Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals begins on Sunday afternoon with Boston at Orlando. The Celtics completed their upset victory over LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Thursday night, winning Game 6 by a score of 94-85 at TD Garden. Kevin Garnett poured in a team-high 22 points for Boston in that contest to go along with 12 rebounds, with Rajon Rondo added 21 points on the night. Rasheed Wallace and Paul Pierce each scored 13 points. The Magic swept the Hawks in the second round of the playoffs, and they have yet to be tagged with a loss during the postseason. The oddsmakers have listed Orlando as the 6.5-point home favorite for Sunday’s matchup, with the total for the game at 189.5 points.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League schedule for Sunday has Boston at Detroit, Minnesota at the Yankees, Texas at Toronto, Cleveland at Baltimore, the White Sox at Kansas City, Oakland at the Angels, and Seattle at Tampa Bay. The Mariners’ Cliff Lee (1-1, 2.01 ERA) will take on the Rays’ Matt Garza (5-1, 2.49 ERA) in that last matchup. Lefthander Lee was beaten by the Rays in his May 5 outing, as he gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits over his eight innings of work. Righthander Garza grabbed the win for Tampa Bay in that contest, surrendering just two earned runs on five hits over his eight innings of work, and fanning five.

Over in the National League on Sunday it’ll be the Mets at Florida, St. Louis at the Cincinnati, Pittsburgh at the Cubs, Washington at Colorado, the Dodgers at San Diego, Houston at San Francisco, Philadelphia at Milwaukee, and Arizona at Atlanta. Dan Haren (4-2, 4.23 ERA) will take on Tim Hudson (3-1, 2.64 ERA) in that last matchup. Righthander Haren was tagged with a loss by the Dodgers in his last trip to the mound, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits over his 6 1-3 innings of work. Righthander Hudson is coming off a win over the Brewers in his last start in which he surrendered just one earned run over his six innings of work.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The NHL also begins its conference finals on Sunday, with Chicago at San Jose in the west, and Montreal at Philadelphia in the east. The Blackhawks dispatched the Canucks in the second round of the playoffs, winning the Game 6 clincher 5-1 in Vancouver on Tuesday night. The Sharks, meanwhile, completed their five-game series win over the Red Wings last Saturday night. The Canadiens needed all seven games to get past the defending-champion Penguins in the Eastern semis, locking up that set with a 5-2 road win on Wednesday night. And the Flyers came back from an 0-3 deficit in both the series and Game 7 on Friday night to eliminate the Bruins, getting a game-winning marker from Simon Gagne.

Roaring around the track . . .

The Sprint Cup Series takes the track at Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon for the Autism Speaks 400, with Jimmie Johnson looking to pick up his third consecutive win on the track. Johnson visited victory lane at Dover twice last season, claiming both the AAA 400 in September and the Autism Speaks 400 in May. Those results have made Johnson a +500 favorite to win on Sunday along with teammate Jeff Gordon. Kyle Busch, who won at Dover in 2008, is sitting at +600 for Sunday, with Denny Hamlin just back of him on that list at +800. Hamlin has grabbed the win in three of the past six Sprint Cup races.

As well, the drivers of Formula 1 will continue their latest European swing on Sunday with the Monaco Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel is pegged as the 9/4 oddsmakers’ favorite to take the checkered flag in Monaco on Sunday, with Fernando Alonso listed at 10/3 odds to get the win. Mark Webber, who won the Spanish Grand Prix last time out, is at 9/2 odds, followed by Lewis Hamilton at 11/2. Jenson Button, the current leader in the drivers championship, is sitting at 12/1 odds to win in Monaco, with Michael Schumacher farther back at 15/1 odds.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the WNBA offers up four games on Sunday, with Chicago at New York, Indiana at Atlanta, Los Angeles at Seattle, and Washington at Minnesota. Star guard Seimone Augustus won’t be in the lineup for Minnesota on Sunday night; she’ll miss the next few weeks as she recovers from having abdominal surgery.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League schedule for Saturday has Minnesota at the Yankees, Texas at Toronto, Seattle at Tampa Bay, Cleveland at Baltimore, Boston at Detroit, Oakland at the Angels, and the White Sox at Kansas City. Jake Peavy (2-2, 5.56 ERA) will get the ball for Chicago in that last matchup against the Royals’ Luke Hochevar (3-1, 5.65 ERA). Righthander Peavy picked up the win in each of his last two starts for the ChiSox, and he held the Royals scoreless on four hits over seven innings on May 3. Righthander Hochevar beat the White Sox in his May 4 outing, surrendering just one unearned run in his six innings pitched.

Over in the National League on Saturday it’ll be Pittsburgh at the Cubs, Philadelphia at Milwaukee, St. Louis at Cincinnati, the Mets at Florida, Arizona at Atlanta, Washington at Colorado, the Dodgers at San Diego, and Houston at San Francisco. The Astros will send ace Roy Oswalt (2-4, 2.63 ERA) to the mound on Saturday to take on Giants ace Tim Lincecum (4-0, 1.86 ERA). Righthander Oswalt had to settle for a no-decision in his last trip to the mound despite holding the Padres to three earned runs in eight innings of work. Righthander Lincecum has given up three or fewer earned runs in each of his seven outings this season.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The second jewel of the Triple Crown takes place at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday afternoon with a 12-horse field in the 2010 Preakness Stakes. Super Saver, the Kentucky Derby champion, is pegged as the 13/5 sportsbook favorite to win on Saturday, with Looking at Lucky (3/1), and Paddy O’Prado (6/1) following him on the odds list. Dublin is next at 10/1 odds, followed by Jackson Bend at 11/1, and both Caracortado and Schoolyard Dreams at 12/1. Both First Dude and Pleasant Prince sit at 20/1 odds to claim the Preakness Stakes, with Aikenite and Yawanna Twist at 25/1, and Northern Giant the big longshot at 28/1.

