In Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant, who looked tired and mortal, gave new life to the Orlando Magic, who shot a Finals record 63 percent in a 108-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. That snapped an 0-for-6 franchise mark in the Finals for Orlando. Bet at Bodog.

Is it a sign of things to come? Bryant and the Lakers have been bouncing back since the start of the postseason. In the pursuit of a 15^th NBA crown  they are 6-0 after a playoff loss. They can regain control of the best-of-seven series, but they’d better be careful not to give Orlando any more momentum.

As the Magic showed in Game 3, all you need is a hot night of shooting. During one stretch in the opening half, Orlando made a remarkable 21 of 24 shots.

Can the 2-point favorites at Bodog Magic do it again or will the real Kobe Bryant return and close out Game 4?

While Jimmy Rollins continues to struggle, Chase Utley looks to continue his power surge at Citi Field as the Philadelphia Phillies play the decisive game of a three-game set with the New York Mets tonight with the MLB odds saying the Mets are -105 with a total of 9.5.

Utley belted two homers Wednesday night, one of which led off the 11^th inning as the Phillies went on to beat the Mets 5-4. He had a solo homer the previous evening in the series opener as Philadelphia lost 6-5.

All three of Utley’s homers in this series have been hit into the right-field corner. He didn’t homer in his last 15 games at Shea Stadium, where the Mets used to play.

Philadelphia may need a big effort from its lineup with Jamie Moyer facing New York. Moyer is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in two starts versus the Mets this season.

Tim Redding will take the mound in this series finale for the Mets.  Bet at Bodog now.

The pinnacle of Stanley Cup betting is here—Game 7 of the Red Wings Penguins odds. It doesn’t get any better than one game to decide it all. Do you go with the favorite or swing for the fences and pick the underdog Pens on the road?

We know what we’ll get from the Red Wings at the sportsbook in Game 7: a steady, defensively sound effort from a team looking for its fifth Stanley Cup in 13 years. To beat Detroit, the Penguins have to play their best game of the series, and that’s a tall order given how bad they’ve been on the road. Sidney Crosby has zero points in three games at Joe Louis Arena in this series; in front of the Detroit fans, he let himself get flustered by Henrik Zetterberg’s smothering defense and eventually took a selfish penalty. Evgeni Malkin hasn’t been much better. Bottom line: Crosby and Malkin are supposed to be two of the top three players in the world but they’ve been outsmarted on the road. They have to keep their cool and leave it all on the ice for the Pens to have a chance.

The Penguins’ blueline has also been a Jekyll-and-Hyde story in this Stanley Cup betting series. They’ve been physical, well-positioned and disciplined at home, also blocking shots like crazy, but on the road they’ve been tentative and a bit lazy, resulting in dumb penalties. Anyone who likes to bet on sports knows what happens when you take too many penalties against the Red Wings, so the Pens have to stay out of the box.

Detroit can count on Chris Osgood to play well enough for the Red Wings to win on Friday, but he also won’t be the reason why they win. Marc-Andre Fleury is a wildcard—he could get rattled and blow the game, as he’s been shaky and lacking focus on the road all series long, but he could also stand on his head, make 50 saves and steal the win. If the good Fleury shows up, the Pens will have a real chance to pull off the huge online wagering upset. He’ll be in tough against the deep Red Wing attack, though. Marian Hossa has disappeared and is shying away from the physical game, so he shouldn’t be a factor, but Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will be. They make everyone around them better with their playmaking skills and you can bet they’ll bust out a clutch effort again in Game 7 — especially the healthier Zetterberg.

It’s been a great run for the Pens, but they needed to win this series in six games at home. Home-ice advantage exists for a reason—to give the team that earned it the edge in a deciding game. Home teams are 12-2 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup, and the Wings will extend that record to 13-2.

Offshore sportsbook pick: Red Wings -190

The Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York is considered an ominous one for golfers of all handicaps. That’s what makes the second annual US Open Challenge even more intriguing this year and for the first time ever, Sportsbook.com has odds on this event.

This one of a kind event features three celebrity golfers and one ‘normal Joe’ as they take on the very course that Tiger Woods and the rest of the US Open participants will walk just a few days later.

This year’s field consists of Michael Jordan, Ben Roethlisberger, Justin Timberlake and Larry Giebelhausen and their challenge is clear: break 100.

Inspired by Tiger a couple years ago when he claimed the average player couldn’t shoot under 100 on a US Open course, this event’s fourth contestant, Larry Giebelhausen, is what this challenge is truly about.

The Phoenix police lieutenant won an online contest through Golf Digest for the rights to compete with the ‘who’s-who’ of the sports and entertainment field. Giebelhausen beat out over 70,000 entrants who all had to submit a six word essay. His words, “I’m a cop, I’ll shoot low.”

Whether you believe someone in the foursome can prove Tiger wrong or you think that Bethpage is too much for an amateur to handle, log on now to Sportsbook.com to see the current odds for the US Open Challenge.

Make note, although this event is broadcast on June 21^st, the foursome will actually play their round on June 12^th so get your bets in early.

