The Twins’ manager since 2002, Ron Gardenhire will miss the weekend series in Seattle to attend his daughter’s graduation from Southwest Minnesota State. Bench coach Scott Ullger will be able to contact Gardenhire, if necessary, as he will serve as manager.

Gardenhire said that it would be tough going through all this graduation stuff, even though he will have his phone and his iPad. He added that he has total trust in Scotty and those people running the ballgame.

Meanwhile, the Mariners are just getting home after a three-city road trip and they will embark on a four-city excursion after this six-game homestand concludes. Manager Eric Wedge wants his players to enjoy being at home while they can and Seattle has played 18 of its first 27 games on the road. Since a 17-game slide July 6-26, the Mariners (11-16) are enduring their longest losing streak. At home, they have dropped four straight and they will begin a stretch of six games.

On a 10-game trip, Seattle took the first four games before totaling 12 runs and 61 strikeouts at the plate in losses the rest of the way. The last four defeats have all been against Tampa Bay, which includes Thursday’s 4-3 loss. No. 3 hitter Ichiro Suzuki doubled in a run in the fifth inning and ended an 11-game dry spell without an RBI. Brendan Ryan, who is hitless in his last 26 at-bats, was rested by Wedge.

In the series against Los Angeles, Joe Mauer was hitless in six at-bats and Twins RBI leader Josh Willingham went 1 for 9. Justin Morneau could return Friday. He sat out the last two losses with a left wrist injury. Against scheduled Seattle starter Jason Vargas (3-2, 3.38 ERA), Morneau has 1 for 6, while Willingham is 0 for 11 with five strikeouts against the left-hander.

Los Angeles (34-22) ended a season-high three-game skid March 24 with a 101-85 home win over the Grizzlies (32-23), with the team losing 12 of 19 and questions being raised over coach Vinny Del Negro’s job security. Now the team makes its lone visit to Memphis in 2011-12 with one loss in its last nine contests, that victory sparked a six-game winning streak – the Clippers’ longest in 20 years.

On Monday, a victory over the Grizzlies coupled with a Los Angeles Lakers loss to New Orleans would lift the Clippers back atop the Pacific Division and into third in the West. After scoring 19 points with 15 assists in Saturday’s 109-94 victory over Sacramento, Chris Paul told the Clippers’ said that they cannot worry about what the Lakers are doing and they have a tough (three-game) road trip and it is going to take a lot of poise.

At FedExForum, following Saturday’s 94-89 victory over Dallas, the Grizzlies have won four straight and 10 of 12 and that could definitely be the case at this venue. With a 97-82 victory, Memphis snapped Miami’s 17-game home winning streak the previous night.

Coach Lionel Hollins said that they are three up on the Mavs, on the loss column and now they won a tiebreaker with two teams, Dallas and Denver. He added that these wins were huge for the team. He further said that it is a tight race but they have to keep winning.

The is a tight race but we have to keep winning have made just 42.8 percent from the field since the March 24 loss, therefore better shooting could help the Grizzlies continue their surge. However, holding opponents to 91.4 points per game during that stretch, Memphis’ defense has sparked the team’s 7-2 run.

In the Grizzlies’ playoff push, newcomer Gilbert Arenas also is making a major difference. He is averaging 11.0 points over the last four games and he made 10 of 15 3-pointers. The Clippers hope Randy Foye can keep hitting from long distance. Foye has provided a nice third scoring option, averaging 20.2 points and hitting 25 of 54 from beyond the arc over the last six games, with Paul and Blake Griffin doing much of the heavy lifting.

On Jan. 2, the Clippers, who also beat the Grizzlies 98-91, have not swept this season series since taking all three meetings in 2006-07. Winning 82-81 on April 5, 2011, Los Angeles ended a three-game skid in Memphis in its last visit. Mo Williams could be available Monday after missing the last nine games with a sprained big toe on his left foot. He scored nine of his team-best 16 points in the fourth quarter of that game.

The Portuguese side looks to have overcome their February blip to go into their tie with Chelsea in good form and Benfica’s performances against Manchester United were largely responsible for the premature exit of last year’s runners-up. While, Portuguese teams are always going to struggle against the very best, however, they appear to have a chance against the Londoners. They will have to be at their best to beat either Barcelona or Real Madrid, to win Europe’s top club contest for what would be the third time.

