Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Celtics and Lakers hit the road for Game 3 of their second-round sets, and the Yankees try for a victory in Baltimore.
Gambling rights victory in Delaware…
As reported in the betting news section, a revised sports betting bill has passed the Delaware House. Also track Barney Frank’s campaign to return rights to the people by overturning online gambling prohibition.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The second-round series between the Celtics and Magic shifts to Orlando on Friday night for Game 3. Boston cruised to a 112-94 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night, with Eddie House exploding for 31 points off the bench. Ray Allen added 22 points for the Celtics in the contest, while Rajon Rondo had a triple-double of 15-11-18. Dwight Howard had 12 points and 12 boards in the loss for the Magic, who played without shooting guard Courtney Lee (facial injuries).
The Lakers also tied up their series with the Rockets on Wednesday night, and they’ll try to grab a series lead in Houston on Friday. Kobe Bryant poured in 40 points in Los Angeles’ 111-98 home win in Game 2, while Pau Gasol picked up 22 points and 14 rebounds. Andrew Bynum was held scoreless in eight minutes off the bench. For the Rockets, Ron Artest led the way with 25 points, Carl Landry contributed 21 points, and Yao Ming had just 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Magic are pegged as a 4.5-point home favorite for Friday, while the Lakers are 1-point road chalk. Orlando and Los Angeles will each be short one player, however, with guards Rafer Alston and Derek Fisher both serving suspensions.
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Meeting up on the diamond . . .
Yankees starter CC Sabathia will be hoping to avoid a third consecutive loss on Friday night when his team opens a series in Baltimore. Lefthander Sabathia (1-3, 4.85 ERA) is coming off back-to-back losses to the Angels and Tigers, allowing eight earned runs in 14 2-3 innings of work. Countering for the Orioles will be righthander Jeremy Guthrie, who is 2-2 with a 5.05 ERA so far this season.
Boston hosts Tampa Bay on Friday, while Seattle is at Minnesota. Rounding out the American League schedule: Texas at the White Sox, Kansas City at the Angels, Toronto at Oakland, and Detroit at Cleveland. Indians starter Cliff Lee has managed to pick up just one victory in six starts this season, with 3.92 ERA.
Over in the National League on Friday it’ll be Atlanta at Philadelphia, St. Louis at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh at the Mets, San Diego at Houston, the Cubs at Milwaukee, Florida at Colorado, Washington at Arizona, and San Francisco at the Dodgers. Los Angeles projected starter Chad Billingsley is 5-0 with a 2.21 ERA this season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The Penguins will be looking to tie up their second-round series with the Capitals on Friday night when the teams meet on the ice in Pittsburgh for Game 4 of the set. Kris Letang potted the overtime winner on Wednesday night in the Penguins’ 3-2 home win, while Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko scored for Pittsburgh in regulation time. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 23 Capitals shots in the win. Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom replied in the defeat for Washington.
The other NHL game on tap for Friday night has Boston at Carolina, with the Hurricanes also grabbing a 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday. Eric Staal, Sergei Samsonov, and Jussi Jokinen (in the extra frame) potted goals in the win for the Canes, who now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Cam Ward had 21 saves in the win. The Bruins got goals from Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi in the loss; both had previously been scoreless in the postseason. Tim Thomas made 38 saves.