The NFL starts to reduce its playoff field even more on Saturday, with Baltimore at Tennessee, and then Arizona at Carolina. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup plus all the sports picks and predictions needed for the NFL playoffs.
NFL Weather
It will rain in the Ravens-Titans game with wind at 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. For the Cardinals-Panthers there is a 70 percent chance of rain at kickoff and winds 10-14 mph. Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae will play for the Titans but Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch are both expected to play.
For Arizona Anquan Boldin will probably play, but sources say he will be limited. He will test his hamstring just before game time.
The Gridiron Spotlight
The Ravens knocked off the Dolphins in Miami 27-9 last weekend to earn this trip to Tennessee. Baltimore fell 13-10 at home to the Titans back in Week 5 en route to going 11-5 straight-up and 12-4 against-the-spread on the season. Joe Flacco was picked off twice in that contest and threw for just 153 yards, while Titans counterpart Kerry Collins had one TD strike, two INTs, and 163 yards through the air. Tennessee was 13-3 SU during the regular season, and 12-3-1 ATS. The Titans are pegged as 3-point favorites by the Oddsmakers for Saturday, while the total’s at 34 points.
The Cardinals got past the Falcons 30-24 at home in their Wild Card Weekend matchup, and they’ll now try to avenge the loss they suffered in Carolina earlier in the season. The Panthers beat the Cards 27-23 in Week 8 despite Kurt Warner’s 381 yards passing and two TDs; Jake Delhomme threw for 248 yards and a pair of scores. Arizona went 9-7 both SU and ATS in the regular season, while Carolina was 12-4 SU and 9-6-1 ATS. For Saturday’s late game the Panthers at the sportsbooks are listed as 9.5-point favorites at home, with the total pegged at 48.5.
Other Notable Events
There are two No. 18’s in the AP Top 25 this week, with the voters having Marquette and Villanova tied on that list. Both of those teams will take to the court on Saturday against other ranked opponents, with Marquette hosting No. 25 West Virginia, and Villanova getting visited in Philadelphia by No. 23 Louisville.
The top college basketball team in action on Saturday is No. 2 Duke, who will be at Tallahassee’s Donald L. Tucker Center for a game against Florida State at 2:00pm ET. Other Top-10 teams who will be in action on Saturday: No. 5 Connecticut vs. Cincinnati, No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Kansas State, No. 7 Texas vs. Iowa State, No. 8 Michigan State vs. Kansas, and No. 9 Georgetown vs. Providence.
The Rest of the Schedule
With just one win in four January contests to fall to 13-21 SU (18-16 ATS) on the season the New York Knicks return to action on Saturday night on the road against the Houston Rockets. That’s one of six games on the NBA slate for Saturday, which also includes Charlotte at Washington, Milwaukee at Minnesota, Oklahoma City at Chicago, and Detroit at Utah. As well, the late-night matchup for Saturday night has the Golden State Warriors on the road against the Blazers.
Finally, the NHL offers up 12 games on Saturday, including a pair of 1:00pm ET matinees: Carolina at Boston, and Atlanta at Florida. Sidney Crosby and his fading Pittsburgh Penguins will be in Colorado to take on the Avalanche for a 3:00pm ET puck drop on Saturday afternoon, while the rest of the schedule takes place at night: Washington at Montreal, the Rangers at Ottawa, Toronto at Philadelphia, Buffalo at Detroit, Minnesota at Columbus, Chicago at Nashville, Dallas at Phoenix, San Jose at Vancouver, and then New Jersey at Los Angeles.
A Peek at the Future
Sunday’s NFL playoff matchups has Philadelphia at the Giants at 1:00pm ET, and San Diego at Pittsburgh at 4:45pm ET. The Giants are listed as 4-point home favorites in their game, while the Steelers are favored by 6 points on their own field . . . the top NBA games on Sunday see Orlando at San Antonio and Miami at the Lakers . . . No. 3 North Carolina and No. 4 Wake Forest will square off in college basketball action Sunday, with that game set to start at 8:00pm ET.
Sports Headlines
Utah’s AG is considering an anti-trust lawsuit against the BCS, correctly stating that Tim Tebow and Florida didn’t win the National Championship on the field considering the Utah Utes are undefeated…The third round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship resumes today and BetUs Sportsbook has intriguing odds on it…Aston Villa knocks off West Bromwich Albion by a 2-1 margin…Portsmouth and Manchester City have been postponed because of frost.