In the last round, Chelsea overcame a 3-1 defeat in Italy to progress past Napoli. The club now has a chance to salvage what appeared to be a complete dead rubber of a season. Owner Roman Abramovich’s squad had a very disappointing season in the English Premier League and it is arguably the weakest for some time. They could be one of the teams that left at the Champions League quarterfinal stage because of poor form. Chelsea will believe that they can cause a shock this year with Manchester United and City out of the competition, although they have to show signs of improvement under Roberto Di Matteo. Their chances of lifting the trophy are slightly worse because if they get past Benfica, they are likely to face both real Madrid and Barcelona, making things quite difficult for the Londoners.

APOEL FC’s remarkable European adventure will now face one of the toughest examinations of all of facing Real Madrid. In this season’s competition, APOEL have won five of their seven home games. In this season, Madrid team has recorded seven victories in eight outings. APOEL will be determined to demonstrate to their illustrious opponents just how formidable their home ground has become in their first competitive meeting.

There are two-quarter final matches on March 27, Tuesday between APOEL Nicosia and Real Madrid, while the other one is between Benfica and Chelsea, with both games live on Sky Sports. The betting odds have become very exciting at the business end of the Champion League. The betting odds for Real Madrid 2/7, APOEL Nicosia11; while for Benfica 13/8 and Chelsea 2.

The Sooners have already eliminated themselves from the BCS National Championship Game with an unexpected loss and now they can salvage their season with a win against their state rivals, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. With that Big 12 showdown on the horizon, the Sooners could stumble in this game against a strong Baylor Bears team.

The Bears rank sixth in the country in passing and they rank 20th in the rushing department. The Bears quarterback, Robert Griffin III, has already racked up more than 3,000 yards passing and the one time Heisman candidate is capable of shredding the Sooners defense.

The Sooners quarterback, Landry Jones, has also passed for more than 3,000 yards and the explosive passer has been the driving force of this offense all season. The problem with Jones is consistency. Jones can light up the scoreboard one night and then bomb the next. The junior quarterback is the key to the Sooners winning the next three games and playing in a legitimate bowl game.

Oklahoma lost Ryan Broyles to an injury last week and now they will replace him with new No. 1 receiver, Kenny Stills, who is a sophomore. Stills has strong route running skills and the ability to get behind defenders and get down field untouched.

If Oklahoma falls in this game they will have no one to blame but themselves. They are the better team but Baylor is more than capable of giving them a tough 60 minutes.

If you are a fan of college football betting then make sure you check out any last minute line movement on this game prior to kick off.

At HP Pavilion in San Jose, the Canucks scored three 5-on-3 power play goals in a one minute, 55 second span midway through the second period. Henrik Sedin assisted on all four Vancouver goals as Sami Salo scored twice. Vancouver had just 13 shots all game, scoring on four of its seven shots in the final two periods.

After having just seven points and a minus10 rating in six games against Nashville the previous round, the Sharks had no answer for the Sedins, who have combined for 15 points in four games this series.

For Vancouver, Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows added goals which lead the National Hockey League Western Conference finals three games to one.

Vancouver had a 3-0 series lead against Chicago and was pushed to a decisive seventh game in the opening round of the playoffs. Before winning in six games the Canucks held a 3-1 lead in the second round against Nashville.

The Sharks have never reached the championship series in their 19-year history. San Jose now has a 3-11 record in the conference finals. In NHL odds the Vancouver Canucks are 10/21 favorite to win the 2011 Stanley Cup.

Between these teams, the last game was an epic battle in which there were tons of ups and downs for each team. The Grizzlies controlled the game for the majority of the first half as they started out on fire. The Grizzlies were leading by 18 points at one point although that lead certainly didn’t stick.

The Thunder managed to get back into contention by the end of the first half as they slowly chipped away at the lead. Neither team could put away their opponent through regulation as the game was close for the rest of the way. Even though they kept tight and needed a 3rd overtime to decide the winner, the next two overtime periods featured big shots.

By winning the game by 10 points, ultimately Oklahoma City took control in the final overtime period.

Memphis needs to start off stronger in the rest of the games of the series while they did manage to sneak out of the game with a victory. To their opponents they can’t afford to give an 18 point advantage. A solid half court offense, what the Grizzlies have, features solid big men. They should be able to preserve their lead better than they did in game 4 with their ability to slow down the game.

For this matchup the total is at 197, and basketball picks have the Thunder as a 6.5-point, -280 moneyline favorite.

The over/under total at 189 and NBA Betting has the Bulls as a -200 favorite.

