Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Matt Kenseth guns for another Sprint Cup win, the Celtics take on the Suns, and Duke gets set to clash with Wake Forest.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The Celtics will be trying to bounce back from a Thursday night loss to Utah when they go to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Sunday afternoon. Boston managed to score only 85 points in their 90-85 loss to the Jazz on Thursday, thanks in large part to Kevin Garnett leaving the game with a knee injury. The Celtics and Suns last played on January 19, with Boston rolling to a 104-87 win. Suns forward Amare Stoudemire won’t be on the floor on Sunday; he had surgery to repair a detached retina on Friday and will miss the next eight weeks.
A busy Sunday around the NBA has eight other games on the schedule, including Detroit at Cleveland to cap the day at 8:00pm ET. As well, it’ll be Chicago at Indiana, New York at Toronto, Charlotte at Houston, Denver at Milwaukee, Miami at Orlando, the Clippers at Portland, and the Lakers at Minnesota. Kobe Bryant and company topped the T-Wolves 132-119 last month.
The march toward Madness . . .
There are two ranked matchups on the college hoops schedule for Sunday, with No. 12 Villanova at No. 24 Syracuse, and No. 8 Wake Forest at No. 9 Duke. The Blue Devils snapped a two-game losing streak last time out against St. John’s, getting 19 points from Gerald Henderson in their 76-69 road victory. The Demon Deacons topped the Blue Devils 70-68 when the teams clashed back in January.
No. 6 Michigan State will host Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, while No. 13 Clemson is at Georgia Tech, No. 14 Arizona State gets a visit from rival Arizona, George Washington is at No. 16 Xavier, and No. 18 Illinois heads to the Value City Arena to play Ohio State. The Illini fell 38-33 to Penn State on Wednesday. ScoresOddsPicks.com has in-depth betting previews and databases on each of the games.
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Sports headlines…
Alabama tackle Andre Smith has left the NFL combined…the top receiver in the draft Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech will miss 6-10 weeks because of a foot injury…Lindsey Vonn became the most successful American skier ever in the women’s World Cup winning her 19th race…Maryland beat North Carolina in three overtimes.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The Penguins play their second consecutive afternoon contest on Sunday when they travel to Washington to take on the Capitals. Those two teams last met on January 14, when Washington came away with a 6-3 road victory. Alexander Ovechkin scored twice for the Caps in that win, while Jose Theodore stopped 26 of 29 Pittsburgh shots. Marc-Andre Fleury had 36 stops in the loss for the Pens.
There are four other games on the NHL’s slate for Sunday, including Colorado at Carolina at 3:00pm ET. Boston will then be in Tampa Bay to play the Lightning, with Chicago hosting Minnesota, and the Rangers getting a visit from Toronto.
2009 Academy Awards
Hollywood handicappers have great opportunity for profits if the Oscar Awards betting lines (see Hollywood and entertainment betting odds) prove incorrect. Mickey Rourke, Danny Boyle, Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, and Slumdog Millionaire are all overwhelming favorites in the major categories. But an upset will mean enormous winnings for the movie speculator at the sportsbooks.
Meanwhile Mike Myers The Love Guru dominated the Golden Raspberries. Paris Hilton was also a big “winner”.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The Sprint Cup Series will be in Fontana on Sunday for the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Carl Edwards is the defending Auto Club 500 champion, and Jimmie Johnson is the 5/1 Vegas favorite to get the victory on Sunday, but Matt Kenseth is the driver on a roll – he won the rain-shortened Daytona 500 last weekend. Kenseth is pegged at 8/1 odds to visit victory lane at the Fontana track.
Kyle Busch and Edwards are both sitting at 6/1 odds on the Vegas list for Sunday, with Jeff Gordon at 7/1, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 10/1, and both Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart at 12/1. Stewart was one of the few big names to have a respectable finish at Daytona last week; he ended up in eighth place in the race.