Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Celtics and Spurs look to bounce back, the Caps try to dig themselves out of a hole, and the BoSox and O’s meet early.
New Jerseyans want freedom of choice…
Here is a surprise to nobody: if given the choice, the residents of New Jersey want sports betting legalized in the state. Updates on that, plus Delaware sports betting updates as well as Barney Frank’s attempt to bring personal responsibility to online betting all updated in real-time in the betting news section.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are just two NBA playoff games on the schedule for Monday night, with Chicago at Boston and Dallas at San Antonio. The latest Vegas NBA odds has Boston as an eight or 8.5 point favorite, while the Spurs are -6.5 across the board at press time.
The Bulls pulled off the overtime upset in the opening game of the first-round series on Saturday afternoon, getting 36 points from Derrick Rose in a 105-103 victory. Ben Gordon added 20 points for Chicago in that win, while Rajon Rondo scored 29 points for the Celtics.
The Spurs also lost their series opener at home on Saturday, falling 105-97 to the rival Mavericks. Josh Howard led the Dallas attack with 25 points in that contest, while Dirk Nowitzki tossed in 19 points, and Erick Dampier contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Duncan had a game-high 27 points and nine boards in a losing cause for San Antonio, and Tony Parker poured in 24 points.
Today’s best sports picks…
GodsTips is more than just the top NFL handicapper ever. The first Wise Guy of the postseason wins as the Atlanta Hawks cover by 21.5 points. The Center of the Handicapping Universe is 8-4 the last 12 MLB with the underdog winners outnumber the chalk losers 4-0. That included our NL Game of the Month Friday on Dandy Dog San Diego.
Get the NBA Wise Guy plus night MLB Wise Guy and Major plays. Click now to purchase GodsTips Monday card.
Susan Boyle…
Give credit to Irish sportsbook Paddy Power for humorous Susan Boyle bets. The overnight Britain‘s Got Talent Sensation is a 500-1 longshot to be a Playboy centerfold in 2009.
Check out the live Vegas odds on American Idol as Adam Lambert remains the prohibitive favorite. Sports Betting Sportsbook also has several proposition bets for Dancing With the Stars 8.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The Red Sox play their annual Marathon-induced morning contest on Monday as they conclude their series with the division-rival Orioles. Boston will send righthander Justin Masterson to the mound in that game; he replaces Daisuke Matsuzaka in the team’s rotation and sports an 0-0 mark with a 4.50 ERA. The O’s counter with lefthander Mark Hendrickson, who is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA so far.
The only other American League contest on the slate for Monday sees the Yankees opening a home series against Oakland. Over in the National League on Monday it’ll be Atlanta at Washington, San Diego at Philadelphia, Florida at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati at Houston, and Colorado at Arizona. Rockies starting righthander Jason Marquis has a 2-0 mark and stellar 1.93 ERA on the season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Three teams will be looking to take commanding series leads on Monday night when the NHL playoffs return to the ice. Leading things off is Washington at the Rangers, with New York coming off back-to-back upsets over Alexander Ovechkin and company. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves on Saturday to give his team a 1-0 victory and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Bruins and Blackhawks also won on Saturday to go up 2-0 in their playoff series. Boston thumped Montreal 5-1, with Marc Savard picking up two goals and two assists and Tim Thomas making 30 saves. Habs netminder Carey Price was pulled after allowing five goals on 26 shots. Chicago, meanwhile, rallied for a 3-2 win over the Flames on Saturday, with Jonathan Toews scoring twice. Nikolai Khabibulin had 30 saves for Chicago; Miikka Kiprusoff had 30 saves for Calgary.