Depending on how you look at it, I either started the week off on a winning note with the Cavaliers +4 vs. the Wizards or I ended the weekend strong by capping off a 3-0 mark on NBA games. I also went 1-1 on MLB totals (though in the interest of full disclosure, I did have another losing total in the forums on the Angels-Tigers game on Sunday night).
    I'm already on record with the under 104.5 in Monday night's Arena Football League battle of the unbeatens, Dallas vs. Philadelphia, but with the playoffs moving along, I've got a slew of NBA wagers (I hope it's a case of wanting to strike while the iron is hot as opposed to being overconfident) and an NHL play for Monday as well. And I'll cap off today's selections with an early-week Kentucky Derby wager:

NBA

    I think Orlando will finish off Toronto in their series Monday night, but I'm not willing to lay the 7.5-point spread. Instead, I like the UNDER 203 points. I foresee a sloppy game, so I don't think they'll both approach 100. And if the Magic do pull away on their home court, the Raptors might be content to let them run out the clock.
    In the second game of the day, Atlanta is getting +9 at home vs. the Celtics after upsetting them in Game 3. Now, everyone is thinking the Celtics will come back with revenge, but the Hawks have gained confidence and have nothing to lose. If they can stay with the Celtics in the first half, they could be around at the end of the game (unlike the 76ers who were in control vs. the Pistons and somehow got blown out).
    I'll take the favored Lakers and lay the -4.5 at Denver. Regardless if you think the Nuggets quit in Game 3 or not, I think the Lakers will go for the jugular and not draw out the series. On the Facts and Trends page at ViewFromVegas.com, Marc Lawrence wrote about teams that are 0-3 in a series and how they usually get swept. Now, I understand that didn't happen to the Suns on Sunday, but the Nuggets are not the Suns.

NHL

    I like Montreal +115 at Philly on Monday night. I admit to being kinda biased because I thought the Capitals should have taken care of Flyers in the first round. It just seemed like the Capitals moved the puck and had plenty of chances but couldn't convert while Flyers often played dump-and-chase and got a little lucky. Now, I know teams make their own luck and it's to Philly's credit they've gotten this far, knocking off Caps and splitting at Montreal in which they won the same way in Game 2 despite the Habs (Canadiens for you Yanks) really controlling play. I trust the better team will win out, plus Montreal actually had a better record on the road than at home this year.

Kentucky Derby

    I don't have my longshot Derby play finalized yet, but with the Wynn Las Vegas posting its proposition wagers and head-to-head matchups, I feel compelled to go on record early with one: Pyro +210 vs. Big Brown. Now, I've already gone on record at Bodoglife.com, on radio shows and in the ViewFromVegas.com Forums and LVAsports.com that I'm not sold on Big Brown. I think he's too inexperienced and will face more pace pressure than he's seen in his previous starts, which number only three. Plus, the way he wasn't keeping a straight course down the stretch of the Florida Derby still makes me doubt if he can get the distance in the mile and a quarter Derby. Pyro threw in a clunker in his last race, the Blue Grass Stakes, but his trainer Steve Asmussen had pretty much hinted before the race that he wasn't going to go all out to win the race and that the goal was to have him get what is called a "maintenance work," just keep him in shape. So, I think Pyro will be primed to fire his late run, while Big Brown might be backing up in the stretch. At better than 2-1, that looks like value to me.

    I'll be back during the week to add more Derby wagers, plus sports selections as well.