SportsBettingChamp.com Sports Blog

A colossal 13 games were played in the NBA on Friday starting in Philadelphia where the Cavaliers secured the Eastern Conference’s top spot with an easy win over the 76ers, 102-92. The Cavs never looked in trouble in this game and had a 6 point lead at the half before coasting the rest of the way. LeBron James top scored with 27 and 10 assists while Mo Williams had 18. This loss leaves Philly still fighting for their seed, they’re only 1 game behind 5th placed Miami but only 1 game in front of 7th and 8th placed Chicago and Detroit respectively. Two losses in their final two games could see them playing Cleveland again the play-offs as 8th seed..

Atlanta secured 4th spot in the East with a hard fought victory over Indiana in Atlanta on a night where outside of the Philips Arena there was thunder and lightening. In a high scoring game Josh Smith led the Hawks with 30 points and 10 rebounds while Al Horford had 22 points and 15 rebounds for a double double to see Atlanta to a 122-118 victory.

The Celtics kept hold of 2nd spot in the East with a 105-98 win over the Miami Heat at TD Banknorth Garden. The difference in this game was Boston’s near impeccable free throw shooting, the Celtics shot 95 percent from the stripe, 20 points in total to see them past Miami. Paul Pierce scored 28 points while Glen Davis was next with 22.

At the Palace in Detroit the Pistons shut out the Bobcats from getting into the play-offs and secured their own passage into the post-season. With Charlotte losing and Detroit winning it was mathematically impossible for the ‘Cats to get back into the top 8. The Pistons beat the New Jersey Nets 100-93 with an assured performance against a team that’s often better away from home than at home. Will Bynum came off the bench to score a team high 20 points while starter Rasheed Wallace scored 15.

The New York Knicks virtually ensured that the Boston Celtics would have the 2nd spot in the East when they beat Orlando on the road, 105-95. This loss left Orlando with 3 games to play (the same amount as Boston) and 2 games behind Boston. With the Celtics holding the season series tie breaker it means that Boston would have to go winless for the rest of the season while Orlando go 3-0. New York won this thanks to Al Harrington’s 27 points and David Lee’s 20 points and 16 rebounds.

The aforementioned Charlotte Bobcats finally ended their play-off dream with a 84-81 loss at Oklahoma City. Charlotte, who have improved over the course of the season, just couldn’t keep up their intensity of a few weeks ago and the play-offs proved a step too far, they will however, be encouraged for next season when a shot at the post-season is a distinct possibility with their line-up. They went into the half 11 points down and couldn’t fully recover, Kevin Durant inflicted the most damage with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Nenad Krstic was next with 19.

Caron Butler’s 20 foot jumper at the buzzer gave Washington their 6th road win of the season, a 100-98 win over the Toronto Raptors. Late in the 4th quarter the Wizards had already given up a 6 point lead before Butler shot a fade away to win the game. He had 21 points on the night while Antawn Jamison led the Wiz with 24 and 12 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas again didn’t play.

Signs of wanting the season to be over shone through in the Suns weak performance against the Grizzlies in Memphis last night. Phoenix lost this one 106-89 and for the first time in ages were held to below 3 figures. Known that they could no longer make the play-offs might have had an impact in the Suns’ play, only 1 starter managed to get past double figures scoring-wise (Jason Richardson with 13). The Grizzlies were able to light up the court though with Rudy Gay and O.J Mayo dropping 20 points each and Hakim Warrick coming off the bench to collect 15 points and 10 rebounds to get Memphis their 23rd win of the season.

In Dallas the Mavericks overcame the New Orleans Hornets and in the process took 7th spot in the Western Conference from the Utah Jazz. This battle between Dallas and Utah for 7th spot is a big one, finishing in 8th would mean facing the Lakers in the first round while 7th will probably mean the Denver Nuggets, a much nicer prospect. Utah lost to San Antonio last night and at the same time Dallas beat their Western Conference rivals by 100-92 to leap frog them. Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki both had 25 points with Howard collecting 11 rebounds for a double double to see the Mavs into an all important seeding spot.