As the Bulls have been able to lock down both of their games that they’ve played at home, they have taken the early lead in this series. It was no surprise that the Bulls win their home games as they were a tremendous home team all season. When they will go to Indiana and try to win games on the road, the real test will come in game 3.

Even though the Bulls are clearly the better team in this series as the Pacers have been solid. If the Pacers hope to win their home games they will need Collison to step up. In opposition to the Bulls, Collison is a quick point guard that could do some damage. Derrick Rose will be forced to chase him around and it could affect the offense of the MVP candidate if he has a solid game.

This season the Bulls have relied on Rose for a lot of offense as well as in the playoffs that trend has continued. He will likely continue to carry the majority of the load offensively as he has carried the squad.

The Bulls should try to put this away as early as they can as they have a chance to go up 3 games to 0 in the series. A rest early on in the playoffs can be a big benefit as the playoffs are long.

While Manchester City is +175, Liverpool is a slight favorite in Soccer Betting at +162.

On defense Manchester City has thrived. In EPL action they have allowed 27 goals, which is good for the second fewest in the league. Joe Hart has kept the team in most games as he has been solid all season. By taking some of the pressure off of Hart and the defense as the offense has come to life as the season has gone as well. With 19 goals Carlos Tevez has been the star, nearly half the total for the team.

This year Liverpool hasn’t been as consistent. Even though they are starting to settle in to their game, they got off to a tough start. Goalie Pepe Reina has allowed 38 goals on the season so far and has stepped up lately. Liverpool is still missing the departed Fernando Torres offensively. For this team Still, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles are capable scorers. Against Chelsea and Manchester United, Liverpool has gotten recent wins, so they are capable of winning big games.

With a 3-0 score, Manchester City won the first game. Liverpool will be hard pressed to score as they have better talent on defense. Playing at home should work to Liverpool’s advantage though. Where one goal could make all of the difference, you can expect a tight game.

While the Union are a +460 underdog, MLS Betting Odds have the Galaxy as a -160 favorite.

In its second season in the MLS the fledgling Philadelphia Union has got off to a great start. To improve from last year’s record and qualify for the MLS Cup as well as other competitions such as U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF, the goal for the team is clear. Philadelphia Union sat at the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference by late march.

The Philadelphia Union defeated former MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo 1-0 in the season opening game. As vice captain Danny Cardiff scored an early goal in the fifth minute the Union surprised nearly 20,000 Houston fans at the Robertson Stadium. By defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 thanks to the effort of striker Carlos Ruiz Days later, Philadelphia pleased its home crowd.

In 2011, the Los Angeles Galaxy got off to a less impressive start. They lost 1-4 to Real Salt Lake whereas they won the opening game against Seattle Sounders FC 1-0, ended with a 1-1 tie against New England Revolution. As the season progresses however, it is important to remember that Los Angeles is a star studded team that may do some real damage. The Galaxy has added some serious firepower to its squad by getting New York’s star striker Juan Pablo Angel and the young Brazilian Juninho besides having David Beckham and Landon Donovan.

This weekend, Manchester United is back in action against their closest league competitors Arsenal in the FA Cup Quarter Final. To reinstate confidence that the season is not about to implode, the Reds will need to get back to winning ways, following back-to-back away losses. A triumph in this match will dent the already smashed up confidence of their rivals, who were dreaming of a momentous quadruple only a few weeks ago.

With grave questions being asked about the Gunners’ mental strength after the defeats from Barcelona and Birmingham, along with a substandard league draw with Sunderland. This recent display of poor form has halved their probability for the potential trophy haul.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will be desperate to hush the doubters against Arsenal in spite of not playing in the Champions League this week. He wants to show his critics that his team can beat the most realistic challengers to their lead in the league and get back on their winning ways.

With a game in hand on their old competitors, Arsenal sit just three points back and win for either team in the cup at Old Trafford will result as a psychological edge in the race for the title.

In the FA Cup, this will be the 14th meeting between the sides. In the win column however, United hold a 6-5 lead with one of the drawn games was won by Arsenal on penalties. In 2005, it was an iniquitous one-sided final. In 2008, came the most recent Cup meeting when United ran out 4-0 victors. With this fixture, there is a lot of history connected, which makes the game even more enthralling.

With just four in three games, United have struggled for goals in the cup this year. Both teams will be engaged in a tight battle for success.

As per various betting websites, the best betting odd for Man United to win is 1 and for Arsenal its 3.