Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, January 26
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Lakers try to pick up a victory in Washington, Kentucky takes on South Carolina, and the Hawks meet the Oilers.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has just five games on tap for Tuesday, with Minnesota at New York, Milwaukee at Dallas, Charlotte at Phoenix, Golden State at Sacramento, and the Lakers at Washington. Los Angeles was edged 106-105 in Toronto on Sunday night, despite Kobe Bryant's 27 points and 16 rebounds. Pau Gasol added 22 points for the Lakers in that loss. The Wizards are coming off a 92-78 home loss to the Clippers on Sunday, with Antawn Jamison tossing in 20 points in the matchup. Brendan Haywood was good for 18 points and 12 rebounds that night.
As well, top teams in action around college basketball on Tuesday include Michigan State (at Michigan), Clemson (at Boston College), Kansas State (at Baylor), West Virginia (at DePaul), and Kentucky (at South Carolina). The undefeated Wildcats ran their record to 19-0 on the season with a 101-70 thumping of Arkansas on Saturday. Courtney Fortson tossed in 21 points in that win for Kentucky. The Gamecocks sit at 11-8 on the year after falling 58-56 to Florida on Saturday. Devan Downey had a team-high 36 points in that matchup.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are eight games on the NHL schedule for Tuesday, with Phoenix at Detroit, Washington at the Islanders, Los Angeles at Toronto, Anaheim at Atlanta, Nashville at Columbus, New Jersey at Ottawa, Montreal at Florida, and Chicago at Edmonton. The Blackhawks fell to 35-13-4 with a 5-1 loss in Vancouver on Saturday; Jonathan Toews had the lone Hawks goal in the defeat. The 16-28-6 Oilers are on a 10-game losing skid, falling 4-3 to Dallas in their last game on Friday night. Sam Gagner scored twice for Edmonton against the Stars.
Monday's Wagering Tips
Tuesday, January 26
Lines off the board today
Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings: Warriors guards Monta Ellis and Anthony Morrow are listed as questionable.
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz
Lines to keep an eye on
New York Knicks opened as a 7-point favorite over the Milwaukee Bucks and the line has fallen to 6 on most books. The betting public may be reacting to a team that lost by a half-a-hundred Sunday being heavily favored over anyone.
Who's hot
Phoenix Coyotes are 4-0-1 in last five against the over.
Washington Capitals have won nine of their last 10.
Anaheim Ducks have won eight of their last 10.
Who's not
Phoenix Suns are 2-7 ATS in their last nine.
Detroit Red Wings have lost four of their last five.
North Carolina Tar Heels are 1-6 ATS in their last seven.
Key stat
Nashville Predators are 22-2-2 against Columbus Blue Jackets since 2006.
Injury that shouldn't be overlooked
North Carolina is hurting, and so is forward Ed Davis' knee. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams called him ''very questionable'' for tonight's game at rival N.C. State. Davis is the Heels' do-it-all guy, averaging 14.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while leading the team in blocks with 48. His absence has been felt during UNC's current three-game losing streak and will again tonight if he doesn't play against the Wolfpack. UNC is a 1-point pick with a total of 152.
Biggest game on the slate
New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators: The Senators are riding a six-game winning streak going into tonight's showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Devils, who have won nine straight meetings with Ottawa. Not since 2007 have the Senators beaten the Devils and this is their shot to show they are contenders. The Senators are -110 with a total of 5.
Notable quotable
''I'd love to win the Super Bowl. Who wouldn't? Of course, I can't print anything for you guys but I know I'm going out on top one way or the other.''
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre discussing his possible retirement with the media after losing to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game. Favre's late interception helped the Saints force overtime but he still holds numerous records from his 19 years in the league.
Tips and notes
A front-loaded schedule may finally be catching up with the Lakers, who played 17 of their first 21 games at home. Despite a 4-1 road swing in mid-December, the Lakers are starting to show some wear and tear after dropping six of their last eight on the road, including a 1-2 start to their current eight-game trip. The Lakers catch the lowly Wizards on Tuesday to start a stretch of five games in seven days. The Lakers are 8-point favorites with a total of 199.
The Nashville Predators are looking to scrap their goaltender rotation and name a regular starter; the problem is deciding which one is the man. Pekka Rinne (18-9-2-0) and Dan Ellis (11-10-0-1) have played revolving nets for the past 13 games, going 7-6 during that stretch. Coach Barry Trotz wants one to step forward and Rinne did so in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Avs, stopping 21 of 23 shots with both goals coming on a power play. He is expected to start again tonight, but regardless of which goalie gets the nod both now know that the job is on the line against a team it has beaten five straight. The Blue Jackets are -105 with a total of 5.5.
For the past 52 games Clemson's Demontez Stitt has started at point guard for the Tigers ... until tonight's game at Boston College. Stitt, who has been playing through pain in the Tigers' last two games with a foot injury, will take a night off to recover and sophomore Andre Young will get his first college start in Stitt's place. This is no ordinary injury; Stitt truly is the straw that stirs the Tigers' drink and putting an unproven player in his place could lead to offensive disruption for Clemson, which is a 3-point favorite over the Eagles with a total of 135.5.