The aforementioned Jazz lost away to the San Antonio Spurs 105-99, carrying on their poor form away from home, form that looks to be their Achilles heel going into the play-offs. If they finish the season in 8th they’ll need to beat the Lakers at least once in L.A if they’re to have any chance of progressing and this looks unlikely the way they’ve been playing away from Salt Lake. In this game Tony Parker came up big for the Spurs, who without Manu Ginobili need all the points they can get from Parker. Parker scored 31 points, shooting 9 of 15 from the field in a win that leaves San Antonio in a tie for 4th spot with Portland with both teams a half game off of 3rd placed Houston.

Portland kept the pressure on 3rd placed Houston with a convincing win at home to the L.A Lakers, 106-98. Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers with 24 points while LaMarcus Aldridge and Steve Blake both had 16 points a piece. Portland are gunning for a high seed and Brandon Roy has been the catalyst for that streak that’s seen them win 8 of their last 10 games. The Lakers look to have finally surrendered top spot in the NBA to the Cavs and are now 2 games behind them with only 2 to play.

Houston kept hold of 3rd spot in the West with a commanding win over Golden State, 113-109, in Oakland. Visiting the Warriors and coming away with a win is a tough thing to do but the Rockets managed this with the help of Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola, who scored 20 and 28 respectively. These performances made up for the loss of Yao Ming who played no part in Friday’s game. Dikembe Mutombo filled in at center and scored 10 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for a double double.

Finally in a pointless game the L.A Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings 109-78 in Los Angeles. The Clips held the Kings to 13 1st quarter points to take a 26 point lead into the half and the game was over from that point on really, Sacramento never really posed a threat. Brian Skinner led the Clippers with 21 and 10 rebounds while Eric Gordon had 20 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the field.

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With the season ending on Wednesday tonight could see a lot sewn up in the NBA, 13 games are being played and so a lot of teams’ fates are in the balance. The biggest game in the West is the clash between Utah and San Antonio in Texas. Both team’s have secured their play-off berth and are now looking at getting the highest seed they can before the season ends.

For Utah this task hasn’t been helped by their away form which has seen them win only 2 games at teams over .500, overall they’re 15-24 on the road. It’s their home form that’s seen them into the play-offs, they’ve only lost 7 times at home. This will give encouragement to the Spurs who have Manu Ginobili out for the season while Tim Duncan is questionable for tonight’s game. They’ll be hoping that the Jazz’ bad away from stays true so that they can earn a win that they desperately need.

A few weeks ago San Antonio were in the 2nd spot but they’ve only won half of their last 10 games to see them drop to 5th place in the West and out of home court advantage in the first round. Last night Houston snatched 3rd spot for themselves and the Spurs will want a win to create another tie for 3rd place. The win will be more difficult than usual, not only do they have injury problems Utah have none whatsoever.

San Antonio have won the season series though, including a win in Utah, 106-100, in late January. Both San Antonio wins have come when the Jazz’ have had injuries and with none to speak of this game will be a much harder test for the Spurs even if they’re at home. Tip-off is at 8.30pm ET at the AT&T Center.

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Only 3 games were played in the NBA on Thursday night so quite a sparse round-up:

First up in the Windy City Chicago took another step towards securing their play-off spot with a 113-99 win over Philadelphia at the United Center. The Bulls looked sluggish to start with before stepping up a gear to take a 10 point lead into the 3rd quarter, Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas led the Bulls with 24 points each and Brad Miller came off the bench to drop 15 points. This win took Chicago 3 and a half games in front of 9th placed Charlotte with 3 games to play. Charlotte have 4 games to play and will now surely set their sights on catching Detroit (who are only 3 games in front of them) but will surely need to win all of their remaining games to have a chance.

Next up Houston needed a good second half performance to take care of the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento. The Rockets were down 5 points at half time but proceeded to outscore the Kings by 22 to win this one 115-98. Ron Artest played a huge part in securing the win for Houston by scoring 26 points with Yao Ming coming up with another 20 points to compliment him. This win meant Houston took complete control of the Western Conference’s 3rd spot, at least for tonight. The team’s that were in a tie with the Rockets for 3rd place are both playing tonight (Portland and San Antonio) so it will be interesting where they stand once everyone’s played tonight.