Finally, there are five games on the WNBA hardwood on Saturday as the league gets its regular season started: Los Angeles at Phoenix, Chicago at Connecticut, Washington at Indiana, Atlanta at San Antonio, and Minnesota at Tulsa. The Tulsa Shock will be playing the first game in franchise history on Saturday; they relocated from Detroit in the offseason. Former Olympic sprinter Marion Jones is part of Tulsa’s roster this year; the guard played NCAA hoops for North Carolina.

- The Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers will both be trying to pick up a win on Thursday when they battle at Quicken Loans Arena.

Oddsmakers currently have the Cavaliers listed as 6-point favorites versus the Magic, while the game’s total is sitting at 194.

Seven players reached double figure scoring to help the Magic crush the Bulls 107-87 on Wednesday. The Magic covered the 5-point spread, while the 194 points went UNDER the posted total of 195.5.

Dwight Howard poured in 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double in the win.

LeBron James went for 32 points and 11 assists to lead the Cavaliers past the Nets 104-97 on Tuesday night.

Cleveland failed to cover as 16-point home favorites, while the game played OVER the 189-point total listed by sportsbooks.

Current streak:
Orlando has won 3 straight games.
Cleveland has won 12 straight games.

Team records:
Orlando: 36-17 SU, 26-24-3 ATS
Cleveland: 42-11 SU, 26-25-2 ATS

Orlando most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 2-8
Before playing Detroit are 7-3
After playing Chicago are 5-5
After a win are 7-3

Cleveland most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 9-1
Before playing Denver are 7-3
After playing New Jersey are 3-7
After a win are 10-0

A few trends to consider:
Orlando is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Orlando’s last 8 games when playing Cleveland
Orlando is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Orlando is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Cleveland’s last 8 games when playing Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games at home

Next up:
Orlando home to Detroit, Wednesday, February 17
Cleveland home to Denver, Thursday, February 18

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA has two games on its schedule for Thursday with the league on the verge of its All-Star break: San Antonio at Denver, and Orlando at Cleveland. The Cavaliers’ winning streak is up to a dozen games, as they got past New Jersey 104-97 in their last outing on Tuesday night. LeBron James put up 32 points to go along with 11 assists in that game for Cleveland, which is now a league-leading 42-11 SU and 26-25-2 ATS on the season. The Cavaliers and Magic met back on November 11, with Cleveland winning 102-93 in a road game.

As well, there are a pair of ranked teams in action on the college basketball schedule for Thursday, with No. 18 Butler at Youngstown State, and St. Mary’s at No. 16 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs (19-4 SU, 10-9-1 ATS) are coming off a 66-58 win over Memphis in their last game on Saturday; Matt Bouldin poured in 19 points for Gonzaga in that win. The Gaels (21-3 SU, 16-6-1 ATS) trounced San Francisco 73-57 in their last game, getting 24 points from Omar Samhan. St. Mary’s is 8-0 on the road so far this season, while Gonzaga sits at 8-1 at home.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are seven games on the NHL’s schedule for Thursday, with Buffalo at Carolina, Washington at Ottawa, San Jose at Detroit, Boston at Tampa Bay, Vancouver at Florida, Edmonton at Los Angeles, and Dallas at Calgary. The Stars lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Blackhawks in their last game on Tuesday, with Mike Ribeiro scoring a goal for Dallas in his return from injury. Dallas also announced a trade for Atlanta netminder Kari Lehtonen after the contest. The Flames are riding a two-game skid, falling 3-2 to the Senators on Tuesday night.

West Ham's Italian manager Gianfranco Zola

West Ham is in increasingly difficult position,  having three draws and three losses recently, dangerously close to relegation zone. Gianfranco Zola has pointed out that today (Wednesday) is very important match for them against Birmingham and owners of the club could choose another time to discuss salaries.

“I am not happy at all to see such an article in the press, at the time we have important match.  It will not do any  good to overall performance and moral  of the players.   I am also not concerned how these words will come across in the club.  I live by the strong principles and will not allow anybody to push me around.” Zola said in reply to David Sullivan statement that club has to reduce expenses for about 60 millions pounds,  if things are to improve.

“We should know things first hand instead of taking clues from the press. I am in good relation with players and fans, we have a plan, and  when I signed contract extension,  money was not first thing on my mind.”

West Ham last 40 matches:

HEADLINES

Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres
Nashville Predators vs. New York Islanders

TOP MATCHUPS – Odds
Feb 9, 7:00 PM NAS @ NYI 115 5½
Feb 9, 7:00 PM BOS @ BUF -145 5
Feb 9, 7:00 PM FLA @ CAR -125 5½
Feb 9, 7:30 PM CAL @ OTT -145 5
Feb 9, 7:30 PM VAN @ TB 125 5½

Betting Trends
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago’s last 5 games at home
Ottawa is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa’s last 5 games at home
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Nashville is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Islanders