Sportsbook.com’s Odds to shoot the lowest round:

Ben Roethlisberger         +140

Michael Jordan               +180

Justin Timberlake           +200

Larry Giebelhausen        +500

Sportsbook.com’s Odds for number of golfer’s to break 100:

0 golfers                          +225

1 golfer                            +175

2 golfers                           +250

3 golfers                           +350

4 golfers                           +1000

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Lakers and Magic meet in Game 4, the Yankees and Red Sox close out their set, and the PGA Tour arrives in Memphis.

Sports and betting headlines…

In sports wagering news, today is a mixed bag. In change you can believe in as long as you also believe in Santa Claus, the DOJ is continuing their war on gambling, freezing millions of dollars in online poker players’ winnings.

On the good side of the To Bet a Man Square Massacre, the European Union is calling for the United States to drop Prohibition II, the ban on online gambling. The betting news updates in real-time. 

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The Magic will attempt to knot up the NBA Finals on Thursday night when they host the Lakers in the fourth game of the championship set. Orlando held on for a 108-104 win in Game 3 on Tuesday night to cut their series deficit to 2-1. Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis each scored 21 points for the Magic in that win, while Rafer Alston added 20 points and both Hedo Turkoglu and Mickael Pietrus tossed in 18 points. Kobe Bryant had a game-high 31 points in the loss for Los Angeles, but went just 5-for-10 from the free-throw line. Pau Gasol picked up 23 points for the Lakers, who opened as 3-point road underdogs for Thursday night at Sports Betting Sportsbook. Now the Magic are -2 at BetUs with a total of 201 at BetED.

Bettors are more likely to catch a yellow lobster or have a double-date with Megan Fox and Jilian Barberie than to find a better NBA handicapper than GodsTips.

GodsTips has both the side and total for the Lakers/Magic Game 4 and that includes a Wise Guy side. We have an all-time high of 11 baseball sides. This includes a late afternoon (3:30 EST or later) and two night Wise Guys highlighted by the Thursday Night Underdog Game of the Year.

It does not get much better than this. GodsTips recently is 27-14 with all NBA plays, but going back further, a sensational 17-4 with NBA Wise Guys. With all underdogs and small favorites, Center of the Handicapping Universe goes 3-2 yesterday including the Rockies +126. Generally this many huge plays happens on a college basketball full slate or maybe college football. Click now to purchase

Wacky Wagers…

Sportsbooks have betting on just about any scenario and now BetUs Sportsbook is asking if Bing.com will surpass Yahoo as the second ranked search engine behind Google.

We expect prop bets on whether Sarah Palin, Bristol Palin, or Willow Palin will appear on the David Letterman Show before the year is out.

The Hollywood and entertainment betting odds asks which American Idol 8 star’s first album will debut the highest on Billboard: Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, or early favorite Danny Gokey?

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The Yankees and Red Sox will finish up their three-game series at Fenway Park on Thursday night, with CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.56 ERA) facing Brad Penny (5-2, 5.85 ERA). Lefthander Sabathia had to settle for a no-decision vs. the Rays last time out, allowing five runs over eight innings. Righthander Penny was tagged for a loss by the Rangers in his last start, allowing five runs in 5 2-3 innings pitched.

The White Sox host Detroit again on Thursday, with Minnesota at Oakland, and Seattle at Baltimore. As well, It’ll be the Angels at Tampa Bay, Toronto at Texas, and Kansas City at Cleveland. The Royals have Zack Greinke (8-2, 1.55 ERA) slated to start that contest; the righthander is coming off his worst outing of the season, giving up seven runs (five earned) in five innings against the Blue Jays.

Over in the National League on Thursday it’ll be St. Louis at Florida, Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Colorado at Milwaukee, the Cubs at Houston, San Francisco at Arizona, Cincinnati at Washington, and Philadelphia at the Mets. Lefthander Jamie Moyer (4-5, 6.27 ERA) will take the hill for the Phillies; Moyer has allowed just three runs over his last 13 innings. Tim Redding (0-2, 6.97 ERA) pitches for New York.

Led by the prickly shark, Mark the Shark, the top handicapper west of the Mississippi, the power of 620 sports services behind every selection goes 3-1 yesterday. Mark hits 60-65 % of his Game/Total of the Month or higher plays.  He is without question the top Pac 10 and Mountain West tipster in America. He’s been offered nearly seven figures per year to join a famed Las Vegas sports handicapping marketing giant, but has spurned offers because they demanded marketing concessions that would negatively affect his modules.  

Every baseball and basketball wagering pick is up for today on the MasterLockLine for $16. Click now to purchase

Finally, Phil Mickelson returns to the PGA Tour this week, and he’s pegged as the 5/1 Vegas favorite to win the St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis. Sergio Garcia follows Lefty at 10/1 odds on that list, with Henrik Stenson third at 12/1 odds. Justin Leonard won this event last season, and he’s in a group of golfers with a line of 15/1 on the Vegas list; sitting with Leonard are David Toms, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, and Padraig Harrington. Tiger Woods sizzled in his win at the Memorial last week, but he’s decided to skip the St. Jude this week.