Finally the L.A Lakers comfortably beat Denver at home to show everyone that they’re the Western Conference’s top seed. Both teams came into this game on hot streaks, the Lakers had won 4 straight and the Nuggets had won 8 straight but it was Los Angeles who came out with their streak intact after they won 116-102. Kobe Bryant looked back to his best with 33 points while Pau Gasol had his usual double double with 27 points and a big 19 rebounds, 11 of which were on the offensive side. Both teams are already in the play-off and are now just waiting to see who they’ll play in the first round. The Lakers will play 8th seed and Denver 7th seed, both are being contested by Utah and Dallas so unless one of the teams above slip up badly it looks like it will be one of those two.

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Since it’s a Thursday there are only 3 games being played and all have some play-off implications. We’ll focus on the later game of the 3, Denver’s trip to Los Angeles. This is 2nd against 1st in the West and could very well be the Western Conference Finals in a few weeks time. The thing that makes this game so tantalising is the fact that both teams are on hot streaks. The Lakers have won 4 straight and 8 of their last 10 while Denver have won 8 straight and 9 of their last 10.

For Denver this has been down to their two big contributors in the starting line-up Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony who’ve been averaging 18 and 23 points each respectively. The majority of the 8 wins have been at home though including wins over Oklahoma, Utah, New York and the L.A Clippers, all notoriously bad teams on the road.

This won’t dampen the Nuggets spirit though and they’ll be hoping to cage Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom and gather their 9th straight against a team over .500 on the road to show everyone they mean business for the upcoming post season. Tip off is at 10.30pm ET and the game’s on TNT.

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11 games were played in the NBA last night starting off with an easy win for the Cleveland Cavaliers who faced the Wizards at home. Cleveland raced out into a 13 point lead after the first quarter and never looked in trouble at the Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night. They moved to 38-1 at home after this win in which LeBron James had 21 points to lead the Cavaliers to an 98-86 victory.

Indiana blew out the Toronto Raptors in 3 intense quarters of basketball which the Raptors had no answer to. The Pacers held a 9 point lead going into the 2nd quarter, 26 point lead into the 3rd quarter and 41 point lead going into the 4th before they decided to let Toronto save some face and close the gap a little bit. This game ended 130-101 with a couple of sturdy performances from the Pacers’ starters, Danny Granger had 29, Jarrett Jack had 23, shooting 9 of 11 from the field. 3 players also managed double doubles; Troy Murphy (14-14rebounds), T.J Ford, from the bench, (14-11assists) and Josh McRoberts, also from the bench, (12-11rebounds).

Orlando squeaked out a win to stay a game behind 2nd placed Boston in the Eastern Conference at home to Memphis. In a game that should have been easier than the scoreline suggested the Magic were surprised at the tenacity of the Grizzlies play that led to them leading by a point at the half. This continued into the 3rd quarter when Memphis allowed Orlando to score only 10 points, ensuring they led going into the final 12 minutes. The Magic however, were obviously kicked into action by their coach and overcame an 8 point deficit to eventually win this one 81-78 after a blistering final quarter. Dwight Howard achieved another double double for the Magic (14-13rebounds) while Hedo Turkoglu led the team with 20 points, shooting 50 percent from the field.

In San Antonio the ‘Blazers created a 3-way tie for 3rd place in the Western Conference when they beat the Spurs, 95-83. Portland, who’ve been gunning for a top seed for most of the second half of the season, really showed why they should have home field advantage in the play-offs by beating one of their main rivals in their backyard. They did this with big contributions from Brandon Roy, who had 26 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 20. On top of this they came back from a 17 point first quarter deficit and have won 7 of their last 10, form that will get them up the West standings with 4 games to play.

In Boston the Celtics countered Orlando’s close win with a close win of their own. They beat the New Jersey Nets 106-104 despite going down by 10 after the 1st quarter. Vince Carter led the Nets with 33 points and 12 rebounds but his points tally was effectively nullified by Rajon Rondo’s 31. This win keeps Boston in 2nd place in the East, one game ahead of the Magic with both teams having 4 games left to play.

