The morning line

MLB The marquee game tonight is the Cleveland Guardians visiting the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a battle between two of the American League's better clubs — the Yankees sitting at 36-24 and the Guardians right on their heels at 35-27, so the heart of the order for both sides will be pushing hard to pad the standings gap. Out west, the Los Angeles Dodgers head to Chase Field as heavy favorites against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with oddsmakers installing them at -205, meaning the bullpen matchup late in the game could be the deciding factor if the starter goes seven and hands it to the back end. Keep an eye on the Atlanta Braves hosting the Toronto Blue Jays — at 41-20, the Braves have been the best team in baseball, and any club coming into Truist Park right now is facing a tough getaway day.

NBA Tonight's marquee game has the New York Knicks rolling into Frost Bank Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs in what should be must-see basketball on ABC — the Spurs are the class of the league at 62-20 and are laying 4.5, so they're expected to handle business at home. New York at 53-29 is no pushover and has enough buckets to keep it interesting, but they'll need to do damage in the paint and limit San Antonio's ball movement if they want to avoid taking the L in front of a raucous home crowd. With an over/under sitting at 217.5, Vegas is expecting both teams to come ready to play, so tune in at 8:30 Eastern if you want to see whether the Knicks can pull off the upset or the Spurs put on an absolute clinic.

NHL Tonight's marquee matchup is the Vegas Golden Knights skating into Lenovo Center to take on the Carolina Hurricanes, with puck drop set for 8:00 PM Eastern on ABC. The Hurricanes come in as -162 favorites, riding a dominant regular season and a shutdown defensive structure that makes life miserable in the slot and the crease — their penalty kill has been a nightmare for opposing power plays all year. If Vegas wants to steal one on the road, they'll need their forwards to find some top-shelf looks early and not let Carolina's relentless forecheck pin them in their own zone late in the third.

WNBA Tonight's opener is the New York Liberty hosting the Toronto Tempo at Barclays Center — both squads sitting 5-4 and desperate for a foothold, though Vegas has the Liberty laying 8.5, so expect them to be dropping buckets in the paint early. The real can't-miss of the slate is tomorrow's late game: the Minnesota Lynx (7-2, best record in this bunch) get the Golden State Valkyries (6-3) at Target Center, a two-point spread that basically says anyone's game — two teams that know how to string buckets together and neither willing to take the L. Sneaky-good watch is the Atlanta Dream (6-2) walking into Gainbridge Fieldhouse tomorrow night as heavy hitters against an Indiana Fever squad that Vegas only trusts by 1.5 at home, which is a recipe for a dagger or two late.