[CNOTES]

Daily Sports Roundup

Thursday, November 19

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Lakers host the Bulls, the Cowboys take on the Buffaloes, and the Dolphins travel north to Carolina to meet the Panthers.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

A pair of sub-.500 teams meet on the NFL gridiron on Thursday night, as Carolina (4-5 SU, 4-5 ATS) hosts Miami (4-5 SU, 4-5 ATS). The Dolphins managed to pick up a win over Tampa Bay last weekend, edging them 25-23 at home; RB Ronnie Brown is out for Thursday with a foot injury. The Panthers are also coming off a win - they got past Atlanta 28-19 last time out. Oddsmakers have Carolina listed as a 3-point favorite for Thursday, with a total at 42.5 points.

There's also one college football game on the Thursday schedule, with Colorado at No. 12 Oklahoma State. The Buffaloes (3-7 SU, 5-5 ATS) fell 17-10 at Iowa State last time out, as QB Tyler Hansen went just 18-of-38 for 258 yards passing with one TD and one INT. The ranked Cowboys (8-2 SU, 5-3-1 ATS) are coming off a 24-17 win over Texas Tech, despite Zac Robinson throwing for just 90 yards and one score. Oklahoma State is pegged as an 18.5-point favorite for Thursday.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA has three games on tap for Thursday, as New Orleans hosts Phoenix, Utah plays in San Antonio, and the Lakers get a visit from the Bulls. Los Angeles (8-3 SU, 4-7 ATS) put an end to its mini-skid on Tuesday night, rolling to a 106-93 win over Detroit. Kobe Bryant led the way with 40 points for the Lakers in that victory, while Andrew Bynum picked up 17 points and 12 boards. Chicago (6-4 SU, 4-6 ATS) won its second straight on Tuesday, getting past the Kings 101-87.

As well, college hoops continues its preseason events on Thursday, most notably with the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse takes on No. 13 California in the first of the night's matchups, with No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Ohio State in the later game; the Tar Heels and Buckeyes are a combined 5-0 to start the season. The other ranked matchup on the Thursday slate sees No. 18 Dayton battle No. 21 Georgia Tech in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are eight games on the NHL schedule for Thursday, with Toronto at Carolina, Boston at Atlanta, Pittsburgh at Ottawa, Phoenix at St. Louis, New Jersey at Nashville, Columbus at Dallas, Tampa Bay at Anaheim, and Chicago at Calgary. The Blackhawks and Flames enter their Thursday matchup with identical 12-5-2 records; Chicago beat San Jose 4-3 in their most recent game, while Calgary is coming off a 3-2 home loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday night.

[CNOTES]

Bettor's best friend: Today's helpful tips

Thursday, November 19

Pau power

All-Star power forward Pau Gasol is expected to play Thursday for the first time this season when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Chicago Bulls. Gasol has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and the team is 4-7 against the spread without him. LA is giving 9.5 points to Chicago with a total of 191.

Hello, Columbus

Two key personnel moves for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Left wing Raffi Torres, who scored eight goals in 17 games before having his jaw broken by a puck, will play for the first time since Nov. 11. And Steve Mason will start in goal, needing a good game to avoid losing more starts to backup Mathieu Garon, who has a better GAA. The Blue Jackets are +125 at Dallas with a total of 5.5.

Experienced or old?

The San Antonio Spurs host the Utah Jazz in the back end of their third set of back-to-back games. The first two were on the road and did not go so well, with the Spurs losing by seven points at Chicago on Oct. 29 and by 12 points at Portland on Nov. 6. The Spurs are getting eight points with a total of 202.

Totally different

In the three games started by Chad Pennington, the Miami Dolphins averaged 12.3 points and were 1-2 against the over. In six games started by Chad Henne, the Dolphins have averaged 29.2 points and are 5-1 against the over. Miami is getting three points at Carolina with a total of 42.5.

Rocky road

Colorado is 0-5 straight up on the road. While the Buffs are 2-3 vs. the spread, one of those wins was a 38-14 loss at Texas in which they were getting 33.5 points and were outscored 35-0 over the last 31 minutes. They also have been outscored 75-30 in teir last three away games. Colorado is getting 17 points at Oklahoma State with a total of 47.5.

Home away from home

Syracuse is pick 'em vs. California at Madison Square Garden, which has been the Orange's second home. Under Jim Boeheim, Syracuse is 65-44 straight up at Madison Square Garden. Since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, it has been even better, going 18-8.

Abdicating the throne

Los Angeles Kings left wing Ryan Smyth, second on the team in scoring, is out a month with an upper body injury, forcing coach Terry Murray to change his top two lines. Alexander Frolov will move to the top line alongside Anze Kopitar and Teddy Purcell moves onto the second line with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds. The Kings next play Saturday vs. Calgary.

Notable quotable

"I think he should come on down. I know he's pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted. He's competitive and tough. I'm sure whatever he applied himself to, he'd probably be good in baseball or soccer or swimming."

-- Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini, responding to NBA superstar LeBron James' claim that he could be a "really good" football player if he put in the time and commitment.

[CNOTES]

Six-pack for Thursday

Final thoughts from ESPN's first college basketball marathon.......

-- Best Game: Michigan State 75, Gonzaga 71-- It felt like March.

-- Best announcing gig: Northern Colorado at Hawai'i. Worst was the 6am game in Jersey City, or 8am in Niagara Falls.