In New York Detroit gave a performance that made them look like they were back to their old best, blowing out the Knicks, 113-86. They ended this game effectively in the 1st half outscoring the Knicks by 24. Antonio McDyess (13-16rebounds) and Rasheed Wallace (14-12rebounds) both scored double doubles and Rip Hamilton led with 22. This win virtually insures the Pistons of a play-off place with 4 games left to play, they’re 3 games ahead of Charlotte, who are in 9th place, so would need to go winless to give the Bobcats any chance of catching them.

On a night when their play-off hopes were finally extinguished Phoenix produced a grinding performance against a team that had already confirmed it‘s place in the play-offs. They went into New Orleans knowing that they needed to win every one of their remaining games to have a chance and then hope that Dallas didn’t win one of theirs and showed that they had that in mind when they beat CP3 and co. 105-100. Steve Nash had 24 points, shooting 7 of 9 from the field and Shaq had a double double (17-11rebounds) but that was only enough for the Suns to win this game. They won’t be in the play-offs this season though as Dallas responded by winning later on in the day.

In Milwaukee the Hawks held the Bucks to 12 3rd quarter points to win this game 113-105. After going into the half 9 points down Atlanta came out with all guns blazing and outscored Milwaukee by 19 to take the game by the scruff of the neck and the Bucks never recovered. Joe Johnson scored 30 with 3 3-pointers while Mike Bibby dropped 22. This was the perfect time to face the Bucks who, after this loss, have only won one of their last 10 including their last 4 and are looking like they might finish the season 3rd bottom in the Eastern Conference. For the Hawks it’s full steam ahead to the play-offs to face either Miami or Philly depending on who finishes in 5th spot.

Denver easily disposed of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who never posed a real threat. It took the Nuggets a while before they started playing though, down 3 after the first half they outscored the Thunder by 8 points to snatch the game away from them. Carmelo Anthony had 31 points, shooting 11 of 21 while Nene had 23 and 10 rebounds for a double double. This win means Denver will almost certainly earn the 2nd seed in the West with 3 games to play, they’re now 2 and a half games ahead of 3rd place and have won 8 straight.

The aforementioned Dallas Mavericks confirmed their play-off berth and drew level with Utah for a tie of 7th place in the West with a convincing victory over them at home. The Mavs won every quarter of play to end this one 29 point winners, 130-101, and with the win shut out Phoenix from the play-offs. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 31 while Erick Dampner had a double double (10-10rebounds).

Finally in Oakland the Minnesota Timberwolves beat a team only slightly better to them to earn their 24th win of their season. Sebastian Telfair came off the bench to lead the ‘Wolves with 21 points while Kevin Love led the starters with 20 and 12 rebounds to see off Golden State, 105-97.

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11 games are being played tonight and the game with the most play-off interestingness (a word I’ve just made up) is the late match-up between Utah and Dallas. Utah are coming off of their most impressive road win since ages ago. In fact the win at New Orleans was only their 2nd win on the road against a team over .500 and buoyed by this they’ll want to come into Dallas and avoid a loss that would see them give up 7th place in the Western Conference to Dallas.

A move up the table would be a nice surprise for the Mavericks who’ve spent much of this season fighting off Phoenix for 8th spot and have never really been able to focus on jumping any higher. Neither team wants 8th spot and this feeling will probably be a factor into tonight’s game, 8th seed would be facing the Lakers in the first round and certain elimination.

Despite their long overdue road win the Mavericks are still seen as heavy favourites and will be looking to tie the season series up at 2 in the event of a tie for 7th place. Utah are currently leading 2-1 having won both of their games at home. They’ll be hoping for a big game from Deron Williams, who’s averaging 19 points a game, against a team that’s giving up less than 100 points a game and who’ve only lost 9 times at home all season. Tip-off is a 9.30pm ET and the game’s on ESPN.

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9 games were played in the NBA last night starting North of the border where Atlanta went to Toronto to face the now eliminated from play-off contention Raptors. The Hawks were behind after 2 quarters but rallied in the second half to win this one 118-110. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith both dropped 25 points while Al Horford and Mike Bibby both collected double doubles; 15 points, 12 rebounds and 13 points, 10 assists respectively. Atlanta have 4 games left and have almost secured 4th seed in the East but will hope to end the season on a high after winning only 4 of their last 10.

