Penguins Red Wings odds: Game 1 Saturday, May 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET
NHL odds: Penguins +140, Red Wings -160

The big NHL betting rematch is here! The Penguins are poised to avenge their loss from last year. They’re 30-8-4 under new head coach Dan Bylsma, they’re well-rested after sweeping Carolina, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are on fire, and they’ve come up big in clutch situations all playoffs long. I think they’ll be crowned Stanley Cup champs—but they won’t win Game 1. The Penguins breezed past the Hurricanes so quickly that their layoff—five days—may actually slow down their momentum and leave them a bit rusty. The Wings had a three-day layoff—long enough to heal but not long enough to lose the momentum of their Game-5 overtime victory over the Blackhawks. Pavel Datsyuk is a game-time decision for Game 1 but Nicklas Lidstrom will return to the lineup.

Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall have given opposing forwards the heebie-jeebies with huge hits throughout the playoffs and you can bet they’ll set out to send a message to Crosby and Malkin Game 1. Detroit’s power-play is sizzling at 25.7 per cent and will get the crowd into the game early if Pittsburgh takes any bad penalties. Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom will also try to get inside Marc-Andre Fleury’s head early by parking their big bodies in front of the net and creating screens for Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. The Penguins’ prospects for an upset series win are still good, and they could surprise in the opener if they can get an early goal, but they may be asleep at the switch for Game 1. Bet on Detroit.

NHL betting pick: Red Wings -160

Impatiently waiting for the French Open odds clash between Federer and Nadal? Don’t worry—there’s lots of fun boxing betting to do this weekend. Check out these intriguing matchups.

Sportsbook online pick: Valuev -115

GodsTips continues to feel no empathy for the sportsbooks. There is a better chance of them hitting the Florida Powerball numbers than posing a threat to the top basketball handicapper ever

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Cavaliers try to put an end to their skid, the D-Backs get a visit from the Braves, and the PGA Tour tees off in Fort Worth.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

LeBron James and his Cavaliers squad will be looking to avoid elimination on Thursday night when they take the court at home against the Magic in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Orlando came up with a 116-114 overtime win in Game 4 on Tuesday to take a 3-1 lead in the series. Dwight Howard led the way with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic in that victory, while Rafer Alston tossed in 26 points. LeBron James poured in a game-high 44 points in that loss for the Cavaliers, who have been listed as 7.5-point home favorites for Game 5.

The beat goes on. GodsTips is now 15-1 with NBA Wise Guys as the Lakers do it again last night. We are 11-4 overall with underdog winners of 145, 140, and 180 in route to eight dog winners and no chalk losers in that span.

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A light schedule around baseball on Thursday has just five games on the docket, including Arizona at home to Atlanta. The Diamondbacks are slated to send Dan Haren (3-4, 2.57 ERA) to the mound in that contest; the righthander gave up five earned runs over seven innings in his start against Oakland last time out, and hasn’t recorded a win since May 2. The Braves will counter with righthander Derek Lowe (6-2, 3.45 ERA), who has grabbed a win in five of his past six starts.

Also on the diamond on Thursday: the Dodgers at the Cubs, Tampa Bay at Cleveland, Detroit at Baltimore, and Boston at Minnesota. The Red Sox will be looking for another solid outing from righthander Josh Beckett (4-2, 5.01 ERA), who held the Mets to one unearned run over eight innings in his last start. The Twins are expected to send rookie Anthony Swarzak to the mound on Thursday; the righthander tossed seven scoreless innings in his debut against the Brewers.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the PGA Tour heads to Fort Worth this week for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Phil Mickelson is the defending champion at this event, but he won’t be in the field this week. With Tiger Woods also not competing the Vegas oddsmakers have set Jim Furyk as the 10/1 tournament favorite, followed by Geoff Ogilvy at 12/1. Furyk missed the cut in this tourney last year after shooting 71-74 in the first two rounds. Ogilvy was tied for seventh, going 7-under.

Tim Clark, who was one stroke back of Mickelson last year at 13-under, is farther back at 25/1 odds to win this year’s Crowne Plaza Invitational. Kenny Perry, Paul Casey, and Zach Johnson are all at 15/1 on the Vegas odds chart, followed by Rory Sabbatini, Sean O’Hair, Luke Donald, and Ian Poulter at 20/1. Sabbatini is coming off a win in last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Four Seasons. Anthony Kim is among a group of golfers pegged at 25/1 for this week.

Barcelona is in as UEFA Cup Champions League winners, shutting out Manchester United 2-0. Meanwhile GodsTips wins with huge underdog Wise Guy on Baltimore proving to be more fertile than Desmond “Drop a Seed” Hatchett, the 29 year old with 21 kids.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets head back to Los Angeles, while the Blackhawks try to stave off elimination in Detroit.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The Nuggets and Lakers will break a 2-2 series deadlock on Wednesday night when the Western Conference Finals shifts to Los Angeles for Game 5. Denver cruised to a 120-101 home win over Los Angeles in Game 4 on Monday night, with Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith each scoring 24 points. Anthony battled a sore ankle and finished with 15 points. Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with a game-high 34 points, and Pau Gasol contributed 21 points and 10 boards.

The Magic make GodsTips an outlandish 14-1 with NBA Wise Guys. Yes 14-1. GodsTips goes 6-2 overall including Baltimore this afternoon and with 5-1 Wise Guys. How much is it costing you to not be a client of GodsTips?

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The Yankees will be on the road against Texas on Wednesday, while the Twins host Boston. Also on the American League schedule: Detroit at Kansas City, Seattle at Oakland, Tampa Bay at Cleveland, and the White Sox at the Angels. Probable Los Angeles starter Jered Weaver is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA on the season, and he held the Dodgers to a single run over five innings in his last start.

Over in the NL the Mets will go with ace Johan Santana (6-2, 1.50 ERA) in their home game against the Nationals Wednesday. Santana has picked up the win in each of his last two starts, although he did surrender nine runs (six earned) over 14 innings of work in those outings. Jordan Zimmerman will get the ball for the Nats; the righthander has given up five or more runs in four of his last five starts.

Making up the rest of the Senior Circuit’s slate for Wednesday: St. Louis at Milwaukee, Pittsburgh at the Cubs, the Dodgers at Colorado, Florida at Philadelphia, Houston at Cincinnati, Atlanta at San Francisco, and San Diego at Arizona. Padres starter Jake Peavy turned down a trade to the White Sox last week; the righthander has won two straight outings to sit at 4-5 with a 3.48 ERA.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Blackhawks could find themselves bounced from the playoffs on Wednesday night as they play in Detroit in the fifth game of the Western Conference final. Chicago is down 3-1 to the Red Wings in the best-of-seven set after they were blasted 6-1 in Game 4 on Sunday. Hawks starting netminder Nikolai Khabibulin missed Game 4 with a lower-body injury, while Wings goalie Chris Osgood sat out the third period with dehydration. Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk (foot) and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (lower body) both sat out Sunday and are listed as day-to-day. Oddsmakers have listed the Wings as -235 favorites for Wednesday.