Daily Sports Roundup
Wednesday, January 6
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Heat play host to the Celtics, the Spurs get a visit from the Pistons, and Central Michigan meets Troy in the GMAC Bowl.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The college football schedule offers up a lesser bowl game on Wednesday night, with No. 25 Central Michigan vs. Troy in the GMAC Bowl at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile. The ranked Chippewas (11-2 SU, 9-3 ATS) doubled up on Ohio 20-10 in their last game to take the MAC championship. The Trojans (9-3 SU, 8-4 ATS) picked up a 48-31 win over Louisiana-Lafayette last time out; Troy was the Sun Belt champ. The oddsmakers have set Central Michigan as the 2.5-point favorite for Wednesday's game, with the total for the contest pegged at 63.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has 10 games on tap for Wednesday, including Boston at Miami. The Celtics (24-8 SU, 14-18 ATS) got past the Raptors 103-96 at home in their last game on Saturday, with Ray Allen scoring 23 points in the absence of Kevin Garnett (knee), Paul Pierce (knee), and Rajon Rondo (hamstring). The Heat (17-15 SU, 16-16 ATS) are coming off a 92-75 home win over Atlanta in their game on Monday; Dwyane Wade had a team-high 28 points for Miami in the matchup.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Wednesday: New Jersey at Atlanta, Toronto at Orlando, Washington at Cleveland, Golden State at Minnesota, New Orleans at Oklahoma City, Houston at Phoenix, Memphis at Utah, the Lakers at the Clippers, and Detroit at San Antonio. The Spurs (20-12 SU, 17-14-1 ATS) will be looking for a win after falling 91-86 in Toronto in their last game on Sunday. Tony Parker had 23 points for San Antonio in the loss, and Tim Duncan had 21 points.
Top-10 teams in action around college basketball on Wednesday include No. 7 Syracuse (vs. Memphis), No. 8 West Virginia (vs. Rutgers), No. 6 Villanova (vs. DePaul), No. 5 Duke (at Iowa State) and No. 1 Kansas (vs. Cornell). As well, the night's ranked matchup has No. 17 Wisconsin (12-2 SU, 8-4 ATS) at No. 10 Michigan State (11-3 SU, 4-9 ATS). The Badgers are coming off a 63-46 win over Penn State last game, while the Spartans knocked off Northwestern 91-70.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are six games on the NHL's schedule for Wednesday, with Tampa Bay at Buffalo, Dallas at the Rangers, Toronto at Philadelphia, Calgary at Minnesota, the Islanders at Colorado, and St. Louis at San Jose. The 17-18-6 Blues and new head coach Davis Payne will be looking to bounce back from a 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks in their last game. The 27-9-7 Sharks were bounced 6-2 by the Kings in their Monday outing; Patrick Marleau and Doug Murray had the San Jose goals in that loss, while Evgeni Nabokov made 11 saves on 16 shots.
Today's Wagering Tips
Wednesday, January 6
Lights out
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won five of their last seven games thanks in large part to Mike Smith. The club’s starting goalie earned his second star of the week because of his outstanding playing, helping the Bolts earn wins over the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins last week.
He notched a 2-0-1 record with a 1.131 goals against average for the week.
“He’s really gotten into a groove,” Lightning coach Rick Tocchet told the Tampa Tribune. “He’s challenged guys and challenged himself. He didn’t like the way he was playing about a month ago and he’s worked at it.”
The Lightning have played under the total in three straight games and face one of the toughest goalies in the league (Buffalo’s Ryan Miller) on Wednesday. The total is set at 5.5 and the Sabres are a -200 favorite.
Paying for past mistakes
How do you think your production at the office would be the first day after your boss told you the Christmas bonus wasn’t going happen this year?
The Southern California Trojans play their first game Wednesday night since learning they would not be playing in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. The players were told about the school-issued penalty on Monday.
The punishment is a result of an investigation that found O.J. Mayo had received cash and gifts during his one season as a Trojan.
"It was the hardest thing I've had to do. Telling our team that yesterday was much harder than ever getting fired," USC coach Kevin O'Neill told reporters after practice Monday. "It's a kick in the butt for everybody, but I especially feel sorry for our seniors."
USC is a 1-point favorite at Stanford on Wednesday with a total of 125.
Everything-must-go sale
Rumors in NBA circles suggest that Utah Jazz management is willing to unload any player on its roster, other than point guard Deron Williams, in hopes of lowering the team’s payroll.
The Jazz are in the midst of a disappointing season (18-16) and all their starters earn at least $9 million.
They’ve lost three straight and host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Poor attendance
The Tennessee Volunteers will be missing some key bodies Wednesday night against the Charlotte 49ers. The Vols suspended four of its players indefinitely because of gun possession charges.
Among the missing pieces is senior and starting forward Tyler Smith.
“We obviously don’t have the depth,” UT coach Bruce Pearl told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s going to be a challenge. It’s our hope we find a way.”
Pearl told reporters he plans to stick with a nine-man rotation, meaning he’ll be using some non-scholarship players.
The Vols play No. 1 Kansas on Sunday following Wednesday’s game against the 49ers. Tennessee is listed as an 11-point favorite over Charlotte with a total of 145.
Notable quoteable
"I make love to pressure."
--Charlotte Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson to the Charlotte Observer on how he deals with crunch time situations.