Charlotte kept the pressure on 8th placed Detroit by carrying on their good home form when beating Philadelphia, 101-98. The Bobcats led by 14 at the half but were then outscored by the ‘Sixers by 16 in the 3rd which forced them to rally in the final 12 minutes to grind out a win. They were helped by point guard Raymond Felton, who scored 32 including 50 percent of his 3 pointers and 12 of 20 from the field. This win leaves Charlotte 2 and a half games behind the Pistons with 5 games to go, the ‘Cats will be focusing their efforts on Detroit rather than Chicago due to the latter winning their second in a row last night to move 3 games in front of 9th place.

The New Orleans Hornets needed a period of overtime to dispose of the Miami Heat in Florida. A late rally by the Heat left the game tied at 79 at the final buzzer before Chris Paul and co. outscored Miami 14-8 in OT to win 93-87. Thankfully for Miami Philadelphia also lost so they hung onto 5th spot in the East, at least for now. They’ve got 4 games to play while Philly have 5 so it’ll be interesting to see if the 76ers can use that game in had to advance their push for the 5th seed. For the Hornets this win kept them a game above Utah after their loss to them a couple of days ago and it secured their play-off spot.

San Antonio gained revenge over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the back to back wins the Thunder handed to the Spurs in the team’s last two meetings. They won this one 99-89 in Oklahoma thanks to a solid performances from Tim Duncan, who scored 25 and had 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker, who scored 21 and had 10 assists. This win ensured the Spurs kept up the pressure on 2nd placed Denver who are a game and a half in front of them. The Spurs have 5 games to go and need to win as many as possible in a Conference that is so tight that two losses could see you plummet from 3rd to 7th.

In Memphis the Trail Blazers triumphed late on in the 4th quarter to keep their hopes of home court advantage in the play-offs alive with a 96-93 win on the road. Brandon Roy had 24 points with 2 of 4 from behind the arc while 3 players came off the bench to score double figures to see Portland past the finishing line. Portland are currently in 5th place in the Western Conference and are looking for at least one more place to get home court advantage and possibly an even higher seed. They’re half a game off of 4th placed Houston with 5 games to play so this win could make all the difference when people look at the final standings in a week or so.

At the United Center the Bulls carried on their impressive run at home, beating the New York Knicks, 110-103. This win kept them in 7th place in the Eastern Conference and it’s hard to see Detroit pushing them back out of it when they’re on this kind of form. They’ve won 7 of their last 10 and have looked good value for a spot in the post-season. Some sturdy defense won them this game in the 4th quarter; at the start of it they were down by 3 but only allowed New York to score 19 points and outscored them by 10 in the final 12 minutes. Kirk Hinrich came off the bench to score 25 points while John Salmons had 19 to keep the Bulls charging towards the play-offs.

Orlando dropped out of 2nd spot in the East when they were upset on the road at Houston, 93-83. Dwight Howard only managed 13 points in the entire game but still managed a double double with 10 rebounds. At the other end his opposite Yao Ming lit up the Rockets and scored 20 with 16 assists to blast the Rockets to victory and keep them in 4th place in the West with 4 to play.

The Lakers continued their assault on first place in the entire league by comfortably beating the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento despite a below-par 1st quarter. Los Angeles were trailing by 6 going into the 2nd before they decided to start playing and outscored the Kings by 22 and eventually finished 122-104 winners. This win leaves them only a half game behind Cleveland at the top of the league and they’ll have to pray that the Cavs somehow drop a game whilst they don’t if they’re to have a chance.

Finally the Timberwolves went into Los Angeles to face the 2nd best L.A side and got a win. In a defensive, low scoring game Minnesota came out winners, 87-77, after holding the Clippers to only 16 1st quarter points and 15 4th quarter points. Ryan Gomes had the majority of their points with 24, shooting 11 of 21 from the field while Craig Smith came off the bench for an unspectacular 16 to hand the Clips their 60th loss of the season.

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Back to the NBA for tonight’s preview and after that barren day there are 9 games on tonight, the biggest being Orlando’s trip to Houston. The Magic will be hoping to put pressure on the Celtics who currently hold 2nd place in the Eastern Conference by winning their game in hand to snatch back the place and a win will do that.

