Early Mark

Sunday is a great day for American Sports fans, as you can take in games from across the pond and still get to bed at a reasonable hour. Tonight there are nine games in the US that all start this side of midnight.

There are five games in the NBA that tip-off before lights out with the 8:30pm matchup between the Magic and the Suns a good candidate for tuning in to. Both teams have improved their form and sit second in their respective divisions. But what makes this one even more intriguing is that this is the first game between the two sides since they traded players with each other late last year. The movers seem to be a better fit at their new organisations, as NBA.com gives the stats on the teams’ performance before and after the trade. The Magic were 16-9 before the deal and had lost five out of their last six. Since the player exchange they are 25-16 and within that posted nine consecutive wins. Phoenix are just above .500 right now at 33-30, but are 21-17 since shaking hands with the Magic on the deal in December.

In the last six games Orlando are 3-3 but two of those wins were over the Knicks and the Heat. The Suns are also 3-3 but were well beaten in two of those games by Boston and Denver.

You can listen to the game at ESPN Radio here

At 6pm tonight you can listen live to commentary on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Cleveland Cavaliers with WWSR 93.1 The Fan and Charlotte at Toronto with Fan 590 Toronto. And if you haven’t got an early start in the morning check out the late games over on our Schedule page.

If hockey is more your thang then there is plenty of action on the ice tonight too with potentially the best head to head first up at 5:30pm. Last years’ Stanley Cup champions the Chicago Blackhawks seem to have rekindled what they had back then just in time for when it matters. However, after winning eight straight with some very convincing performances they struggled on the road in midweek losing at Florida and Tampa.

Today’s test of whether Chicago have what it takes for a repeat performance is a tough trip to play Alexander Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals. The Caps and Ovechkin are bang in form with seven wins on the bounce behind them. The Russian bagged two as they put Edmonton to the sword 5-0 in Washington in midweek as well as a goal to see off the Hurricanes Friday. Eric Fehr also got in on the action against the Oilers with two goals of his own, and both he and Ovechkin scored one each on the powerplay.

Capitals Radio will be rocking the red tonight if you want to listen to this one.

There are two 8pm games tonight with the Oilers at Pittsburgh and the LA Kings at Dallas. You can listen to these two at Penguins Radio and Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket respectively.

Check out the Schedule page for tonight’s other NHL matchups.