[CNOTES]

Daily Sports Roundup

Thursday, October 22

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rangers host the Devils, North Carolina gets a visit from Florida State, and the fifth game of the ALCS takes place in L.A.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

The lone college football game on the Thursday schedule has Florida State at North Carolina. The Seminoles (2-4 SU, 1-4 ATS) are coming off a 49-44 loss to Georgia Tech in their last contest; Christian Ponder threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns in that defeat for Florida State. The Tar Heels (4-2 SU, 1-3 ATS) knocked off Georgia Southern 42-12 last time out. Oddsmakers have North Carolina listed as the 2.5-point home favorite for their Thursday night matchup.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League Championship Series heads to Game 5 on Thursday night, with the Angels once again hosting the Yankees. New York will send A.J. Burnett to the mound on Thursday; righthander Burnett started Game 2 of the ALCS, picking up a no-decision after allowing two earned runs on three hits over 6 1-3 innings of work. Los Angeles counters with righthander John Lackey, who took the loss in the ALCS opener after giving up four runs over his 5 2-3 innings.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are nine games on tap around the National Hockey League on Thursday, including Detroit at Phoenix. The 3-3-1 Red Wings fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Avalanche last time out; Justin Abdelkader, Todd Bertuzzi, and Valtteri Filppula had the Detroit goals, while Chris Osgood made 26 saves in the loss. The 5-2-0 Coyotes continued their surprising start with a 4-1 win over the Bruins last game. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 22 of the 23 Boston shots in the victory.

Also on the ice on Thursday: the Islanders at Montreal, Boston at Philadelphia, Washington at Atlanta, Nashville at Ottawa, San Jose at Tampa Bay, Columbus at Edmonton, Dallas at Los Angeles, and New Jersey at the Rangers. The Rangers fell to 7-2-0 on the season with a 7-3 loss to the Sharks on Monday night. Chris Drury, Michael Del Zotto, and Enver Lisin provided the goals for New York in the defeat, while Stephen Valiquette was lit up for five goals on 18 shots.

[CNOTES]

Bettor's best friend: Today's helpful tips

Thursday, October 22

ALCS Nemeses

Current members of the Los Angeles Angels have a .258 average with seven homers and 29 RBI in 217 at-bats against New York Yankees starter A.J. Burnett. Bobby Abreu is hitting .313 (20-for-64) with 11 RBI but Vladimir Guerrero is batting just .214 (9-for-42) with two homers.

Current Yankees have a .289 average with 11 homers and 43 RBI in 357 at-bats vs. Angels starter John Lackey. Mark Teixeira is hitting .388 (19-of-49) with 11 RBI and Alex Rodriguez has four homers, although his average against the righthander is just .176 with 23 strikeouts in 51 at-bats.

The Angels are -118 with a total of 8.5.

So happy it's Thursday

The Florida State-North Carolina game marks the first time the Tar Heels have hosted a Thursday night game on ESPN. The Seminoles are 4-4 all-time on the road in ESPN Thursday night games and have played one each of the last three years, going 1-2 straight up and 0-3 against the spread. FSU is getting 2.5 points, the first time it has been the underdog in an ACC game vs. North Carolina.

Ready to return

Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk, out since Oct. 13 with an upper body injury, likely will return when the team opens a five-game road trip in Phoenix, TSN of Canada reported. Datsyuk, who as scored at least 28 goals in each of his last five seasons, had two assists in the first five games. The Red Wings went 1-1 and played to the over twice without him. Detroit is -130 with a total of 5.5.

A bold statement

Arizona Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin told the Arizona Republic that he will be a "game-time decision" for Sunday's game vs. the New York Giants. Boldin has a high ankle sprain. If Boldin does not play, Steve Breaston will start and Jerheme Urban becomes the third receiver. The Cardinals are getting seven points from the Giants with a total of 46.

Capital punishment

Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Semin is questionable Thursday at Atlanta due to an illness that forced him to miss Wednesday's practice, the Washington Post reported. Semin has been held without a point in three of his last four games but is third on the team with 10 points, including six goals. Semin was part of recent line changes that had spurred consecutive wins. Washinton is -130 at Atlanta with a total of 6.0.