The Rockets will be trying to do exactly the same to the 3rd placed Spurs who are a half game in front of them in the Western Conference. Both teams are coming off a win, Houston’s was a comfortable home win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, 102-88, while the Magic’s was a grinding win at Atlanta 88-82 a day earlier. No team has any injury worries and they’ll be hoping that that situation stays the same with the play-offs coming up in the next couple of weeks.

The Magic will most definitely not want something bad to happen to Dwight Howard, who has been influential in nearly all of their wins this season and is currently averaging 21 points a game and averages a double double with rebounds. Alongside him tonight will be Rafer Alston (averaging 11 a game), Hedo Turmoil (16) and Rasheed Lewis (17), who are all part of a well oiled machine that’s seen Orlando to where they currently are, 3rd in the East and looking for more.

Houston also have 4 very important players in Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest, Luis Scola and Yao Ming and the loss of one of these would be devastating as Houston have a weaker bench than many in the play-off positions. With both sides having wrapped up their berths it will be interesting to see how much they play their stars in every game between now and April 15th when the season ends. Tip-off’s at 8.30pm ET.

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No games were played in the NBA last night so today’s recap will focus on opening day in the MLB season:

Firstly two games were postponed due to bad weather with some pundits asking why the decision was made to start Boston’s and Chicago’s season at home when the weather was more likely to be bad rather than away to teams in the Sun Belt, where the weather would have been fine.

So the first game actually played on Monday was between the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, the first game in a three game series. Most teams started with their main pitchers for opening day and the Mets weren’t different. Johan Santana pitched 5.2 innings in which time he struck out 7 Reds batters and only gave up 3 hits and 1 run, the only run scored by Cincy in the whole game.

On a cold day in Ohio the Mets just sneaked this one due to the Reds poor batting and managed to win 2-1 despite leaving 12 men on base all game. Left fielder Daniel Murphy hit a home run in the 5th and ground out in the 6th in a play that saw Luis Castillo score from third for the Mets winning run before Brandon Phillips replied in the bottom of the 6th with a sac. fly that scored Darnell McDonald.

Next up Texas made easy work of the Cleveland Indians in Texas, winning 9-1. The damage was done mostly in the 2nd innings when Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (that’s easy for you to say!) singled to right to send Blalock and Byrd to home plate before Kinsler singled to shallow left center to send the aforementioned Saltalamacchia and Andrus through to score. By the time Cleveland did manage to get their solitary run it was too little, too late, by that time Texas were up 7-0 and the Rangers then proceeded to score two more runs with Saltalamacchia getting himself a homer before Young had an RBI single. Kinsler ended the day 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a run. Rangers’ pitcher Kevin Millwood managed to complete 7 innings, striking out 5 and only giving up the one run to collect the win.

In Arizona the Diamondbacks ground out a victory in an opening day thriller at Chase Field, 9-8, over the Colorado Rockies. There were a total of 22 hits in this game and 8 home runs in a real shootout in the mid-West. I don’t think anyone wants to see the pitching stats so we’ll just look at the batting stats where D’Backs third baseman Chad Tracy hit 3 of 4 for 2 runs and 2 RBIs and tied Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe for the game’s best stats, Hawpe also went 3 of 4 for 3 RBIs and 1 run.

In Baltimore the Orioles had their fans dreaming of a shot at the play-offs later this year with a strong performance over the Yankees. The O’s batting line-up managed to send C.C Sabathia packing after only 4.1 innings, Sabathia gave up 8 hits, 6 earned runs and 5 walks and no strike outs before being replaced while opposing pitcher Jeremy Guthrie completed 6 innings but gave up 7 hits and 3 earned runs despite earning the win, the Orioles won this one 10-5.

A total of 18 runs were scored in Florida as the Washington Nationals fell to the Marlins 12-6. Most of the damage was done in the first 3 Marlins’ innings with 6 of their 12 being scored, after these 3 horror innings Nationals’ starter John Lannan was rightly taken out of the game after giving up 2 home runs and 6 earned runs but no Nats’ pitcher really got a hold of the game. Ricky Nolasco earned the win but gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs in a batter’s game.

