Sports Tonight

In Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers are up 79-68 over the Utah Jazz. As I type this, there are less than 2 minutes left in the 3rd Quarter. The game is being played on ABC. Carlos Boozer just hit 2 Free Throws for the Jazz. Update: Lakers 100 Utah 89, with 4:58 left in 4th Quarter. Update: Lakers defeat Jazz, post game news conference to be shown on ESPN News.

At 5:30 ET, the Eastern Conference Playoffs resume, as the Philadelphia 76ers travel to Orlando to beign a best of 7 series against the Magic. The game will be shown on TNT. Update: Orlando wins opening tip, Rafer Alston hits 3, to give Magic early lead. 76ers shooting 1-5 to start game. Magic 7 Philly 2. UPDATE: Philadelphia goes on an 8-0 run to take the lead 16 to 11 in 1st quarter.
2nd Quarter update: Orl 38 Philly 39. Under 5 minutes remaining before Half-Time.
3rd Quarter update: Orl 75 Philly 60. Less than 4 minutes left in 3rd.
4th Quarter update: Orl 84 Philly 73. Donyell Marshall hit a 3 for Philadelphia. A second consecutive 3pt shot by Marshall clanked off the iron. Big miss. 76ers could have cut the lead down to 8. 9 minutes remaining.
South Gwinnett's Lou Williams has scored 10 points for 76ers. UPDATE: Lou Williams strikes again. 17-5 run by 76ers brings them to within 6. Philadelphia's Ratliff fouled by Rashard Lewis. Makes 1 of 2 Free throws. Orl 84 Philly 79. Sixers get a stop. Andre Miller scores. Orl 84 Philly 81. About 6 minutes left in 4th. Now's a good time to tune in and watch the remainder of this game. Lou Williams at the line. Orl 86 Philly 84. Foul on Ratliff. 4 minutes left: D. Marshall 3 cuts lead to 2. 76ers get a rebound and A. Miller ties game on layup. D Howard scores, Iguodala turns ball over. Orlando ball with 2:38 remaining. Orl 93 Philly 91.
Turkolu scores. D Marshall answers. Less than 2 minutes. 3rd foul on Andre Miller puts Howard on line. Misses 1st FT. Makes 2nd. 76ers ball, down 3. Iguodala slams. Orl 96 Philly 95. Philly ball. Blocking foul on Magic. Iguodala shoots 2. Misses BOTH. Great pass by Alston sets up Howard for MONSTEROUS DUNK. 49.1 seconds left, Orl by 3.
Marshall 3 ties game with 34.8 seconds left. 98-98. T.O. Orl. Magic ball. Lewis misses, Miller rebounds. 76ers ball with 12.5 left. 11 seconds on shot clock. TO. Iguodala SCORES. 100-98 76ers with 2.2 seconds left.
Turkoglu misses 3. Philly wins 100-98. Dwight Howard, the MVP candidate from Atlanta, finished with 31 pts, 16 rbd, 2 blocks. South Gwinnett's Lou Williams scored 18 pts for Philadelphia. Next up, HAWKS vs heat. Go HAWKS!


Later, the Atlanta Hawks will host the Miami Heat. Game 1 of this series is scheduled for 8 Eastern. This is the second game of a playoff triple-header, being shown on TNT.
1st Quarter update: M Williams 3 gives Atl early 12-8 lead. Williams has 7 pts already.
Atl 20 Mia 19 with 2:06 left in 1st. End of 1st. Hawks 24 Heat 21.
2nd Quarter update: Hawks 30 heat 24 with 9:20 left in 2nd. Heat ball.
Former gator, Al Horford rejects Wade's shot. Joe Johnson throws alley oop to J Smith. Hawks 33 Heat 27. You will see this highlight on ESPN!
Hawks add 4 more points to lead and go up 37-27. Wade already has 2 fouls. 7:27 till Half.
J Johnson knocks ball from Wade. Wade recovers, but Bibby steals ball. Bibby runs, Bibby falls. Wade (falling out of bounds) saves ball, and somehow J Smith ends up at FT line. One of the sloppiest exchanges in the history of the NBA. You'll see this on a blooper reel. Philips Arena is going crazy. The last two minutes have seen 2 incredible dunks by J Smith, as Atl builds 14 pt lead. Timeout Miami. This one's starting to resemble a track meet. DVR SportsCenter for highlights.
1:14 left in 2nd. 3 by Johnson puts Hawks up by 19. Foul on Bibby puts Wade on line. Crowd boos. Wade makes 1 of 2 FTs. The Heat look TERRIBLE.
End of 2nd Quarter. Atl 59 Heat 39. Hawks dominated 2nd quarter with stellar defense, and Arena rocking points in transition. Josh Smith leads Hawks with 17 points at the half. Wade has 17 for Miami.
3rd Quarter update: Bibby hits 3. Heat still look terrible. Shot clock violation on Miami. Hawks 62 Heat 39. 3rd Foul on Joe Johnson. Haslem (another old gator) hits 2 FTs. 64-41 Atl.
6:45 left in 3rd. Hawks 68 Heat 47. Both teams are comitting too many turnovers.
Horford scores. 70-47 Atl. Bibby steals ball, Johnson scores. 72-47 Hawks. Yes, Miami still looks TERRIBLE!
Hard to believe this is playoff basketball. Hawks 74 Heat 49 with 3:40 left in 3rd.
6-0 run by Miami reduces lead to 19. Still boring to watch this blow out.
End of 3rd. Hawks 76 Heat 57.
4th Quarter update: Anybody else hear crickets chirping?
Dare I say the "T" word one more time? Hawks 82 heat 59. Josh Smith is putting together an impressive highlight reel, as Miami plays un-inspired, lethargic, and just plain embarrassing basketball. It seems as if the Heat's will has been broken. Al Horford's having a good time on the Hawks bench, as he head bobs to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer."
The Heat have scored just 2 points in the fourth. With 4:28 remaining, it's still Atlanta 82, Miami 59.
Don't look now, but the Heat have scored a quick 5 points. The score... Atlanta 90, Miami 64. OUCH! This one is mercifully coming to an end. Not before another commercial break, though. Finally, Game 1 is over.
The Hawks took command of this game, by outscoring the Heat 35-18 in the second quarter. Miami never recovered. Although I'm an avid Hawks fan, that was painful to watch. Game 2 is Wednesday night. Can Miami rebound from this beatdown?
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and added 3 assists. Dwayne Wade was held to 19 points (2 in second half).

St. Louis Cardinals at Cubs 8 ET -Game has been postponed.
In other MLB news, the Florida Marlins go to 11-1 with a 7-4 victory over Nats. BREAK UP THE FISH!!

In the final game of TNT's triple-header the New Orleans Hornets travel to Denver, for game 1 of this Western Conference Matchup. The game is scheduled for 10:30 ET.
1st Quarter update: Denver 29, NO 25 after one.
2nd Quarter update: There ain't one. I'm tired.


IndyCar Racing is being shown on Vs. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach began at 3:30 ET and should last until 6 PM.

If you're looking for some NHL playoff action, keep your television set tuned to Vs. At 7PM ET, the Vancouver Canucks take on the Blues, in St. Louis. Following that game, is Hockey Central from 9:30 to 10:00 PM ET. After the 30 minute recap and highlight show, the San Jose Sharks will be hosting the Anaheim Ducks. I'll be watching NBA playoffs, so don't look for many NHL updates.