Second time, shame on me

An SEC officiating crew has been suspended after messing up a call at a key moment for the second time in a month. The crew led by referee Mark Curles called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter of Florida's 23-20 win, even though the SEC said there was no video evidence to back up the call.

Curles' crew also worked the LSU-Georgia game in which the Bulldogs were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct after scoring the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter. The penalty helped put the Tigers in good field position for the winning score in a 20-13 victory. The crew will not work until at least Nov. 14 and may not receive a bowl assignment.

Gonchar gone

This is one way to slow down the Pittsburgh Penguins: Defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who pilots the power play, is out up to six weeks with a broken wrist. Tied with Sidney Crosby for second on the team in scoring with eight points, Gonchar played the point on Pittsburgh's power play, which ranks just 18th in the NHL at 20.5 percent (8-for-39). The Penguins take a six-game winning streak into Friday's home match vs. Florida (no line), which ranks 25th in killing penalties.

Notable Quotable

"I'll get killed for saying this ... but I'm not so against steroids if they're administered under proper supervision and there is no long-term damage."

-- Dallas Mavericks outspoken owner Mark Cuban, speaking at a University of Pittsburgh forum about the possible use of steroids to help athletes recuperate from injuries more quickly.

[CNOTES]

Six-pack for Thursday

-- Big win for Mike Price's UTEP squad Wednesday; they upset Tulsa 27-24 in the Sun Bowl, after blowing an early 13-0 lead.

-- SEC suspended the officials who worked LSU-Georgia and Florida-Arkansas games the last two weeks; those nitwits deserve it.

-- If Angels lose Thursday night, no baseball this weekend, which will be just great for World Series TV ratings.

-- Washington Huskies can't have full basketball practices yet, because seven of their 12 players have the flu.

-- As if Redskin situation couldn't get stranger, rumors have it that Jim Zorn almost quit as head coach but didn't; he's likely to be fired soon.

-- Cincinnati QB Pike had surgery, his status is unknown; Oklahoma's Bradford is apparently headed towards season-ending surgery.

[CNOTES]

Thursday's List of 13: Wrapping up my trip to Las Vegas

13) This was my first trip to Vegas since March of '99; they're always building new buildings on the Strip. The place I stayed in ten years ago doesn't even exist anymore.

12) Lot of walking on the strip-- important to have comfortable shoes.

11) You can smoke in casinos there, which is weird to me, because you can't smoke indoors in public places here in New York.

10) Why is smoking legal anywhere? Who would be against making it against the law, other than the tobacco companies?

9) $5 a hand blackjack at O'Shea's casino is highly recommended.

8) So are the sandwiches at the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage. Huge.

7) Great to see a ballgame at Thomas & Mack Arena, home of so much basketball history. Didn't realize the Lakers were so popular there.

6) I try to keep my watch on eastern time when I'm there, to keep track of when everything starts. Don't want to miss out on a game starting.

5) Non-stop Albany-Vegas flight on Southwest is tremendous. Read a book cover to cover on way back. Strange book, too (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell) funny as hell at times, but mostly kind of disturbing. They made a movie out of it that's coming out soon.

4) Everyone should go to Las Vegas once, just for the experience. There is something for everyone, whether gambling, shows, good weather.......

3) One of the great parts of being here is meeting people from all over the country-- talked to people from Georgia, Iowa, California, Pittsburgh Minnesota and Connecticut. Sports is a great way to meet people and learn about how other people think.

2) Most of the people I asked about living there were lukewarm on the idea; the economy in Vegas has been hit hard-- this is the first time in a long time they had negative growth in Nevada over a full year.

1) Besides reading the book, I did the next best thing to do on the way home from Vegas--started planning my next trip there.

[CNOTES]

MLB
This Day in Baseball

On October 22 in Baseball History...

1910 - After three straight defeats and trailing the Philadelphia 3-2 in the ninth, the Chicago Cubs tied the score, then won 4-3 in 10 innings for their only victory as the A's won the World Series in five games.

1967 - Joe DiMaggio is hired by Charlie Finley as executive vice president of the newly-transplanted Oakland Athletics.

1972 - The Oakland A's won their first World Series with a 3-2 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 7. It was the first championship since 1930 for the franchise, then located in Philadelphia.