Pittsburgh stunned the St.Louis Cardinals in the top of the 9th to win 6-4 at Busch Stadium in the first of a three game series. Trailing 4-2 thanks to a Ryan Ludwick homer and a Ad LaRoche RBI in the 8th the Pirates rallied thanks to 3 RBI double from Jack Wilson when the bases were loaded. Paul Maholm threw 6.2 innings for the Pirates, giving up only 1 earned run and 7 hits but failed to get the win, that was claimed by John Grabow who only completed .2 innings before Matt Capps earned his first save of the season by closing out the bottom of the 9th and striking out one.

The team from the North side of Chicago won their first game of the season in the first game of their 3 game series in Houston thanks to second baseman Mike Fontenot’s 2 runs and a early surge from the Cubs that saw them 3-0 up by the end of the 4th innings. Carlos Zambrano pitched 6 innings for the Cubbies and struck 6 out and allowing only 1 earned run to collect the win before Kevin Gregg earned the save in the 9th innings.

James Loney’s 2 RBIs set up the Dodgers for their first road win of the season at San Diego along with a strong pitching performance from Hiroki Kuroda, who only gave up 1 earned run. Loney hit 3 of 4 and including the first two Los Angeles runs in the 1st inning before Jonathon Broxton got the save late on to close out this 4-1 win.

Another team hoping for a good first half of the season to finally push for the American League play-offs are the Toronto Blue Jays. Their star pitcher Roy Halladay put in a strong performance to delight the home crowd and frustrate Detroit in a strange game where there had to be a 10 minute delay in the bottom of the 8th due to fans throwing objects onto the outfield. Toronto won this one 12-5 after an explosive first innings when they scored 4 runs before an even better 4th innings when they scored 5 including a Travis Snider home run. Halladay kept the Tigers at bay for 6 innings before giving up 4 runs in the 7th, despite this the Jays had enough firepower to see off the Tigers and their star batter in this game was Adam Lind who was 4 of 5 on the day and batted in 6 runs.

The Seattle Mariners shocked the Minnesota Twins in the first game of the season winning 6-1 away from home in a series where the Twins were heavily favoured to sweep.  The Mariners pulled away in the 6th when Franklin Gutierrez scored a 2 run homer to center field before scoring two more in the 9th to see the game out. Most pundits are predicting a long season for the Mariners but they’ll take heart from wins like this and will hope to take at least one game in every road series.

Finally the L.A Angels coasted to victory at home to the Oakland Athletics, 3-0, on the back of a solid pitching performance by Joe Saunders who completed 6.2 innings while giving up only 3 hits in a tame batting performance by the A’s. Howie Kendrick was responsible for the majority of the Angels’ 3 runs scoring an RBI single in the 3rd before hitting a homer in the 5th. The Angels will hope to sweep the Athletics to signal their intent in the AL West.

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A gigantic 11 games were played in the NBA last night to make up for the empty card tonight due to the opening day of MLB:

We’ll start in Cleveland where the Cavs did a nice job over the San Antonio Spurs in the first day game to win comfortably 101-81. The Cavs raced away in the 2nd quarter to lead by 13 at half time and coasted in the second half. LeBron James shot 66 percent from the field for his 38 points while Delonte West and Mo Williams both had 22 a piece to keep themselves warm for the upcoming play-offs, they’re still fighting the Lakers for home court advantage throughout the play-offs and have a slim 1 game lead over the team from California with both teams having 5 games to play. The Spurs look to have surrendered 2nd spot to Denver and are now 2 games behind the Nuggets with 6 games to play, 2 more than Denver. They’ll now probably focus on holding onto 3rd spot where they’re currently a half game in front of Houston.

The biggest game of the day saw the Dallas Mavericks effectively shut out the Phoenix Suns’ chance of making the play-offs by comprehensively beating them at home, 140-116. This loss leaves Phoenix 4 games off of Dallas with both teams having 5 to play, meaning to pip Dallas to 8th spot in the Western Conference the Suns would have to end the season 5-0 and the Mavs 0-5. Since the Mavs have to play Minnesota at home in their penultimate game that sequence of events won’t be happening. Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points while shooting 10 of 12 from the field to lead the Mavericks to their 46th win of the season.

