Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Sprint Cup Series takes on Talladega, while the Celtics try to close out the Heat, and the Cavaliers battle with the Bulls.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up four more first-round playoff games on Sunday, with Boston at Miami, Dallas at San Antonio, Denver at Utah, and Cleveland at Chicago. The Celtics hold a commanding 3-0 lead in their series with the Heat and will be looking to close out the set on Sunday, while the Spurs, Jazz, and Cavaliers are each up 2-1. Cleveland fell 108-106 in Chicago in Game 3 of their series on Thursday night despite a 39-point, 10-rebound performance from LeBron James. Mo Williams added 21 points in that defeat, while Antawn Jamison had 19 points. Derrick Rose scored a team-high 31 points for the Bulls in their first win of the set.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The American League schedule on Sunday has Baltimore at Boston, Toronto at Tampa Bay, Seattle at the White Sox, Minnesota at Kansas City, Detroit at Texas, Cleveland at Oakland, and the Yankees at the Angels. Javier Vazquez (1-2, 8.27 ERA) will get the ball for New York in that last matchup; righthander Vazquez was beaten by the Angels back on April 14, but he picked up his first win of the season last time out against the A's (three runs over 5 1-3 innings). The Angels will counter with Scott Kazmir (1-1, 7.45 ERA); lefthander Kazmir was beaten by the Yankees in his April 15 outing (six runs over just four innings).
On the National League schedule for Sunday it'll be San Diego at Cincinnati, the Dodgers at Washington, Pittsburgh at Houston, the Cubs at Milwaukee, Philadelphia at Arizona, Florida at Colorado, Atlanta at the Mets, and St. Louis at San Francisco. The Cardinals' Brad Penny (2-0, 1.29 ERA) will take on the Giants' Matt Cain (0-0, 3.86 ERA) in that last matchup. Righthander Penny beat the Diamondbacks in his last start, allowing two earned runs on eight hits over seven innings of work. Righthander Cain took a no-decision in his last start against the Padres, surrendering two earned runs on seven hits over six innings.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
There are two games on the NHL's schedule for Sunday, with Phoenix at Detroit and Vancouver at Los Angeles. The Red Wings took a 3-2 lead in their first-round series with the Coyotes with a 4-1 win in Phoenix in Game 4 on Friday night. Henrik Zetterberg scored his sixth goal of the playoffs for the Wings in that game, while Jimmy Howard stopped 30 Coyotes shots. The Canucks took a 3-2 lead in their series with the Kings with a convincing 7-2 home win on Friday night. Mikael Samuelsson and Steve Bernier each scored twice for Vancouver in that victory, while Jonathan Quick surrendered five goals on 26 shots for Los Angeles.
Roaring around the track . . .
Finally, the Sprint Cup Series hits the track at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon for the Aaron's 499. Denny Hamlin won last week's event, the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, and he's listed at 11/1 by the Vegas oddsmakers to make it back-to-back victories. Jimmie Johnson, who won the Aaron's 499 back in 2006, is pegged as the 9/5 Vegas favorite for Sunday, with Jeff Gordon at 6/1, Mark Martin at 8/1, and Tony Stewart at 17/2. Jamie McMurray, who won the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega last November, is listed as a 150/1 longshot, and defending champ Brad Keselowski is part of The Field.