1975 - A ninth-inning RBI single by Joe Morgan gave the Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox and the World Series title in seven games. It was the first championship for the Reds in 35 years.

1985 - Bret Saberhagen gives Kansas City their first-ever World Series victory in Game Three with a complete game 6-1 decision.

1986 - Gary Carter's two home runs at Fenway Park gave New York a 6-2 victory and pulled the Mets even with Boston Red Sox in the World Series after four games.

1987 - The St. Louis Cardinals won their third straight home game, 4-2 against the Minnesota Twins, and took a 3-2 lead in the World Series.

1991 - It takes 12 innings, but the first-ever World Series game in Atlanta goes to the Braves. Mark Lemke singles in David Justice for the 5-4 win.

1992 - Plans for a victory parade in Toronto don't pan out. Lonnie Smith's grand slam and a solid outing by John Smoltz in Game Five ensure that the Series will return to Atlanta.

1995 - The Braves take a 2-0 World Series lead behind the pitching of Tom Glavine. His batterymate, Javier Lopez, decides the game with his bat. The Atlanta catcher's two-run home run in the sixth inning off Dennis Martinez is the deciding blow in a 4-3 victory over Cleveland.

1996 - The Yankees continue to be kings of the road. Jimmy Key holds the Braves at bay and Bernie Williams drives in three runs in a 5-2 win in Game Three in Atlanta.

1997 - The snow flurries and 38-degree game time temperature in Cleveland make it the coldest World Series in history, while home runs by Manny Ramirez and Matt Williams make it a long night for the Marlins. Jaret Wright out distances Tony Saunders 10-3 in Game Four in a battle of rookies.

[CNOTES]

Len's Top 5

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 22, 2009 from Len Berman Sports.

1. Quick Hits

The champion Philadelphia Phillies are heading back to the World Series after beating the Dodgers in 5 games, 10-4 the final last night. Street celebrations aren't as rowdy as last year.
The Yankees can capture their 40th pennant with a win tonight in Anaheim. 7:57pm ET FOX
Former Mets General Manager Steve Phillips, 46, takes leave of absence from ESPN in the wake of an affair with a 22-year old production assistant. Phillips' wife has filed for divorce.
The Olympic flame is lit in Olympia Greece. It'll arrive in Canada next week for a very long torch relay to Vancouver for the start of the Winter Olympics February 12th.

2. Calling R2-D2

The head of the baseball umpires union is opposed to instant replay. He says it would turn umpires into "robots." I'd rather have robots than World Series farces. (Again, I'm in favor of limited replay.)
After a controversial call in the 1975 World Series, Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox said to me, "the best players are in the World Series, why not the best umpires?" How sad is it that 34 years later we're still asking the same question?

3. The More Things Change

Ho hum. Knicks Center Eddy Curry is out of shape, and during the critical moments of the Phillies/Dodgers game the other night, Manny Ramirez was taking a shower. Shades of Rickey Henderson of the Mets playing cards during a playoff game. Don't you wonder what these athletes are thinking? Other than "me, myself and I?"

4. Obstacle Course

During the Des Moines Marathon last weekend, the runners had to stop for a passing train. It enabled the second place guy to catch up to the lead, but he ultimately finished second anyway. This opens up all sorts of possibilities. Most big Marathons take a couple of hours to see which African guy wins. Lets make it more interesting. Passing trains, open drawbridges, running through alligator infested moats. How about crawling through windmills? We could combine the very best that marathon racing and miniature golf have to offer.

5. Blackout

I got a warning message yesterday that some of my emails were blocked for "inappropriate content." The offensive word was "Whitey."
Next year when I mention Whitey Ford's birthday, I must remember to call him Edward Charles Ford to keep it clean.
(I just realized I'll get another warning message today. Oy.)

Happy Birthday: Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, don't you know. 27.
Bonus Birthday: Actress Catherine Deneuve. 66.

Today in Sports: Remember when L.A. had an NFL team? Remember when the Rams could win a game? The L.A. Rams beat the Baltimore Colts 70-27. 1950.
Bonus Event: Thank God, now Bill Bradley has a school to play basketball for. Princeton University receives its charter. 1746.