Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Spurs meet the Hawks and the Celtics battle the Magic in the NBA, and the Sharks take on the Blackhawks in the NHL.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA loads up with 11 games on the schedule for Wednesday night, including an East/West clash between the Spurs and Hawks in Atlanta. San Antonio and Atlanta last met on December 10 in Texas, with the Spurs pulling out a 95-89 home victory as a 6.5-point favorite. Manu Ginobili was still in action back then, and he led the Spurs’ attack with 27 points. Tim Duncan had 19 points.
Rounding out the league’s busy Wednesday slate: Charlotte at Washington, Minnesota at Philadelphia, Milwaukee at Toronto, Miami at Indiana, the Clippers at New York, New Jersey at Cleveland, Denver at New Orleans, Golden State at Dallas, and Utah at Phoenix, As well, a pair of Eastern powers will clash in Orlando, with the Celtics meeting the Magic. Those two teams last played back on March 8, with Orlando pulling out an 86-79 road victory as a 2-point underdog.
American Idol Betting Line…
The latest American Idol betting lines have Danny Gokey surpassing Adam Lambert as the favorite to win American Idol 2009. Complete entertainment and political betting odds have Gokey at +185 and Lambert at +200. They are followed by Matt Giraud, Lil Rounds, and Allison Iraheta. The oddsmakers give Michael Sarver almost no chance.
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A break from the Madness . . .
The NIT, CBI, and CollegeInsider.com postseason tournaments all offer up games on Wednesday night as a prelude to Thursday’s Sweet 16 action. In the NIT on Wednesday it’ll be quarterfinal matchups between San Diego State and St. Mary’s, and Notre Dame and Kentucky, with the winners of those games heading to the semifinals on March 31. The championship game will be April 2.
Meanwhile, the CBI and CollegeInsider.com events will both stage their semifinal rounds on Wednesday night. In the CBI semifinals it’ll be Stanford vs. Oregon State and Richmond vs. UTEP, with the championship of the tournament a three-game series on March 30, April 1, and April 3 (if necessary). Over in the CollegeInsider.com semifinals on Wednesday night it’ll be Bradley vs. Pacific, while the other semifinal (James Madison/Old Dominion) will be held Thursday.
Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy of GodsTips has the NIT Game of the Year and that volcanic service out of Vegas is on a run of historical nature. A service out of Las Vegas is easily the No. 1 in the world in March. Their “Absolute Picks” are now 24-4 excluding pushes since Feb. 25. Sunday it was Siena and Oklahoma State. Monday, Oakland cashes in. New York/LA Clippers side makes it 25-4. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick
Updated March Madness Odds
As the Sweet 16 approaches, North Carolina remains the favorite at +275 as Ty Lawson gets healthy, but is still not 100 percent according to Bob Warner of Lines-Maker.com. Big East teams are next. Louisville is +450, Pittsburgh +500, and UConn +550. The complete NCAA Basketball odds are up.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The National Hockey League offers up a half-dozen games on Wednesday night, including the Sharks on the road in Chicago. Those Western Conference contenders last met on January 31, when the Blackhawks rolled to a 4-2 road win. Jonathan Toews scored twice for Chicago in that contest, while Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 32 shots. Joe Pavelski picked up two assists for the Sharks.
Also on the NHL’s schedule for Wednesday: Florida at Buffalo, Ottawa at Carolina, Minnesota at the Islanders, Calgary at Pittsburgh, and Anaheim at Colorado. The Ducks need a win over the lowly Avalanche to help themselves in the hunt for a Western playoff berth. Anaheim and Colorado last met on January 31, with the Ducks winning 4-3 on the road behind Jonas Hiller’s 34-save effort.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
Opening lines for this week’s Sweet 16 matchups in the NCAA Tournament had Louisville as the biggest favorite – they were giving up 8.5 points to ‘Cinderella’ Arizona at the outset, and 9 points soon after. The other Sweet 16 matchup in Indy has Kansas taking on Michigan State, with the Spartans favored by 2 points.
The rest of the Sweet 16 lines: Villanova vs. Duke (-2) and Xavier vs. Pittsburgh (-7) in Boston, Missouri vs. Memphis (-4.5) and Purdue vs. Connecticut (-6.5) in Glendale, and Gonzaga vs. North Carolina (-8.5) and Syracuse vs. Oklahoma (-1) in Memphis. The Boston and Glendale contests will take place on Thursday, while Indianapolis and Memphis will host their Sweet 16 matchups Friday night.