Daily Sports Roundup
Wednesday, December 16
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Sabres continue their road trip in Ottawa, the Hawks play host to Memphis, and the Magic get a visit from Toronto.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up a dozen games on Wednesday night, including Memphis at Atlanta. The Grizzlies (10-14 SU, 12-12 ATS) fell 110-105 at home to Boston on Monday night, with Rudy Gay pouring in 23 points in the loss and O.J. Mayo adding 21 points. The Hawks (17-6 SU, 17-6 ATS) have won four games in a row, most recently pounding New Jersey 130-107 at home on Sunday. Maurice Evans picked up 22 points in that matchup, while Joe Johnson scored 21 points.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Wednesday: Cleveland at Philadelphia, Charlotte at Indiana, Utah at New Jersey, the Clippers at Minnesota, the Lakers at Milwaukee, Detroit at New Orleans, Dallas at Oklahoma City, Houston at Denver, San Antonio at Golden State, Washington at Sacramento, and Toronto at Orlando. The Magic (18-6 SU, 13-10-1 ATS) got past Indiana 106-98 at home in their last game Monday, with Dwight Howard picking up 21 points and 23 boards.
As well, the top team in action in college hoops on Wednesday is No. 18 Ohio State, which hosts Presbyterian. Other games involving ranked teams: Northern Arizona at No. 19 New Mexico, UTEP at No. 20 Mississippi, Arkansas Pine Bluff at No. 22 Georgia Tech, and No. 25 Cincinnati at UAB. The Bearcats (6-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) are coming off an 83-79 double-overtime loss to Xavier in their last contest; Lance Stephenson poured in 22 points for Cincinnati in the losing cause.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are eight games on the NHL's Wednesday schedule , with Dallas at Carolina, Montreal at New Jersey, the Islanders at the Rangers, Phoenix at Toronto, Atlanta at Florida, St. Louis at Chicago, Anaheim at Vancouver, and Buffalo at Ottawa. The 20-9-2 Sabres dispatched the Habs in Montreal on Monday night, grabbing a 3-2 win. The 16-12-4 Senators fell 3-2 in Toronto on Monday, and they've also lost forward Jason Spezza indefinitely to a knee injury.
Today's Helpful Tips
Wednesday, December 16
Total talk
One of the top under bets in the NHL faces off against one of the worst defensive teams in the league on Wednesday.
The Phoenix Coyotes have played under the total in 24 of their 31 games this season and eight of their last 10. Shane Doan leads the club with just 18 points in 33 games and journeyman forward Radim Vrbata is first in team goals with 10.
The Leafs could make a high school team look unstoppable with the puck. Only the Carolina Hurricanes allow more goals per game than Toronto (3.45). The Buds are one of the few clubs who regularly see 6 and 6.5-goal totals.
Check to see where the over/under line opens on Wednesday and you might be able to find some value.
Into the wild
Canadian basketball fans know all about the NBA team now playing in Memphis. The Grizzlies, formerly of Vancouver, are starting to play winning basketball and their fans are taking notice.
A packed house watched as the home side narrowly lost to the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
It marked Memphis’ fourth cover in its last five games – a big difference for a franchise that’s known as a doormat around the league.
“That’s a tough team,” Celtics forward Paul Pierce told reporters following the close shave. “They’re dangerous. I see them with four potential All-Stars.”
The Grizz are 9.5-point dogs against the soaring Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday with a total of 208.5.
All quacked out
The Oregon Ducks are having a tough time picking up wins in their non-conference schedule. The college hoops team is missing its best outside shooter (Tajuan Porter) and leading rebounder (Joevan Catron) from last season.
Catron’s absence is particularly tough on the Ducks. They sorely miss the senior’s toughness in the paint.
“He’s really frustrated,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent told the The Register-Guard. “I really feel for him, because he worked so hard during the offseason and he is banged up again.”
The Ducks have lost four of their last five games and have failed to cover the spread in five of six games. They play 1-8 Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday.
Road test
Oklahoma State left Monday morning for its Wednesday game in California against Stanford. OSU players are being reminded by coach Travis Ford about their lackluster performance two weeks ago that resulted in a road loss to Tulsa.
“I’m not making any excuses for that loss,” Cowboys forward Marshall Moses told the Stillwater News Press, “but we have to be more focused if we expect to beat a team like Stanford, in their gym, come Wednesday night.”
Stanford already took care of Virginia and took Kentucky to overtime earlier this year. The Cardinal is a 1.5-point favorite over the Cowboys with a total of 145.5.
Notable quotable
“As an athlete, you're put under a microscope and everybody wants you to be perfect. You just can't have nothing else going on. And I think for so long, Tiger's image was that of just a perfect person. Now all of the sudden, you go from loving this man that you admired for all these years, and you find out he has a side woman and all of the sudden you hate him?
“If he could keep that a secret and ain't nobody came out and told [on him], hey, congratulate him. You know, most of the time there's one or two, and you can't keep that a secret. So if he can balance 14 (women) and keep it a secret, congrats.”
-- Redskins running back Clinton Portis on the Tiger Woods saga.