Detroit did no harm to their play-off hopes by beating their nearest rival to the 8th spot, Charlotte at the Palace of Auburn Hills, 104-97. Will Bynum came off the bench to score 32, shooting 14 from the foul line and Tayshaun Prince had 14 in a slow night for him only shooting 7 of 16 from the field. This leaves the Pistons 3 games in front of Charlotte with each team having 5 to play. Detroit are slowly limping to the play-offs but thankfully for them the Bobcats have failed to really put a run of wins together.

In Toronto the Knicks got revenge for their loss to the Raptors only a day earlier to ensure that the Raptors wouldn’t be playing in the post-season after the Raptors ensured the same thing happened to New York on Saturday. The Knicks won this one 112-103 with a solid performance, all of their starters scored double figures with another two coming off the bench to do the same thing. Wilson Chandler top scored with 17 while Al Harrington and David Lee both had double doubles; 12 points, 10 rebounds and 16 points and 10 rebounds respectively. Both teams will be hoping for better next season.

Utah finally managed a win away from home against a team over .500 since early November when they beat New Orleans, 108-94, to secure their place in the play-offs. This was the Jazz’ most impressive road win for a long time and they can thank Ronnie Brewer and Deron Williams, who had 23 and 21 respectively, for that. Utah are still stuck in 7th place though, a half game behind New Orleans who are in 6th. With 5 games left to play the Jazz will be hoping to use this win to build momentum and try and get the highest seed they can possibly get to avoid playing Denver in 2nd place.

Houston managed to beat Portland at home but despite this Portland secured a play-off berth thanks to Phoenix’s earlier loss at Dallas. The Rockets won this one 102-88 thanks to Yao Ming’s double double (21-12rebounds) and Luis Scola’s 16 points and this win left them in 4th spot, a half game off of San Antonio with 5 games to play. If the season ended now the Rockets would play the ‘Blazer in the first round with home court advantage but they’ll hope that they can still push the Spurs for 3rd place despite having a game less to play then San Antonio.

Denver cemented themselves in 2nd place with an away win at Minnesota, 110-87. This leaves them 2 games in front of San Antonio with 6 games to play and they look good value for their current high seeding. This last win was ensured by Carmelo Anthony’s 23 points while Chauncey Billups also had 17. Minnesota just want the season to end.

Despite not being able to make the play-offs unless Detroit or Chicago go the rest of the season winless, Indiana will at least be able to hold their heads high at the end of the season. They’re currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and have come on strong in recent weeks but left it a little too late to make a push for the play-off. They’ll be aiming to take 9th spot off Charlotte to make the end of season standings look respectable. They did that aspiration the world of good by beating Oklahoma in Oklahoma, 117-99 to take them within a game of the Bobcats. They won this due to out scoring the Thunder by 12 in the first quarter and 14 in the third quarter to inflict damage to the Thunder that they couldn’t come back from. Danny Granger scored 24 despite missing all 5 of his 3 point attempts, to lead the Pacers to their 33rd win of the season.

New Jersey handed the 76ers their worst loss of the season at the IZOD Center beating them by 29 points, 96-67. The 67 points put up by Philly was their worst performance of the year with none of their starters getting into double figures and Andre Iguodala only shooting 1-8 from the field. New Jersey need a situation like Phoenix to make the play-offs but like Indiana will be hoping to end the season on a high before regrouping in the summer. For the ‘Sixers this loss means they drop to 40-36, a half game behind Miami who are in 5th place and will be hoping to recover in their last 6 games to wrestle that 5th spot from the Heat.

In a pointless game between two relatively bad teams in the West Golden State managed a 105-100 win at Sacramento, despite a late Kings comeback. Kelenna Azubuike top scored for the Warriors with 30 points and got himself a double double with 15 rebounds to see Golden State to their 28th win of the season.

Finally the Lakers, who were 1/33 to win this game pre-match, made a meal of a simple home game against the woeful L.A Clippers but still managed to win, 88-85. The Lakers were up 12 points at the start of the 4th quarter before letting the Clips out score them by 9 to make this scoreline look slightly embarrassing for a team that have won their division. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 18 points a piece with Odom collecting a double double with 10 rebounds. The Lakers are still hopeful that Cleveland will drop a game before the end of the season so that they can get home court advantage throughout the play-offs.

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