Howard Stern producer Gary “Bababooey” Dell’Abate is the hit of YouTube with his pathetic first pitch and sportsbooks are paying off their Celebrity Apprentice bets.
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Two playoff series could come to an end on both the hardwood and the ice, and the Mets send their ace to battle the Braves.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The Cavaliers and Nuggets will both be looking for series sweeps on Monday night when they hit the hardwood on the road in NBA playoff action. Cleveland got a huge game from LeBron James on Saturday night as they surged to a 97-82 win over the Hawks in Atlanta. James led the way with 47 points for the Cavs in the win, and also picked up 12 boards. Joe Johnson had 21 points in the loss.
Denver grabbed a 3-0 series lead on Saturday night with a 106-105 win over the Mavericks on a Carmelo Anthony 3-pointer. Anthony was good for 31 points for the Nuggets in that victory, while Chauncey Billups had a team-high 32 points. Dirk Nowitzki picked up 33 points and 16 boards in the loss for Dallas. Jason Terry poured in 17 points off the Mavs bench, while Josh Howard had 14 points.
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Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The Mets’ Johan Santana will take on the Braves’ Derek Lowe in Atlanta on Monday night in one of just four games on the baseball schedule. Santana blanked the Phillies on two hits over seven innings in his last outing, boosting his record to 4-1 and dropping his ERA to a miniscule 0.91 ERA this season. Lowe has won three consecutive contests to sit at 4-1 with a 3.98 ERA in seven starts.
The other two National League games on the slate for Monday are Cincinnati at Arizona and Washington at San Francisco, while the American League offers up the White Sox at Cleveland. Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (2-2, 6.29 ERA) was knocked around for six runs over five innings by the Royals last time out. Indians starter Carl Pavano (2-3, 6.61 ERA) has bounced back with two straight victories.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Coming off an overtime win on Saturday night, the Penguins can close out their series with the Capitals on Monday when the teams meet in Pittsburgh for Game 6 of the seven-game set. Evgeni Malkin had the marker in the extra frame in Game 5, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 31 shots in the win. Alexander Ovechkin had two goals for the Capitals, while Simeon Varlamov had 38 saves.
The Blackhawks can also advance to the third round of the NHL playoffs with a home win on Monday night; they’re coming off a 4-2 victory over the Canucks on Saturday which put them up 3-2 in the series. Dave Bolland and Martin Havlat (into an empty net) scored for Chicago in the third to give them the win, while Dustin Byfuglien had two goals for the Hawks. Ryan Kesler and Mats Sundin tallied for the Canucks, and Roberto Luongo surrendered three goals on 29 shots.