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**pm530** · 12-24-2009, 01:44 AM

Daily Sports Roundup

Thursday, December 24/ Friday, December 25

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Nevada and Southern Methodist meet in the Hawaii Bowl, the Titans take on the Chargers, and the Magic play host to Boston.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

The lone Christmas Eve matchup is in the college ranks, with Nevada (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS) taking on Southern Methodist (7-5 SU, 6-5 ATS) in the Hawaii Bowl. The Wolf Pack are coming off a 44-33 loss to Boise State in their last game, with QB Colin Kaepernick throwing for 141 yards and three scores. The Mustangs got past Tulane 26-21 last time out. Oddsmakers have Nevada pegged as the 14-point favorite for this bowl matchup, with the total for the game set high at 72.5.

As well, the NFL has a Christmas Day game on its schedule, with Tennessee (7-7 SU, 6-8 ATS) hosting San Diego (11-3 SU, 7-7 ATS). The Titans, who are still fighting for their playoff lives, got past Miami 27-24 at home last time out. The Chargers, who have clinched the AFC West division title, slipped past the Bengals 27-24 in their Week 15 matchup. Oddsmakers have the Titans pegged as 3-point home favorites for Friday's game, with the contest's total at 47 points.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA offers up five games on Christmas Day this year, with Miami at New York, Cleveland at the Lakers, the Clippers at Phoenix, Denver at Portland, and Boston at Orlando. The Celtics and Magic met in Boston back on November 20, with Dwight Howard and company picking up an 83-78 road victory. Howard had nine points to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds in that win, while Vince Carter scored 26 points. Paul Pierce led Boston with 21 points in a losing cause.

As well, college basketball has games in the inaugural Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu on tap for Friday. Teams competing in the event this year: St. Mary's, Northeastern, Southern Cal, Western Michigan, UNLV, Southern Methodist, College of Charleston, and the host team, Hawaii. The first game gets started at 2pm ET, and the last one gets going at 9:30pm ET.

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**pm530** · 12-24-2009, 01:45 AM

Six-pack for Thursday

-- Missouri spanked Illinois 81-68, ending its nine-game skid in Bragging Rights game in St Louis, Mike Anderson's first win over the Illini.

-- Tulsa was 4-point favorite over Nevada; they lost by 31. Ugh.

-- Physical game in Morgantown; West Virginia out-rebounds Ole Miss by 22, beats the Rebels by 10 in a high-level defensive game.

-- USC manhandled St Mary's 60-49; Gaels sure didn't look like a 10-1 (now 10-2) team.

-- New Mexico lost its first game at Oral Roberts, which is why teams like the Titans have trouble getting the big boys to visit Tulsa.

-- Late last night out west, Arizona beat NC State 76-74 on another last-minute hoop by Nic Wise, who won Monday's game with late heroics.

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Thursday's List of 13: Armadillo's Christmas List........

13) Bert Blyleven-- A long-overdue induction into the Hall of Fame.

12) Wade Phillips-- A playoff win so he can keep his job.

11) Gary Bettman-- Road trips to Phoenix and Hamilton; then I'd like to ask him which is the better place for an NHL franchise to be located.

10) A's fans-- An owner with really deep pockets and longer arms, and a competent third baseman who isn't hurt every other week.

9) Jake Locker-- The Heisman Trophy in December, 2010.

8) Bobby Bowden-- A very happy retirement. He's more than earned it.

7) Michael Vick-- A job as an NFL starting QB next season.

6) North Carolina coach Roy Williams-- A copy of the US constitution; we have free speech in this country, even people sitting behind the bench in Chapel Hill.

5) Dick Vitale-- ESPN getting March Madness back from CBS. You have not heard anything until you hear Dickie V working the Final Four.

4) Yao Ming-- Healthy feet for the rest of his career.

3) American taxpayers-- A 10-year moratorium on public funding of new stadiums; most of them aren't needed, anyway.

2) Roger Goodell-- Labor peace so America's favorite sport doesn't shoot itself in the foot again.

