoon, with Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Dubinsky, and Erik Christensen all scoring. Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves in that victory.
Also on the ice on Tuesday: Detroit at the Islanders, Carolina at Toronto, Ottawa at Atlanta, Washington at Tampa Bay, Columbus at St. Louis, Nashville at Edmonton, San Jose at Phoenix, and Dallas at Philadelphia. The 22-19-3 Flyers had no trouble getting past the Lightning on Saturday night, rolling to a 4-1 win. Blair Betts had a pair of goals for Philly, while Michael Leighton stopped 17 of 18 Tampa shots. The 19-15-11 Stars were blanked 2-0 by Columbus Sunday night.
Today's Wagering Tips
Tuesday, January 12
Child's play
Two of the most talented freshmen in the country go head-to-head tonight when No. 2 Kentucky travels to Florida.
You've heard of the Wildcats' freshman phenom, John Wall, who is averaging 17 points per game and is already turning the heads of NBA scouts.
But the Gators' new guy, Kenny Boynton, has been slow to make a big splash, at least until last Saturday when he poured in a career-high 28 points in a loss to Vanderbilt.
This one should be an entertaining game to watch, but not necessarily a close one. The two freshmen may go toe-to-toe and put on a show, but the 'Cats have a better supporting cast and are already on upset alert after surviving a close call with Georgia.
Kentucky is favored by 2 with a total of 142.
Piss-poor Pistons
You've heard the expression ''Keep on drinking till the well runs dry''? The Detroit Pistons appear to be an eternal fountain.
After losing 12 in a row and going 1-11 ATS in that span, the Pistons welcomed back Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey to the lineup for Monday's showdown with rival Chicago. The Bulls beat them like red-headed stepchildren, easily covering the spread.
Now the Pistons get to board a flight to Washington to face perhaps the only team dealing with more troubles than themselves. The Wizards lost Gilbert ''Gunslinger'' Arenas to suspension, also suspended Andray Blatche for this game and has three players miss Monday's practice to talk to police.
And they're still favored by 5 with a total of 197? With the way the Pistons are playing, it sounds like a bargain at any price.
Ready Arnott? Not
The Nashville Predators made the cross-continental trek to Vancouver to face the sizzling Canucks on Monday night, and then the red-eye to Edmonton to take on the slipping Oilers tonight.
If that journey wasn't daunting enough, the Preds are without captain and center Jason Arnott with a lower-body injury, right-winger Joel Ward is questionable with an upper-body injury and defenseman Francis Bouillon is probable with the flu, and you know what can happen with the flu bug on a team plane during a long flight.
Normally, Nashville is a solid road team (6-2 SU in its last eight) and the Oilers are bad at home (1-9 SU in their last 10), but this trip is tough sledding for the Preds, who are a slight road favorite at 105 with a total of 5.5.
Notable quotable
''I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.''
-- Former home run slugger Mark McGwire in his statement admitting to steroid use during his playing career.