-- Landmark win-- Cal State Fullerton beat UCLA for first time ever; if they don't win another game all year, thats huge for their program.

-- Big East blew it when they took DePaul over Memphis.

-- UConn, UCLA have a long way to go for them to be contenders for the national championship. They're both really struggling.

-- My handicapping take on the odd starting times is that they favor the visitor-- anything that takes the home team out of their routine is good for the road team, which has no set road routine.

[CNOTES]

Thursday's List of 13: Our NFL List of 13.........

32) Browns-- Brady Quinn was 0-7 Monday night on passes that went further than 10 yards; this is one terrible team.

31) Bills-- Fired the coach, changed QBs and snow hasn't even started yet. They're only team to lose to the Browns, and 6-3 at that.

30) Lions-- Only team to lose to Rams, now they're favored to beat the Browns this week. Good tickets still available.

29) Raiders-- Changing QBs to Gradkowski-- this is a franchise that has fired Shanahan and Gruden but won't fire Tom Cable. Go figure.

28) Chiefs-- Looked awful in victory last week, then their best WR was suspended for the next four games. Best part of Chief games is watching coach Todd Haley and reading his lips when things go badly.

8) Steelers-- Still amazed they've allowed a TD on offense/special teams in each of their last seven games. Good teams don't usually do that.

7) Cowboys-- Were rolling until Romo went home to Wisconsin and the Pack defense woke up. Rival Redskins visit Jerry World this week.

6) Cardinals-- Explosive Redbirds play better on road, and look like they are jogging to another division title.

5) Patriots-- No matter what you think of Belichick's decision Sunday, bottom line is it didn't work and that is how pro coaches are judged.

4) Vikings-- Minnesota defense has forced 21 fumbles, tops in the NFL. Viking-Saint NFC title game would be huge.

3) Bengals-- Swept Steelers, coming from behind in first meeting, then keeping Pitt without TD at Heinz Field. Good times in Cincinnati.

2) Colts-- Five wins by four or less points. They're a 9-0 underdog this week in Baltimore, the city they deserted 25 years ago.

1) Saints-- Signed Chris McAlister to remedy woes at CB; run defense hasn't been good. They visit improved Buccaneers Sunday.

[CNOTES]

Len's Top 5

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 19, 2009 from Len Berman.

1. Quick Hits

Mike Scioscia is named the American League manager of the year. Jim Tracy of Colorado wins the NL award. The Rockies immediately announce a new 3 year contract for Tracy.
LeBron James says (he says a lot of things) that he could make it in the NFL. Browns Coach Eric Mangini says "C'mon down." Why not, nothing else has worked in Cleveland.
South African runner Caster Semenya will be allowed to keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world track and field championships, and her gender test will be kept confidential by South African officials.
The incredible shrinking golf tour. The LPGA will stage only 24 events next year, only 13 of them in the U.S. Down from 34 in 2008. It will be cold turkey on lots of weekends for fans of ladies golf.

2. Yeah, but can he Score?

When the Kansas City Chiefs cut running back Larry Johnson, a K.C. radio station asked me if I thought anyone would pick him up? I immediately answered "yes." And Cincinnati has. That despite all of Johnson's baggage. Assaults on women, disparaging comments about gays. Personal problems? Who cares if you can score touchdowns. Reminds me of Jim Bouton's line, "Hey Charlie Manson, sure you've had a few bumps in the road, but you batted .327 last year....."

3. Performance Enhancers

As if sports isn't complicated enough. Drugs, gender testing, how about artificial limbs? Double amputee Oscar Pistorius runs on metal legs. They call him the "Blade Runner." He's been ruled eligible to compete with able bodied runners, but he failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Now, a new study claims Pistorius has an unfair advantage, as much as 10 seconds in a 400 meter race. The findings are being published today in the "Journal of Applied Physiology." Pistorius is aiming for the 2012 London Olympics. I can see it now. Lawsuits, restraining orders. A feel good story about overcoming handicaps turning into an Olympic sized headache.

4. Bad News Good News

The Wall Street Journal took a hard look at all the drug policies in sports. Of the 4 major sports leagues, Major League baseball came out the worst, and that seems to be the league everyone talks about the most. (It's all about home runs.) The good news for Major League Baseball is they rank better than bowling. The Professional Bowlers Association doesn't test for drugs, but drinking and bowling is not allowed. If that applied to amateur bowling, bowling would have to close up shop.

5. The Final Words

As we continue the debate on PC or Un-PC sports names. Subscriber D.R. writes: "Concerning the item about the St. John’s Redmen (changed to Red Storm), I am always puzzled that the critics avoid the Fighting Irish, or the Penn Quakers. Why are those names not a problem, but Redmen is?" Subscriber A.V. is fed up, he wonders "Will all super tall individuals now go after the NY Giants?"

Happy Birthday: That little gymnast who helped the U.S. women win the Olympic gold in Atlanta in1996 on a bad ankle, Kerri Strug. 32.
Bonus Birthday: The king of talk, Larry King. 76.

Today in Sports: Dodger great Sandy Koufax hangs 'em up. He was just 30. 1966.
Bonus Event: Abe started out by saying at Gettysburg "Four score and 7 years ago...." 1863.

I'll be appearing on NBC's Today Show tomorrow morning to talk about my new kids book, "The Greatest Moments in Sports."