1) My readers-- Health and happiness in 2010. And plenty of time so you can still read America's favorite free website.

From: Armadillo Sports
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**pm530** · 12-24-2009, 10:26 AM

Len’s Top Five

Thursday, December 24

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for December 24, 2009 from Len Berman.

1. Quick Hits

* I guess Jason Bay isn't dying to hit at Citi Field. His agent his trying to reheat talks with the Red Sox.

* The Braves pick up Troy Glaus to play third base. So the Mets rivals in Atlanta, Philly and even Washington make moves, while the Mets fiddle. No wait, the Mets did sign a 35-year old minor league knuckleballer. Start printing those playoff tickets.

* A group called Jewish Major Leaguers Inc. has named Ryan Braun of Milwaukee and Scott Feldman of Texas as the Most Valuable Jewish Players of the Year. Mazel Tov!

2. Christmas Eve

Tonight is traditionally the quietest night on the sports calendar. The NBA, NHL, and college basketball take the night off. But thank goodness for bowl games. They've got the Holiday Bowl tonight, for all you Nevada and SMU football fans out there. And in case you just have to have some action, Nevada is favored by 13 points. Hey degenerate gamblers, here's an unsolicited tip from the Top 5. Take the night off and spend some quality time with your family. Make it truly a "Silent Night." (See below.)

3. Holiday Mailbag

Subscriber R.P. isn't happy with the Yankees off season moves. "I think Brian Cashman has had a horrific off-season. The Yankees were brought back to the pack and the Red Sox got better. 2010 may be a l-o-o-o-n-g season for the Yankees. All I can say is, thank God for Omar. He’s the only one who has had a worse off-season."

M.T. pointed out the absurdity of Tiger Woods appearing on the front page of the New York Post for 20 straight days. The previous record holder was 9/11.

As for Devils goalie Martin Brodeur setting the NHL record with 104 career shutouts, G.G. writes: "From a life long NY Ranger fan. If Marty played his whole career on 33rd and 7th he would have been much more recognized for what he has done. Hate him as a Ranger fan love him as a goalie."
Editor's Note: Well put, G.G.

4. The Best

My Top 5 best sports stories of the year.

5. Syracuse beats U-Conn in 6 overtimes in a Big East quarterfinal game.

4. 59-year old Tom Watson almost wins the British Open.

3. Jamaica's Usain Bolt sets world records in winning both the 100 and 200 meters at the World Track Championships in Berlin.

2. Roger Federer wins his record 15th major by beating Andy Roddick at Wimbledon 16-14 in the 5th set.

1. The Pittsburgh Steelers win a dramatic Super Bowl over Arizona.

5. The Worst

And for the bottom feeding stories of the year.

Dishonorable mention: Serena Williams outburst at the U.S. Open.

5. Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino gets embroiled in a sex scandal.

4. Michael Phelps and his "bong picture."

3. Two of the biggest names in baseball busted for steroids. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez.

2. Plaxico Burress goes to prison for shooting himself in the leg.

1. (Do you really have to ask?) The pristine image of Tiger Woods goes up in flames.

Happy Birthday, tomorrow: Rickey "I'm the greatest of all time" Henderson. Of course he was born on Christmas Day. 51.
Bonus Birthday, today: American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. 35.

Today in Sports: Reggie Jackson becomes a former Yankee and signs with the Angels. 1982.
Bonus Event: Fittingly enough, "Silent Night" is composed by Austrian Franz Gruber and is sung for the first time that night at Midnight Mass. 1818.

I'll be appearing on NPR's All Things Considered tomorrow, Christmas Day at 4pm.

The Top 5 is going on Christmas break. I'll be returning Monday January 4, 2010.
I wish all of you a healthy and prosperous New Year!
And most of all, thanks for being part of my Top 5 community.

-Len Berman

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Announcement

Thursday Trends and Indexes 12/24 – Christmas Eve

Thursday Trends and Indexes 12/24 – Christmas Eve

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